RealNetworks, looking to become a bigger player in video games on mobile phones, is offering to help small game developers break into the market in exchange for a share of the revenue from titles they sell.

The Seattle's company's new "Federation of Studios," slated to be announced this morning, will offer independent game studios access to its EMERGE development platform for porting and testing their games for as many as 1,700 mobile handsets. RealNetworks says it will also leverage its relationships with mobile carriers for the distribution and marketing of the games, effectively playing the role of publisher.

"It allows us to expand our business in a scaled and rational fashion, working with partners," said Charles Harper, general manager of business development for RealNetworks' games group. "On the PC side, we count on other publishers and other developers out there to bring really great, world-class content to us. Well, why should mobile be any different?"

RealNetworks hopes the arrangements will give mobile game studios an alternative to "betting the farm" on the iPhone, Harper said. At the same time, the deals will give the studios the option of handling the testing and distribution of their iPhone versions themselves, excluding those from the RealNetworks agreements.

The company says there will be no up-front costs for independent game developers that take part. Harper declined to discuss the respective proportions of the revenue split, saying it will vary by individual arrangement, but he noted that RealNetworks' established relationships with carriers will ideally give the indie game developers access to markets that they otherwise wouldn't have been able to tap."

The company says the first Federation of Studios partner is Sonic Boom Inc., based in New York City, which develops titles including "Name that Tune!" and "Virtual Villagers."

The EMERGE technology was acquired by RealNetworks through its 2005 acquisition of mobile game developer and publisher Mr. Goodliving, based in Helsinki, Finland. Several years ago, after making the acquisition, RealNetworks signed up a hanful of mobile developers to use the platform on a smaller scale.

RealNetworks' games group has been struggling with the difficult economy, reporting revenues of $29.8 million in the second quarter, down from nearly $35 million in the same quarter the previous year.