Sole trader / business for app/game development

Question

I'm thinking about making my own games / applications and trying to make money from it.

I have two questions related to this:

1. I'm not sure if I should become a sole trader or create a business. I know the pros and cons of both of them, and the extra commitment is a bit of a turn off when it comes to creating a business. On the other side I'm also scared of getting sued so I want to protect myself as much as possible. Which option do people typically choose for the type of work I'm trying to do? I'm not sure if I'm over thinking the possibility of getting sued and I should just save myself time and effort and go the sole trader path, or if this fear is genuine in this line of business and I should put the time and effort into protecting myself as much as possible.

2. If I was to become a sole trader am I allowed to create a company alias to make it look more professional? So on the website I could say "Created by so and so studios" rather than "Created by insert name"? Even though technically the "so and so studios" doesn't exist.

Answer 1

1. It is usually better to form a company if you are selling a product, particularly a product like a game that will probably be sold internationally. A company doesn't perfectly limit your liability in all circumstances, but generally speaking, the liability protections are worth it. Any economically viable game should generate revenues sufficient to make this a worthwhile business expense. You should hire a lawyer to form the company for you, so that this is done right.

2. If you do choose to operate as a sole trade a.k.a. a sole proprietor, it is usually still possible to register a "trade name" for the business colloquially called a "dba" for "doing business as", for the business. The procedure for registering a trade name varies a fair amount from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but it is usually allowed.