How much money do those of you who have released a game earn and the game?

[Netrom]

I am curious about how much there is to be earned on making the kind of games there can be found on this site.

I know, it depends on a lot of different factors like what kind of game it is, on how good/popular the game is, and that a game in its early development is less likely to make money, that a game there is well on its way, and it therefore is impossible to give a concrete answer, but please vote and share your experiences if you have any, you would like to share

 

[CardinalRed]

Less than minimum wage

 

[Impious Monk]

You're missing an option for those of who have invested way more money than we've earned.

 

[♍VoidTraveler]

Less than minimum wage

Depends on where you're from.

 

[Doorknob22]

Your poll's questions are completely irrelevant because you're not talking in objective numbers. 1000$ per month in one country can make a person live like a king while in another it's less than minimum wage.

 

[Atemsiel]

I'd make more money with a paper route than I do from my game, if you consider the money to workhours ratio. This definitely isn't something one should get into for the purpose of generating secondary income. 3 shifts working at McDonalds would earn more than I get each month from this, and I'm doing ok as far as I can tell. Luckily, it's a lot more fun to make dumb porn game than 3 shifts at McDonalds. (I assume.)

 

[CardinalRed]

Depends on where you're from.

Less than minimum wage in my country, even considering I live in a third world

 

[♍VoidTraveler]

Less than minimum wage in my country, even considering I live in a third world

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You poor poor third world human.
Maybe make better games then.

 

[Vanderer]

250$ a month, and growing. After 5 month, for my first VN, it's not bad. More than I anticipated. Note that it is before taxes and others costs.

I live in Belgium, so it is not enough to live from, far from it. I could not even pay for my rent if it was my only revenue. If I was from a third world country, it would be different.

Hourly? I don't track my hours, but I would earn more washing dishes. But then, I can't wash dishes in my boxers while drinking a trappist.

My game is made with Honey select and I had a decent PC before starting, so the investment was minimal, only the administrative fees for TVA, seting up as a independant, etc.

Now, I do it because it's fun for me to do. If I end up earning enough to reduce my main job to part-time or even go full-time dev in the future I would be happy, but I don't count on it.

In the meantime, I have fun, have met some really nice people (and a few assholes), and I make some money.

 

[Count Morado]

I am curious about how much there is to be earned on making the kind of games there can be found on this site.

I know, it depends on a lot of different factors like what kind of game it is, on how good/popular the game is, and that a game in its early development is less likely to make money, that a game there is well on its way, and it therefore is impossible to give a concrete answer, but please vote and share your experiences if you have any, you would like to share

Data break down and a spreadsheet from December for you to mine, should you so choose. https://f95zone.to/posts/9538063

TL;DR:

After two years,

• 6.5% (1 in 16) earn more than 4,000 USD per month
• 10.4% (1 in 10) earn more than 2,500 USD per month
• 20.3% (1 in 5) earn more than 1,000 USD per month
• 51.3% (1 in 2) earn more than 100 USD per month

48.7% (1 in 2) of developers earn less than 100 USD per month before taxes and other non-Patreon expenditures even after two years of working on their game.

 

[Gwedelino]

You're missing an option for those of who have invested way more money than we've earned.

THIS !

I know my situation is kind of special since I didn't release any game yet, but I invested in my project something like 7000 $ as of today and I know I will never make a profit out of it, since it would mean reaching a really high amount of support (living in a country with really high taxes doesn't help. Roughly 30 % of my income earned on through something like Patreon or Subscribstar won't even fall into my own pockets).

Luckily, I already had that in mind when starting my project + I have a well paying job + I'm only spending money I can afford to burn into this project.

Yeah, most people are either losing money or earning next to nothing while making porngames.

Sadly people only remember the "milkers".

 

[anne O'nymous]

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You poor poor third world human.
Maybe make better games then.

Try better.

The average wage you shown are all at least twice higher than the minimal wage he's talking about. And including the 49th creator in your graphteon screenshot would be enough to show a value below the US average wage ; there's six just limiting to the top 100.

 

[Just_Browsing1220]

THIS !

I know my situation is kind of special since I didn't release any game yet, but I invested in my project something like 7000 $ as of today and I know I will never make a profit out of it, since it would mean reaching a really high amount of support (living in a country with really high taxes doesn't help. Roughly 30 % of my income earned on through something like Patreon or Subscribstar won't even fall into my own pockets).

Luckily, I already had that in mind when starting my project + I have a well paying job + I'm only spending money I can afford to burn into this project.

Yeah, most people are either losing money or earning next to nothing while making porngames.

Sadly people only remember the "milkers".

What did you have to invest in to create your game?

 

[Gwedelino]

What did you have to invest in to create your game?

Mostly art. Sprites / Background / CGS
A bit of music / sound effects and voice acting too, but it's nothing compared to visual assets.

I'm making a niche game for the challenge itself, but since I'm a terrific artist (stickman figure level) I prefer to have artists helping me on my project.

Sure I could learn to draw from scratch but I'm more limited by time than money, so at the end it's better to hire someone to provide me the visual assets of my game, so I can use my time on everything else (writing / coding / planning / communication).