Why do most indie games fail?

The majority of games simply never reach a large enough audience to make them sustainable. “A game failing despite being good is about commercial success or failure.” She further adds that failing as a business can happen for a lot of reasons, the first of which is failing to reach your audience.

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.

What percentage of indie games fail?

For every successful project, game development or other software development venture I have started, there are probably twenty that have been started and killed before every showing anyone. 70% of all indie games are commercial failures.

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.

Why are indie games hard?

Difficulty is just an aspect of this, pitching in its efforts to achieving such an experience; it's not the sole reason a game exists. That is, an incredibly difficult indie game is difficult because it needs to be to satisfy an artistic means to an end; when done right, it's not the end itself.

This Is Why Your Indie Game Will Fail

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's the hardest game genre to develop a game for?

MMORPGs, without a doubt, are the hardest game genre to build, for one very significant reason - the sheer volume of resources required to build them. As a common sense rule, +1 game content = +10 more development required.

How rich are indie game developers?

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.

Do indie game devs make money?

For some indie developers, making money off their games is a bonus. For others, developing money-making video games is what puts food on the table. If you're planning on making money from your games, you need to decide how in the earliest stages of the development process.

What is the biggest indie game ever?

1 Minecraft

Minecraft was originally developed by Marcus "Notch" Persson until he had enough money to be able to hire more people to help him develop it. He created the company Mojang which is probably the largest indie game success story.

What is the saddest indie game?

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.

What was the first successful indie game?

Better known “early indie” titles would start to be released towards the end of the decade, with games like Braid (2008), Minecraft (2009) and Super Meat Boy (2010) bringing in the indie scene into mainstream culture for the first time.

Who is the youngest indie game developer?

At 12 years old, Max Trest is already an established independent video game developer who has even created a game with the Unity engine.

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 most famous indie game developer?

How do I price my indie game?

Summary. 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.

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.

Who is the richest indie game developers in the world?

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.

Which game takes longest to develop?

"Duke Nukem Forever went 5156 days from its announcement in 1997 to its release in 2011," Sinclair wrote on Twitter over the weekend.

What is the easiest genre of games to make?

What is the most successful game genre?

Our most recent data shows that gamers are locked and loaded when it comes to shooter games. In Q3 2022, shooter was the most played gaming genre, with 57% of consumers saying they played at least one shooter game in the past 12 months.