How much money do you need for an indie game?

Indie games are typically developed by small teams on relatively small budgets. The average cost to make an indie game is about $250,000, but some small projects can cost as low as nothing + time you spend on development.

How much does it cost to start an indie game?

An average indie game will cost between $50,000 and $700,000 to make, from start to finish. A single developer usually makes titles that cost around $50,000 and take up to a year to finish. Naturally, as the project complexity increases, the team size and costs will increase as well.

How much money does the average indie game make?

According to ALCOR, the average junior indie game developer in the US in 2022 earned $40,500, with mid-levels earning $55,500, and seniors earning $69,000.

How much does it cost to make a game by yourself?

2D or 3D mobile games

A 2D mobile game development cost can be between $ 5,000- $ 20,000, but it can go up to $ 50,000- $ 20,000 if the game has more functionalities. The cost of a 3D game is higher than that of one with 2D graphics. The price of such a game starts at $ 20,000 and can even go up to $ 250,000.

How much is the average indie game on Steam?

According to his SteamSpy data, the median ("middle", not average) price of a game on Steam is $5.99; for comparison, the median price of an indie game on the platform is $3.99, and the median price of an indie game released on Steam in 2017 is $2.99.

Why Most Indie Game Developers Don't Make Money

What percentage of indie games are successful?

Yes, only 3% of indie developers ever make more than $1m, but that's still over 1,500 indies who have done so. Let's see what they do that others don't.

Are indie games expensive to make?

How much does it cost to make an indie game? Estimates on the overall cost of making an indie game vary wildly. Indie studio Auroch Digital put the number at somewhere between $50,000 and $750,000, while others suggest costs actually run into the millions.

How much does it cost to make a small indie game?

Indie game development expenses

Indie games are typically developed by small teams on relatively small budgets. The average cost to make an indie game is about $250,000, but some small projects can cost as low as nothing + time you spend on development.

Can 1 person make a video game?

Can one person make a video game? The simple answer to this question is: yes! As this article shows, many high-quality games have been created by just one person.

How long do indie games take to make?

Creating an indie game can take anywhere between a matter of days and a number of years. With indie games, coding experience and budget will be the biggest influences on a game's development cycle. Here's a few examples of quality indie games all made within vastly different timeframes: Cuphead.

Who is the richest indie game developer?

The success of Minecraft did so well that Notch ended up selling Mojang to Microsoft for a $2.5 billion cash deal. This makes him the richest indie game developer.

Are indie games easy to make?

Creating your own indie game is a challenging and rewarding process. This is your chance to create the game you want and share your ideas with the world. Whether you're working by yourself or with a small team, there are some very important things you should keep in mind when creating a successful indie game.

How are indie games funded?

The most obvious (and common) way indie game developers fund their projects is through self-funding. This money comes from personal assets, friends and family, another form of employment, or contractual work. If you're thinking of switching full-time to game development, you'd want to build your war chest in advance.

Can I sell my indie game?

Yes, of course, you can. There are actually a few ways to make money selling indie games. One is to build a game that is designed for mobile devices, as these games tend to have lower development costs and can be marketed through app stores at a lower price point.

Do indie games need copyright?

If you're an independent developer and you receive graphic material, music, sound effects or written assets from others, you don't own these materials. Copyright law says, in most instances, the ownership rights to such material belong to the original creator.

Do indie game developers pay taxes?

Indie developers and other people who work on games for a living face all kinds of interesting income tax and small business formation issues that more traditional businesses simply don't: not being geographically bound, relying on alternative funding, long periods of time with no income, and having multiple options ...

What is considered a AAA game?

The term "AAA Games" is a classification used within the video gaming industry to signify high-budget, high-profile games that are typically produced and distributed by large, well-known publishers. These games often rank as “blockbusters” due to their extreme popularity.

How a AAA game is made?

What is an AAA game in terms of the creator? Typically, triple-A games are developed by large game publishers, such as Nintendo, Sony, or Electronic Arts. They set aside huge budgets for both development and marketing to promote a million copies around the world.

Can I create a game and sell it?

You just need to make sure that your marketing does replicate the experience that a consumer will get when they play your game. You might also want to look at options like video production. A video production company will make the marketing for your game far more immersive and exciting.

Can you make a game without spending money?

You couldn't. You wouldn't be able to do it full-time so to spend no money, as you need to make your living. You surely could do it part-time, just like a hobby. But then, spending just time, I can't really see the difference between spending time and spending money.

What game has the highest budget?

With a huge budget of $265 million, Grand Theft Auto V has surpassed every expectation laid out before it, actually making more than any movie ever made. It started development in 2008 right after the release of its previous entry, Grand Theft Auto IV.

Can anyone make an indie game?

Indie games are created by independent game developers, rather than those who work for large development studios or publishers like Sega and Ubisoft.

Why are indie games so successful?

Indie developers do not have the opportunity to create large and technological games, so they make games with unique gameplay. As a result, indie games are small in size, have low system requirements, and have extraordinary gameplay.

Why are indie games so much better than AAA games?

Another fundamental difference between AAA studios and indie studios is the amount of money invested in each. AAA studios tend to have multimillion-dollar budgets, whereas indie studios have a much slimmer budget, often relying on crowdfunding, like Kickstarter or Indiegogo, to help finance their projects.

What percentage of games are indie?

Indie video games are on the rise in the U.S., according to a study by market research and data analytics firm YouGov, with 17 percent of PC and console gamers playing indie labels in March 2022 compared to only 13 percent in March 2021.