Making money from gamedev before releasing a game

[@adventuretuna]

Our team is divided into two. One team works on unethical and predatory casino games which makes a lot of money but is quite suffocating to work on and causes your creativity to rot and stagnate. The other team works on actual indie games we are passionate about, funded by the dirty casino money. This set up works quite well except all of us call the casino game the gulag 😂 because it is not fun working in that game.

[@boboayame2065]

I was going to ask if you work for Valve, but they don't make actual games

[@marielcarey4288]

I've heard a bit about these. Those casino machines make BANK. I cant remember the video but I saw someone animating some ugly gnomes(?) Really well in spine, it sure does look like the most mind numbing yet high quality stuff. Nobody actually wants to make that garbage, so the pay has to be good.

[@Drunkendrakon]

To me Gamedev is a hobby albeit a very expensive one. I just work full time and spend all my free time developing. There is no pressure to make money as it is just a part of my routine.

[@Qewbicle]

And it can be relaxing, even a bad version of your own can be more fun. It can be frustrating. But also more fulfilling.

[@Am3ricium]

Would like to add a little bit on assets, from personal experience, for people who think they could get thousands of sales per month: Market cap for assets are multiple orders of magnitude smaller than games. What this means is there is probably like a hundred of devs, who at the moment need stylized low poly vegetables for their game and willing to buy an asset, while on the other side, there are probably tens of thousands of gamers who would buy a farming game with stylized low poly art. So making 2$ game would overshadow making 20$ pack in this instance (not considering making actually okay game). You would need to target dozens and dozens of different niches with hundreds of your assets to make it a reliable income source, because your asset audience is 1) small per niche/genre; and 2) is ever shifting and evolving developer scene. One genre dies, another rises, new art style becomes popular, new tools come out, now people need some different assets, it is what it is. Building that over time could be much more work than making one (or even multiple) decent games. Not to mention some assets would inevitably become obsolete, partially invalidating your work. But it is, FOR SURE, is passive income, if you're determined enough to grow your asset catalog constantly and go wide, unlike gamedev, where you could sit in your niche, pump out games in same genre and be successful.

[@Mark97_5]

Hi I’ve been using Blender for about 1.5 years now and feel pretty confident in my skills. Recently, I’ve been thinking about selling game assets on platforms like Unity Asset Store, Unreal Marketplace, itch io, or even Gumroad. Fr your experience with this, is it still worth getting into this space in 2025? Is there still demand for quality assets, or is the market oversaturated? I’d love to hear about your experiences, advice, and any tips for standing out in such a competitive market. Thanks in advance!

[@SeanNoonan]

There's another type of game that works really well for early access - modular games. Games where modular chunks of the game can be added at a later date. That's how we've been doing it on SENTRY and it's been working pretty well.

[@timothybarela1305]

So basically expansion packs? Do you charge extra for each additional module?

[@SeanNoonan]

@@timothybarela1305 No additional charge. The game just gets bigger and is eventually complete.

[@BlackJar72]

I'm not sure I'll finish another game -- but I could sell the Castles & Dungeons assets I've made, having around 1500+ of them I should make a good pack.

[@arjaygames]

Step 1: Make a crappy adult game and patreon for it, releasing updates every six months Step 2: Use the funds to develop your own non-adult game Step 3: Profit.... maybe?!?

[@Ezcape0]

Lol kinda smart wonder if it'll work

[@OFFICIALjjbj2009]

Many of those adult games get abandoned once they've made a lot of money anyways

[@MalikFrost12]

Good plan, but you do run the risk of being blacklisted with this approach from working with businesses, other developers, and marketing opportunities. So it depends on your goals for this route.

[@Nubian_King_RNM]

Well, on the game asset front, yes, I agree the pool is small. Don't expect to make a killing. but experimenting with bringing a unique creative spin (i.e., setting, theme, etc) to the numerous cookie cutter assets that are available on the store could be a fun and low-cost way of making some pocket change and to understand market dynamics, feedback and to find underserved niches your games could fill in. Who knows your stabs in the dark. might get you that new laptop to code your game on.

[@EB-bl6cc]

yeah, I imagine it's more of a supplemental income thing. If you're working a 40 hr/week job and you have that going on the side you could potentially be a bit more comfortable

[@Nubian_King_RNM]

​@@EB-bl6cc Yeah, it's side hustle with the added benefits of you get to have some fun and be creative after a long weeks work and make some spare change from it. If it works out anyway.

[@davylyons5704]

Your vids are so cool and informative. I saw on a previous vid some idiots are stressing you guys out. Man, whatever you do, f**k rhe haters, they are definitely motivated by envy cos you guys are doing what you like and making the best game dev content on KZbin. It's like these people, they want your games to fail, but i think they're gonna be disappointed cos your approach will defo work, just look at Unicycle Pizza Time. There may be some misses but you'll learn from those and improve on the next one. I find it a refreshing and strangely exhilarating approach, and beats all the game dev vids where people are making the same game forever 😁🤣 Thanks man, i really appreciate you and your content 🙌❤️😁

[@Wineblood]

A decent government grant in Belgium? I find that hard to believe, the government is a mess.

[@Qewbicle]

I've always found what's easy for others is hard, and things I feel are easy, others say it's hard. I feel like 3d modeling and sculpting is easy. 2d hard. Vr standalone games and mechanics, easy, I can build a foundation and custom feature in a day or three (depending on scope). Regular PC, hard. 3:33 In the last month I've built five vr showcases. Yesterday, adult vr s*x simulator foundation with full customization. Making the animations will take time. But it's already poseable overlay ontop of animations, with physics. Sometimes it makes me want to collaborate. You (them whoever it is) take care of the thing you think is easy, I'll do the bit you think is hard. Since I own just barely over 780 unity store purchases, mostly premium, and I have Daz3d assets and interactive licensees, and I can model and sculpt. I feel like I bring a lot to the table. As long as it's not 2d.

[@ArksideGames]

Good wisdom 🙌

[@Tennishero]

We don’t get any government grants for creative projects here in the US. That’s why most indie game development studios like yours exist overseas or in Canada. It’s also why being an indie game developer is almost impossible here.

[@lifeartstudios]

out of curiosity, what do you suggest for a VR dev?

[@MichaelGabrielR]

I think your video is pretty informative, but that's for traditionally sold games. What short and long-term strategy should a developer of a free and open source (FoSS) game take instead?

[@Enterables]

Selling 3D assets? Sounds cool 😏

[@markoates9057]

It seems Gamdev is evolving into the way of music and other arts. It'll basically be a hobby for 99% of people unless you can position yourself under an "umbrella" of some sort that will fund your work. Great composers and artists of the past had to work under the monarchy.

[@channyh.221B]

Ikken eerst!!!

[@cristitanase6130]

How is it fair that some developers get taxpayer government funding and then they "compete" on the free market against the vast majority that got nothing? Isn't this blatant cheating? Isn't this what we accuse China of doing on EV market? How would the rest of the developers feel when they have to take out loans or work full time in order to pay for the development when they find out that a game surpasses them and takes the players and that game was funded by the government while the profits are kept by the developer that got the grants? It seems as a very unfair competition to me, even illegal in a free market capitalist society as we pretend the West to be.

[@AlHyckGaemsTAD]

Governments subsidize industries all the time. The idea behind it is intended to prop up industries domestically that aren't as well developed abroad. The United States had a long history of doing this during the early 1900's with steel, manufacturing, and railroad companies because they weren't as well developed as those abroad. They even continue to do this today for many businesses. Countries like Poland, China and others are currently doing this for games because they don't have as robust a games industry as Japan and the United States. The idea in this case is to create a cultural impact in the global market and capture a part of the market share abroad. Subsidization has always been a major tool of the government in supporting industries they are interested in for ideas of national security and GDP increases. The idea behind it is that instead of giving the government direct control over the business as a more authoritarian economy would be, they instead provide money to companies they believe have the best likelihood of success and ideas in the hopes that that business sector may thrive domestically.

[@cristitanase6130]

@@AlHyckGaemsTAD I am aware of this. But here is the main issue that you glanced over but it is the main issue still: What are the rest of the indie developers that are not getting any funds from governments supposed to do when their direct competitors, on a so called "free market capitalism" are literarily sponsored by the state using taxpayer money? Keep in mind that we're talking entertainment here. We're not talking about Agriculture that is necessary or everyone will starve, and we're not talking about critical Industry. Also, on the "sectors", like Agriculture, the government does not choose winners! The grants are public and are equal for every single farmer and often are based on the area of land they intend to use on a particular type of agricultural product or, in case of husbandry, per animal head. But not all Indie Game Developers get an equal starting grant, do they? So, once again. The government's actions have a drastic and toxic effect on the market, basically picking winners and offering some teams a immense benefit against the rest. What should the rest do? Because clearly they cannot compete with the might of the Government and all its taxpayer's money that the competition will use to make a better quality product that then will dominate the "free market" and destroy everyone else?

[@AlHyckGaemsTAD]

@cristitanase6130 I honestly don't see it as that much of an issue, in the video and every other instance of this occurring that I've heard of there are generally strict guidelines and requirements that need to be met before receiving government subsidization. These requirements likely have some impact on the effective launch and financial viability of the games in the first place. More over it hasn't seemed like government funded game devs have been more successful than private practices. The most successful and well known developers and titles all seem to be without government support. I just don't see this as that much of an issue. From what I can tell game studios and the games industry have been doing rather well whether in the long term. And again, the government subsidization isn't like corporate profits so free market practices are maintained as the government (at least in the west) doesn't own the studio or the IP.

[@xyz38q68]

I don't see why this matters at all lol, you should be glad your government sees game development as something of value and is willing to invest into the industry to see it grow - the idea of 'cheating' on the free market is absurd - no one has ever been on equal terms for anything at all - ever.

[@cristitanase6130]

@@xyz38q68 What part of unfair advantage to a direct competitor you have a difficult time to get? Also is not my government! And it's not helping the industry grow, it's helping a few select favorites win a lot of money! Why is so hard to get that a Free Market is no longer Free if some of the competitors are above the rest? Also, these competitors are for-profit! The government takes money from everyone, then picks a few favorites, and gives them our money helping them start ten loops ahead in the race. Then, when they win the race, as they have just half the course to compete for, they get to keep all the gains! They don't share with the public who's taxes they spent! There is not an investor that they have to pay back! There is not a bank that they need to pay interests on top of the loan! They have not risked their home to get funding. They get tp win against everyone, keep all the profits, and all this because they got help from a state entity using public taxpayer funds. Why are we even complaining about China when this kind of anti-market actions take place right here in the West? Also don't praise the governments that give handouts to a select few, ignoring the needs of everyone else. Is not like we don't need money! Is not like only they need it! Once again. What about the rest of us? Why should we pay everything from our pockets when those guys get free money for nothing? (btw, they select just a handful of developers each year, everyone else gets zero).