# AI Video for Game studios & indie devs: Deliverables, Pricing and Workflow

Game studios and indie developers come to CarlosVideo18+ for three deliverables: a 15-30 second teaser, a 30-60 second gameplay cut with narration, and a 60+ second world teaser. Each ships in 7 days with two revision rounds, at flat pricing of $94, $150 or $250, built to the art direction of your game.

## What a game studio buyer actually receives

The audience for this vertical is narrow and practical: indie studios, publishers and the person responsible for game marketing. That person does not buy a mood film. They buy files that can be uploaded on a fixed date, because a Steam page, a demo announcement and a social calendar all have deadlines attached to them.

CarlosVideo18+ produces exactly three deliverables for this vertical, and nothing outside them:

* Trailer teaser, 15-30 seconds, cut for the Steam page, TikTok or a Discord announcement.
* Gameplay cut with narrative, 30-60 seconds, where captured footage is shaped into a story with voice-over, sound design and pacing.
* Long-form world teaser, 60 seconds and longer, for YouTube pre-roll, a publisher deck or a launch page.

Each of them is produced in the style declared at kickoff: pixel, anime or photoreal, following the art direction of the game rather than a generic house look. Every character in every frame is a fictional generated character, 18 or older, never a real person. That is not a limitation for this vertical; it is the reason the vertical fits. A game world is fictional by definition, so characters built for the lore look native next to the game itself.

## What fits where: deliverable to tier

Choosing a tier is a question of runtime and intent, not of quality. All three tiers use the same production pipeline, the same 7-day delivery window and the same two revision rounds. The only variable is length, and therefore how much of your world fits on screen.

| Deliverable | Length | Tier | Price | Delivery | Revisions |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Trailer teaser (Steam page, TikTok, Discord) | 10-15 s base cut, extendable to 15-30 s | Base | $94 | 7 days | 2 rounds |
| Gameplay cut with narration | 30-60 s | Standard | $150 | 7 days | 2 rounds |
| Long-form world teaser (60+ s) | 60+ s | Premium | $250 | 7 days | 2 rounds |
| Store and social crops taken from the delivered teaser | 10-15 s | Base | $94 | 7 days | 2 rounds |
| Narrated gameplay variant with voice-over script | 30-60 s | Standard | $150 | 7 days | 2 rounds |

House pricing rule: only $94, $150 and $250 are quoted anywhere on this site. Full tier detail sits on the [pricing page](https://carlosvideo18.shop/pricing).

## Trailer before art: the pre-production window

The key angle for studios is timing. A cinematic shoot needs finished environments, a captured scene and a crew, which means the trailer normally arrives after the game looks like a game. By then the wishlist campaign has been running for months on screenshots alone.

Generated video reverses that order. While gameplay is not yet captured, characters and locations are already generated from the lore, so the studio has a cinematic teaser ready for the Steam page and the wishlist button weeks earlier. Nothing in the teaser has to match a camera that has not rolled, because there is no camera. The constraint is the art direction, and the art direction is already written down in your design documents.

The second pressure point is the calendar. A teaser is usually needed about a month before a demo or announcement window. Seven-day delivery fits inside that month with room for two revision rounds and internal approvals, which is where most agency timelines break down. The third pressure point is volume: store images, social posts, Discord announcements and creator kits all need fresh frames on a repeating schedule, and a flat per-video price makes that repeatable instead of a new negotiation every time. A gameplay cut without captured gameplay is not possible, so that deliverable starts once footage exists; the teasers do not wait for it.

## Why fictional generated characters suit this vertical

Three reasons, all practical.

First, rights. Every character CarlosVideo18+ produces is fictional, generated, 18 or older and never a real person. A studio can put that footage on a store page, in an ad and in a creator kit without clearing a model release or checking a likeness. Full commercial rights to the delivered video come with every tier.

Second, lore fit. A generated character is described, not cast. You provide the lore brief, the silhouette, the palette and the reference frames in pixel, anime or photoreal style, and the character is built to those constraints. Locations work the same way: a generated environment can show a city district or a ruin that does not exist in any build yet, which is exactly what a world teaser needs.

Third, iteration. When a design changes between vertical slices, a generated shot can be rebuilt. A filmed shot of the old design cannot. For an indie team that expects the art to move, that difference decides whether a teaser stays usable after the next patch.

Style references, past work and case write-ups live on the [portfolio page](https://carlosvideo18.shop/portfolio), and production notes are published on the [blog](https://carlosvideo18.shop/blog).

## The 7-day workflow

Every tier follows the same seven-day schedule. Two revision rounds are included at every price point.

* **Day 1 - Brief and kickoff.** Lore summary, style selection (pixel, anime or photoreal), reference images, target platform (Steam, YouTube, TikTok or Discord), target length and delivery format. For a gameplay cut, the footage link is supplied here.
* **Day 2 - Shot list and script.** Scene order, narration or on-screen text, music and sound direction. This is the document you approve before anything is rendered.
* **Days 3-4 - Generation and assembly.** Characters and locations are generated to the lore brief, then cut to the shot list with voice-over and sound.
* **Day 5 - First cut delivered.** Revision round one opens: pacing, character detail, colour, narration wording.
* **Day 6 - Revision round two.** Final adjustments and platform export for the placements named at kickoff.
* **Day 7 - Final files and rights.** Masters and platform versions handed over with full commercial rights.

Payment is crypto only: USDT, BTC or ETH via Heleket. The payment flow is described on the [crypto payment guide](https://carlosvideo18.shop/blog/pay-for-ai-video-with-crypto), and the order form is at <https://www.CarlosVideo18.shop/order>.

## Compared with the usual alternatives

Most studios in this vertical weigh two options before reaching this page: an agency shoot, or self-serve AI tools operated by the marketing person in-house.

| Criteria | Agency shoot | Self-serve AI tools | CarlosVideo18+ |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cost model | Quoted per project after a discovery call | Monthly subscription plus staff time | Flat: $94 / $150 / $250 per video |
| Time to first cut | Weeks of scheduling, location and crew | Fast drafts, slow to reach release quality | 7 days to final, two revision rounds |
| Needs captured gameplay | Usually, for anything cinematic | Only if you edit it yourself | Not for teasers; yes for the gameplay cut |
| Art direction match | High, if the budget covers set design | Depends on operator skill | Locked to pixel, anime or photoreal at kickoff |
| Cast and rights | Talent releases, location permits | Your responsibility | Fictional generated characters, full commercial rights |
| Output volume | One shoot, one set of assets | Unlimited drafts, one operator | Repeatable per video at a fixed price |

The honest trade-off: an agency shoot still wins on live-action performance and practical effects, and this service does not attempt to replace it. Self-serve tools still win if someone on your team already edits well and has the time. CarlosVideo18+ sits between them for studios that need a cinematic teaser now, without a shoot and without hiring an editor, at a price that can be approved from a marketing budget without a tender.

## Platforms and formats

Steam wants a horizontal teaser that reads inside a store module. YouTube wants the long-form world teaser at full length with a clean opening three seconds. TikTok wants a vertical cut of the 15-30 second teaser. Discord wants a small, fast-loading loop that survives compression. The placement is fixed at kickoff on day one, so the export you receive already matches where it is going.

If you are mapping deliverables across a launch calendar, the full decision set for this site is indexed on the [SEO decision pages](https://carlosvideo18.shop/seo).

## Frequently asked questions

### Can you make a trailer before gameplay is captured?

Yes. That is the main use case for this vertical. Characters and locations are generated from your lore and art direction, so a cinematic teaser exists for the Steam page and the wishlist campaign while the game is still in production. The gameplay cut is the one deliverable that waits for footage.

### How do you match the art direction of our game?

You send reference frames, palette notes and a character sheet, and we lock one declared style at kickoff: pixel, anime or photoreal. Style is confirmed in revision round one, so the remaining round is spent on timing, narration and cuts rather than on look.

### How much does a trailer for an indie game cost?

Three flat prices: $94 for a 10-15 second teaser, $150 for a 30-60 second gameplay cut with narration, $250 for a 60+ second world teaser. All three include 7-day delivery, two revision rounds and full commercial rights.

### What do you need from us to start?

A short lore brief, 5-10 reference images, the target platform, the required length and any voice or music preference. Gameplay capture is only required for the gameplay cut.

### Which platforms do you deliver for?

Steam, YouTube, TikTok and Discord. Aspect ratio and duration are agreed on day one, so the delivered files fit their placement without a re-cut.

### Who owns the finished video and the characters?

You receive full commercial rights to the delivered video. All characters are fictional, generated, 18 or older, and never real people, which keeps store, ad and social usage clear from the start.