How Much Money Do Indie Games Make? [2021]

So you are about to release your indie game and all that goes through your mind is: How will my game do? Is it going to sell? How much money will I make?

The best way to get an idea is by following other indie games and learning from their experience. In this video, we'll take a look at several indie game revenues and look at how much revenue the developers actually made - some an estimate and some to the actual dollar

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[Cheeseness]

Hi hi! Hive Time lead developer Cheese here. Just wanted to say thanks for featuring Hive Time again and for showing a range of different revenue models/narratives in the video.

One key factor that I think impacted Hive Time's revenue was the onset of a pandemic and global recession, which created uncertainty for and in some cases destroyed many people's financial stability. In that context, optional expenses become more difficult to justify, and that's an important lens through which to view Hive Time's 1.5% downloads-to-sales conversion rate.

[NeatGames]

My first Steam game *Super Neat Cat* was released last December, and has made almost 1000 dollars so far :D (I'm just a solo hobbyist and it was my first game + just a simple platforming game) *Now the game is free so everyone can enjoy it!*

[theanimeelephant]

This channel is a symbol of Quality>Quantity

[fuzzypixel]

My game - KingSim - made 20k$ (12k after steam share and taxes) in its first 9 months. I consider it pretty well since I'm a solo dev and this is my first commercial game. Thanks for the video!

[Ric_]

Good to luck to all indie game developers! 💪

[andreypopov]

I would call this video "how much money CAN indie games make?" since most of those games still get higher numbers than the average ~300$ mark income on steam.

[HE]

Not only do I like seeing the games that people make, I enjoy hearing people's success stories from making games. It's an inspiration to all of us.

[AuroDev]

Thanks for the shoutout! I was wondering where all the new subs were coming from :)

[razeenag]

Finally, something to motivate me for my new project which will never finish

[chuz]

I released a pay-what-you-want game on itch in 2018 and that's made £21 from at least two months of work.

It's not really about making money but the 7 times I got a notification knowing someone chose to send me money always left me feeling complete.

[mikem]

11:11 It's a flat fact of human biology that working 15 hours a day is extremely unhealthy, both mentally and physically. It's highly irresponsible to not point this out, while appearing instead to congratulate such practices.

[WolfsdenxD]

I'd say this video represents the odd success rather than what regular indiedevs make. I think if anything this gives false hope to a lot of people who think they will be the next Valheim or Stardew valley. I mean sure, it's possible, it's just extremely unlikely.

[CraWea]

I loved the video, but I think there might be some 'survival bias' at play here. The video title gives the impression that these games are representative of indie games in general, but these are all fairly successful games. (According to ArsTechnica "~80% of Steam games earn under $5K in first two weeks".) Anyway, thanks for the stellar content, as always! 🙌 The video was very helpful in painting a mental picture of financial success.

[hiiistrex]

Ok but your primary objective in gamedev should NEVER be money

That takes the #2 spot lol

[benjaminramsey]

In other words, you'll spend a metric ton of time and effort making a game, and you'll have to be super duper lucky to make almost any money from it!

[_Gamer]

To all the game devs, I wish you the best of success in all areas of your game development.

[jponte]

I like the fact that game developing is an industry that u can make tons of money not only working in studios but also by yourself. And It's super fun. One of the best industries out there for sure.

[CasepbX]

I would love to one day make the retro FPS game I’ve had tucked away in my brain for a decade. I’ve been writing ideas down for years now and and turning them into game design document. I don’t even want to make it for the money. I want to create something I’d love to play over and over again just for the fun. If others also want to play it that would be a cool bonus.

[rolandkatsuragi]

Time management seems to be an equally important assest for game development

[lustechsource]

This is some great insight into what can happen with Indie developers. Enjoyed the video!