Verified panel · working game developers
Understand the people who actually make games.
Vertical Slice Research gives middleware vendors, toolmakers, and platform teams direct access to a verified panel of working game developers — to validate product direction, test positioning, and understand how developers actually use what you build.
Who we work with
Built for teams selling to developers
Middleware & SDK vendors
Validate integration ergonomics, API design, and onboarding with the engineers who will actually ship your product inside their games.
Dev tool & pipeline vendors
Understand how developers evaluate, adopt, and get stuck on your tooling — before those friction points cost you renewals.
Platform & engine teams
Hear from the developers building on your platform daily about what's working, what's broken, and what they wish existed.
Investors & analysts
Commission targeted surveys of working developers for diligence, market-sizing, or category-level reports.
Methods
Every research format, one panel
We scope and field the right method for your question — or combine them.
Surveys
Quantitative feedback from 50–500 verified developers. Results in 48–72 hours.
1:1 interviews
Live 30–60 minute moderated sessions. We handle scheduling, screeners, and incentives.
Concept tests
Structured reactions to pitches, feature specs, or positioning statements.
Advisory panels
A standing group of 8–12 developers available for recurring check-ins.
The process
From brief to insight in days
We handle recruiting, scheduling, incentives, and delivery.
01
Brief us
Tell us what decision you're trying to make and who you need to hear from. We scope the study and recommend a method.
02
We recruit
We match your study to vetted panelists by role, seniority, platform, engine, and studio type. No cold outreach required.
03
Field and analyze
We run the study, handle incentive payments, and deliver a clean summary with raw data and our read on what matters.
Example briefs
The kinds of questions we answer
Clients come with a decision to make. We scope the right method and get them an answer.
Physics SDK vendor
“Which of our two integration APIs do engineers actually prefer — and where do they get stuck?”
Method: 5 moderated interviews + async prototype feedback
Build pipeline tooling
“How are studios evaluating us versus our main competitor at the point of renewal?”
Method: Targeted survey · 80 respondents
Platform team
“What's the biggest unmet need in our developer portal — and do developers even know it exists?”
Method: Research sprint: survey + 8 interviews
Pricing
Straightforward packages
All-in pricing includes panelist incentives, recruiting, and a written summary.
Single study
From $2,500
- —Survey (up to 100 responses) or 5 interviews
- —Screened, verified panelists
- —Panelist incentives managed and billed at cost
- —Summary report
Popular
Research sprint
From $8,000
- —Mixed methods: survey + interviews
- —Up to 200 survey responses + 10 interviews
- —Custom screener
- —Topline report + raw data
- —30-min readout call
- —Panelist incentives managed and billed at cost
Ongoing retainer
Custom
- —Quarterly or monthly cadence
- —Dedicated panel cohort
- —Priority scheduling
- —Longitudinal tracking
- —Dedicated research partner
Prices above are research fees only. Panelist incentives are billed at cost on top — e.g. 10 interviews at $150/session adds $1,500. Incentive amounts are agreed before fielding, never estimated after.
Custom NDA, data handling, and reporting formats available on request.
Get started
Tell us what you want to learn.
Send us a brief description of your research question and we’ll scope a study within one business day. No commitment required.
Prefer a call? Mention it in the form and we’ll find a time.