In the video game industry, a second-party developer is a developer who, while being a separate entity from any console manufacturer, is tied to a specific one usually through contract or partial ownership and makes games specifically for that console manufacturer.

The defining characteristic is that a second-party developer is a company completely separate from the manufacturer, while first-party developers are considered to be a "division" of the console maker itself.

A second-party developer should not be confused with an internal first-party studio. For example, Intelligent Systems, developers of the original Metroid games, is an internal Nintendo studio and therefore not second-party. Camelot Software Planning, developer of the Golden Sun games, is an example of a second-party developer.

See also

• First-party developer
• Third-party developer

Computer and video game development | Second-party developers