Is it hard to make money with indie games?

It's possible to make money off of indie games. In Eric Barone's experience, he worked diligently for four years on the beloved Stardew Valley by himself. All while holding down another job and living off of more meager savings.

What are the odds of making a successful indie game?

70% of all indie games are commercial failures. Of the 30% that are considered successful, only 7% of those games will generate enough revenue to fund a second project.

Can indie games make money?

According to VG Insights, only 15% of all solo game developers take home more than $100,000 annually. VG Insights also reported that only the top 5% of indie games released each year make over half a million dollars each, and the average game only makes $13,000.

How much money do I need to make 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.

Are indie games hard to make?

There's just so much work required for anything bigger than a very simple game. This work requires a diverse set of specialist skills. The indie market is super crowded. There's so many games it's extremely hard to stand out, especially when your game is simple.

Why Most Indie Game Developers Don't Make Money

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.

What indie game genre is most profitable?

Most Profitable Genres For Indie Games

The most promising genres in terms of earnings are RPG, strategy, and simulation. They are followed by adventure, action, sports, and racing games, which are worth choosing only if you are completely confident in your idea.

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.

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.

How fast can you make an indie game?

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.

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.

What is the salary of indie game developers?

Average salary for fulltime indie game devs is $11,782/year.

Why do some indie games fail?

Indie games fail sometimes because of a poor marketing strategy: Either the team didn't build an audience or didn't find a way to interest the gaming world enough to make it play the game. The second reason comes from the game itself: The lack of game design skills or the level of immersion is too low.

Is it worth becoming an indie game developer?

Some of the most captivating and innovative video game experiences have come from passionate and dedicated indie developers. So to say that small game projects can't be good is a lie. However, as an indie developer you'll never get the chance to work on the biggest projects in the industry.

Why AAA games are better than indie?

A larger budget allows AAA studios to invest in cutting-edge technology and head-hunt top talent in the industry. They have the resources to create more polished games with more features than most indie games.

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 hard is it to make a game on your own?

How hard is it to make a game? You need to have skills and put a lot of effort to make a video game, therefore, it is hard. To make a video game, you need to have programming skills, understand and be able to design, and also to know how to use various tools, including game engines.

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.

How much to sell an indie game for?

In short, pick a price that is comparable to other indie games and then charge 20% more. If people are really really excited about your game, charge 50% more than you think you should.

Why do indie games cost money to make?

Indie game development expenses

To make the game available on multiple platforms, you can expect to spend extra because it'll take more to build and test the game for each platform. Localization can require a lot given that there is a lot of text in the game (which is right for RPG and novels).

Which game income is best?

PUBG Mobile was the top grossing game in 2021, with $2.01 billion revenue.

How many people does it take to make an indie game?

You can create an indie game alone, but often it is done by small teams of 5-10 people. So, “indie” means independent of major publishers. And from their financial support, of course, but difficulties make the process even more challenging.

How much small games earn?

A game like this (a very simple game monetised with ads) usually make between $0,01 – $0,02 per download on Android, and slightly more on iOS. It is confirmed by many independent developers reports.

Are indie games growing?

The indie game development market has seen significant growth in recent years, but it is not necessarily saturated. According to a report by the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), the number of independent game developers around the world has grown significantly over the past decade.