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.

What indie game made the most money?

1 Minecraft

He created the company Mojang which is probably the largest indie game success story. The success of Minecraft did so well that Notch ended up selling Mojang to Microsoft for a $2.5 billion cash deal.

What is the most profitable game genre?

RPG (role-play games) is the most profitable mobile gaming genre, earning $21.9 billion in 2020 and $18.3 billion in 2019. China had a 35% of the global mobile market revenue in 2020, with the USA having 20%.

Is it profitable to make indie games?

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.

Which indie games developer made millions?

Mojang. It's the big one. With over 200 million copies sold, Minecraft is not only the best selling indie, but the best selling game ever, at least at the time of publishing. As of the end of 2021 they had a mind-blowing net worth of 1.7 billion dollars.

Why Most Indie Game Developers Don't Make Money

How much does an average indie game make?

The median game earned just $1,136 lifetime; 68% of all titles released in 2019 generated less than $10,000 to date; 91.5% of all titles earned less than $250,000; 96% of all games generated less than $1,000,000.

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.

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.

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 game sells the most?

The independently-developed (indie) Minecraft, with its pixelated blocks, takes the top spot on this list. Super Mario Bros. Minecraft sold more units than the combined forces of Grand Theft Auto 5 (#2) and Red Dead Redemption 2 (#8), both made by industry giant Rockstar.

What are the best games to make money off of?

How do I get my indie game noticed?

How to get rich as indie game developer?

Game developers have several avenues through which they can earn money while developing their games, by working with other developers, getting crowdsourcing, working as a developer for other companies, or selling tools they created while making their game.

What are most indie games written in?

Java. The indie game industry owes a lot to Java. Because of its open-source material and beginner-friendly syntax, Java is one of the go-to's for game developers in need of a solid coding language.

How hard is it to start an indie game studio?

Developing an indie game is hard work. You need to be able to design and build the game, market it to the public, and get it published. Some people usually begin indie studios to develop passion projects, which later can become successful or develop smaller cult followings.

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.

How much funding does an indie game need?

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 many people are needed for a 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 many people is considered an indie game?

Indie games are computer games created by independent developers. A single person or a small team of 2 to 10 people can build such games from scratch. Sometimes indie games are referred to as “free” because game resources are either created by the developers themselves or taken from free sources.

How much do publishers pay indie game devs?

What percentage do game publishers take? The size of the royalty is typically between 10 and 20%. After the publisher has recaptured the costs, the team begins to receive the first deductions. At the same time, the publisher's expenses for the game may not pay off if for some reason the community does not accept it.

How much does it cost to make a good 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 is the average indie game on Steam?

The average indie game price has increased from just $6.3 in 2018 to $7.5 in 2020. It was $7.7 in the second half of 2020, showing continued increase of the prices throughout the year. A big increase is also apparent in average ratings of indie games.

How much does it cost to publish an indie game?

The cost of releasing an indie game varies from $50,000 to more than $750,000. The bottom $50,000 is the total cost of work of one developer, on average, for one year. As the number of employees increases, the cost also increases.