I've been thinking about this recently. A lot of people compare a Game Development Studio mainly based on the portfolio, team size, or pricing. But I'm starting to feel that those things only tell part of the story.
A studio can have great-looking projects in its portfolio, but the real questions are: Do they understand your target platform? Can they handle changes during development? How do they communicate when a milestone is delayed? And can they actually scale with the project if things grow after launch?
Personally, I think a strong portfolio gets a studio onto the shortlist, but the production process and how the team works under real project pressure are what decide whether they're the right partner.
For anyone who has worked with an external game development team, what did you find more important — portfolio quality, technical expertise, communication, or the overall development process?