Okay I'm here because I'm about to release my third game on Friday and I'm distracting myself from the pre-launch anxiety (yes that doesn't fully go away) by rambling on reddit for a bit.

Before we get started, all the figures here are gross revenue. I'm super happy with how these games performed, but don't think I got all the pie. There are publisher cuts, steam cuts, tax etc to take into consideration.

First Game - Zapling Bygone (Metroidvania)

Quit my job in early 2021 - Made a demo for my first game and ran a kickstarter in April.
Raised $15k, released the full game in August 2022. Self published on PC.

Costs were super low for this as I made the majority of the game while living in the cupboard of my mums 1 bedroom flat (literally a cupboard, only fitted a raised bed and a homemade desk below it, with no window).

Wishlists at launch ~15k (Can't remember exactly)

Gross Revenue of first game to date (including kickstarter, and a console publishing deal) ~$45k

Initial sales were low so I jumped right into development of my second game.

Second Game - Heretic's Fork (Tower defence - Bullet Heaven - Deckbuilder)

Made a prototype in a month or two before a publisher reached out who knew me from my first title, secured a deal for $50k to develop second title. The cost of the prototype was also covered by a UK gov grant.

Released a year later (Sep 2023)
Wishlists at launch ~70k (Can't remember exactly)

Gross Revenue >$1m (Yes, this blew my mind too. Remember though, gross, not profit)

Jumped straight into third game, but took things slowly for the first 6 months honestly.

Third Game - My Little Life (Jan 2025) (Desktop idler)

Releasing in 5 days. Taking into consideration the slow development in the first few months, this is like a years development.

Wishlists ~30k
Gross Revenue (Who knows, not me)

Okay now stuff that I think is important to know, or advice I'd give myself.

1. See what games are marketable before committing to making them. Focus on a genre that has strong sales and find a hook.
2. Publishers aren't the devil, but they aren't amazing either. If you have strong wishlists or think you can get them easily (see marketable game) AND you have the finds to make the game yourself, then self publish.
3. There is no shame in keeping gamedev as a hobby, I honestly enjoyed it more when it wasn't my full time job. This is still the best job ever for me so I don't regret it, but if you can be happy in another industry and still have fun with gamedev as a hobby, go for it. The failure rate in this industry is high.
4. Nearly every solo developer has help in some way, either via other devs, hiring capsule artists, friends who help playtest, other game designers that give advice.
5. Asset packs are your friend. It's a great way of reducing costs. PLAYERS DON'T KNOW OR CARE. Doesn't mean that you should make your game generic, but if you can get assets for way cheaper than making them yourself then go for it.
6. Make small games, swallow your pride and make games that are likely to sell well without massive development time and budgets. If you don't want to do this then refer back to 3.
7. Playtest constantly and as early as possible. This is great both for motivation and to ensure the game resonates with players & isn't a buggy mess.
8. The game will never be finished in your head. Players don't know what you originally had planned. Polish it, ship it.
9. Make friends. Succeed together. Help other devs, promote each other. You can't do this alone, and why would you want to.
10. Spend less time designing and thinking and more time developing. (maybe this is a persona thing) but I one of the reasons I make games quickly is because I just keep trying things and throwing away what doesn't work. If a new feature takes more than a days development to get the first iteration working, I generally won't even add it.

Let me know if you have questions and stuff.
Keep making cool shit.