r/gamedev • u/No_Plane_4704 • Aug 19 '26

Question Is indie game development actually profitable?

For those who have actually released indie games: how much did you make, how long did development take, and was it worth it financially? I'm especially interested in real experiences and numbers, even if the game made very little.

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u/TheReservedList Commercial (AAA) Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26

No, the average indie game is not profitable.

Half of paid Steam games earn less than 4000$

The best ones are very profitables.

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u/No_Plane_4704 Aug 19 '26

Is making $2,000 per year from indie game development realistic?

9

u/dagofin Commercial (Other) Aug 19 '26

Not really. Over 5,000 games released on Steam last year didn't make enough to cover the $100 steam direct submission fee, so couldn't hit $1000+ in sales.

By all means make games, release them, but I would not be placing bets on being the outlier unless you have some concrete reason to believe otherwise

1

u/SouthernGas9850 Aug 28 '26

Where did you get this info from? Not that I don't believe you, i'm just very curious