actually, alot of those games start as some idea, which then grown into some side project while the creators live their "normal life" having a job and whatnot. some use patreon more or less as a platform to introduce their project and "get the word out", and why not, make a few bucks if someone is interested. the money along with the issues tend to grow over time. more patrons more money, maybe more time to spend on developing, bigger project, it's a spiral. i know of the occasional guy explicitely declaring "i do't charge, this is a tip jar" for a while. i think he later hired someone and ofc had to pay that person.
if a project grows to the size and quality of FET, there's a rather large amount of time to put into, and that can interfere wiht the time you have for a job, or family, or hobbies. hm, maybe that's what started the down slope for cbob. just a guess.