I guess you missed the repeated posts explaining that this had
already become an abandoned game? The dev himself
You must be registered to see the links
on his Patreon posts.
You are absolutely right that being a dev is a tougher thing than people think (or fail to think). Far too many think that developing a game will be an easy way to make money. Such a belief is almost certain to end in disappointment and failure. For some of the reasons you pointed out above, and others.
You chances of success are not down to hard work. No matter how many hours you work, how hard, or what you invest, none of those make a bad investment pay off. And every bad investment the world has ever known was made by someone who
thought it was a good investment.
Your chances of success are not down to how good
you think your story or game or art is. Nobody bothered to release a game they didn't think was great and going to make money. Most were wrong. Even the biggest games studios, employing some of the most successful game designers, devs, artists, and marketers they can, get it wrong more often than they get it right. With all their data and experience. Customer polls, feedback, prior data, and even employing people with a proven track record of success don't change the fact that even the biggest studios produce more failed games than hits, by a considerable margin.
And that is precisely why anyone doing this for money is a bloody fool. If you want money, go get a job with a salary. If you want to take a gamble that may pay off, go to a bookies and place some bets.
Making a game, writing a book, or creating art, is best left to those who simply 'need' to do it. They can't always say why, but it is just that it expresses something - says something they need to say. They don't care that the odds are it won't be a commercial success. They don't care whether it attracts a huge audience. They just know they want, and somehow need, to do it. Those always succeed, because just producing the thing
is their true measure of success.