This document provides information and advice for indie game developers. It summarizes statistics showing that most indie developers earn less than $500 annually from game sales and that being part of a team leads to higher earnings. It also examines the sales figures of the game Dustforce, which earned $489,000 over a year across multiple platforms but resulted in lower salaries for the developers after expenses. The document then offers advice on funding options, keeping costs low, and resources available for indie developers in Seattle such as the Game Developer's Collective which provides business training, mentoring, and connections.
2. INDIE DEVELOPMENT FACTS
▪ Solo indie salaries were down in
2013
▪ Members of an indie team
earned more income
▪ Game sales made up most of
indie dev income
▪ Indie crowdfunding is not overtly
successful
▪ Most indie game devs didn’t
make much
Total sales Percentage of developers
$500 < 57%
$501 - $199,999 41%
$200,000 + 2%
Gaft, Kris. "6 Key Points from the 2014
Indie Salary Report." Gamasutra Article.
Gamasutra, 23 July 2014. Web. 20 May
2015.
3. INDIE SALES SUCCESS: DUSTFORCE
▪ Game was released on Windows
initially (subsequently OSX, Linux,
PS3, Vita, XBOX360)
▪ Won $100,000 in an indiepub
contest and had Capcom approach
about localizing and publishing on
console
▪ They had a huge marketing push
prior to release and received
outstanding reviews (aggregate of
82.3 – Gamerankings)
▪ After one year of sales and
development across 5 platforms
they only earned $489,000
35
Day 60
101
Day 30
1,079
Day 7
4,796
Day 1
Sales per day (Windows – Steam)
Santos, Alexis. "A Game Developer's Guide to Sales." Binpress.
Binpress, 26 Jan. 2015. Web. 20 May 2015.
4. MOST POPULAR
INDIE SALES
CHANNELS
▪ Steam
▪ Humble Bundle
▪ Bundle Stars
▪ Groupees
▪ Indie Royale
▪ Sell on your Own
▪ App Store
▪ Play Store
▪ XBOX One Store
▪ PS4 Store
5. WHAT DOES IT REALLY COST TO ‘INDIE’?
(TEAM OF 2 PEOPLE)
$3,000
$8,720
$8,220
$14,500
$0
$2,000
$4,000
$6,000
$8,000
$10,000
$12,000
$14,000
Legal (startup) Equipment (startup) Expenses/salaries (monthly) Additional (yearly)
Series 1
6. SAMPLE EXPENSES
Equipment
$800 per PC
$150 per monitor (qty 2/person)
$20 per mouse
$20 per keyboard
$100 per desk
$80 per chair
$1800 in software licenses
$1000 for company laptop
$200 for printer/scanner
$80 for business cards
$3000 for miscellaneous
Additional (as needed)
$8,000 (Pax)
$3,000 (Accountant per year)
$150 (per song licensing)
$5-10 (per sound effect)
$1,000 (per PR campaign)
$2,000 (per indie show non Pax)
Expenses (monthly)
$1000 rent
$180 cell phone
$20-40 bank fees
$250 insurance (per person)
$3250 salary (per person)
7. BACK TO DUSTFORCE …
Analysis
With Dustforce they paid
themselves lower than the figures
we used two slides back. Much
lower. So they ended up splitting
the $295,000 four ways. Still,
between that and the small salary
they drew, none of them topped
$100K. Also, this did not leave
room for them to expand.
Amount
Total Revenue $668,490
Net $489,000
After expenses $295,000
8. WHAT SHOULD I
KNOW ABOUT
FUNDING?
Figure out your funding
▪ Most of the groups in Game Developer’s
Collective have funding from private investors
or are self funded
▪ Of the 50 + teams we spoke with, 85+% were
going to use some sort of crowdfunding
▪ Crowdfunding is not a guaranteed success
▪ Physical items are not as easy as people think
▪ T-shirts cost about $12 each.
▪ Stickers about $0.50
▪ 3D models are about $20 to $25.
▪ This does not include shipping which can vary
worldwide
▪ Remember the 3 F’s
That $50 tier on Kickstarter with a t-shirt, 3d
figure and copy of the game may actually end
up COSTING you money. Don’t even get us
started on cost of printing art books!
9. HOW ELSE CAN I BE
SUCCESSFUL?
▪ Don’t try to develop a AAA title on a shoe
string budget … or at all
▪ Keep overhead low
▪ Don’t needlessly hire friends
▪ Be comfortable telling someone they aren’t
working out
▪ Be ok taking jobs on the side to pay bills
▪ Keep focused
▪ Don’t expect you will get a million sales
even with a big partner
▪ Utilize incubators and resources
▪ Removes many of the typical financial
roadblocks
▪ Will provide you interactions with investors,
discounted legal/accounting and everything
you need to startup outside of development
skills (but even then they will mentor you)
11. GAME DEVELOPER’S
COLLECTIVE
The Game Developer’s Collective provides empowerment to indies
through:
– Game development mentoring classes
– One on one individual mentoring
– Team based mentoring
– Special events
– Amazing co-working spaces
– Guest speakers
– Service discounts
– Discounted legal retainer
– Discounted legal as needed services
– Discounted accounting services
– Marketing assistance
– Project management mentoring
– Access to investors
– Help with presentation skills
– Connections to strategic partners
– Comprehensive business training programs
– Advisory boards and mentors
– Help with business etiquette
– And much more!
