How much money can you make with RPG Maker?

[@LvLUpDesign]

You know what would be really cool? If you scrolled back up and hit that like button! It really helps youtube get my videos out to more people. And if you really love what I do then consider subscribing as well!

[@Crehalen]

ok I never hit likes but gave you one. congrats you unlocked an achievment

[@MichaelR1975]

I have wanted to make my own game since I was a little kid in the 80s. I have a degree in game and web design but going at it solo can be tough. I have used unity and unreal and a few other game engines all great engines but can be overwhelming. But since I found RPG maker and your tutorials I may actually be able to accomplish my goal and not take a decade to do it. Not mention bringing back memories and making a game like the ones I played as a kid.

[@myckeli]

I got a tiny bit obsessed with the idea of making a game, bought RMMZ, and over the last three or so days I've spent over 20 hours working on it, both in MZ and outside (planning, learning etc). Like 7 ish hours of work ago I decided I wanted to make completely custom tiles from scratch because I get too nervous with crediting and doing it right. So far I've done the walls and tested them in game so I know what edits need to be done. I've made a looong list of all the assets I need to make. At least I'm slowly getting better at pixel art 😅

[@CirrowProductions]

How did the game designing go?

[@loutrechan8332]

Sometimes I have sudden urges to make a whole game, it calm down after a week, and sometimes if I clkm down and write my ideas, and make a plan, after weeks I finish the game lol

[@laze_bean5869]

Please tell what happened to the game

[@myckeli]

@@laze_bean5869 i was obsessed for about a week and then i forgot about it until i saw your comment 😂😂😂

[@laze_bean5869]

@@myckeli 😂😂

[@beardalaxy]

As far as Corpse Party goes, that game was also originally released in 1996. It has definitely made way more than $170,000 and that metric only comes from 4 years of it being on Steam at the current price it is on sale for (it's normally $15). What's crazy about To The Moon is that it also uses a LOT of RTP assets. I have always looked up to Kan Gao as a game designer since playing The Mirror Lied, years before To The Moon came out. I don't think it is quite the most popular RPG Maker game, though. Corpse Party is a pretty big contender for that, considering its multiple spin-offs and its own freakin' anime. Most people don't even know it was made in RPG Maker but know of it. If you're into horror games you'll definitely know what it is. Ao Oni I would say is a pretty big one too, despite not being a commercial game. Another big RPG Maker game would be Yume Nikki, but I don't think as many people know about that one as they do To The Moon, Corpse Party, or Ao Oni. Great video nonetheless! Selling RPG Maker games is definitely a viable thing to do if you can make ones that are of good quality! :) Even just putting a donate button on the game's page, I think some people would be surprised at how much money they'd actually get if their game was made well.

[@LvLUpDesign]

Agreed, and yeah, Corpse party has definitely made much more money than $170,000. I was just trying to limit this video to just the steam sales. If we're talking about the Brand of Corpse Party, it has probably easily grossed more than To the Moon. Big reason I made this video is because I know there are a lot of people that crap all over RPG maker saying it's not a real engine, I just wanted to show those of us faithful ones that, it's not about the engine, it's about how you use it. I mean, cmon, how many unity games are out there that suffer the same issue as RPG maker games!

[@pc1548]

This sure lifted my spirits, thank you!

[@NotOG_]

Congrats on 1k subs! 1mil coming soon :)! just keep going and don't stop! My wishes with you :>

[@LvLUpDesign]

Thank you so much!! Won't be long before I overtake PewDiePie :P

[@NotOG_]

@@LvLUpDesign That's The Spirit! XD

[@mystic0]

The video was creative, encouraging, informative, unique, and useful. Keep going!

[@shaynemc7533]

I’ll be sure to get in touch with you when my game reaches a prologue stage of development. It’s going to be drastically different. Custom Art is really slow to knock out though.

[@mors_mirabilis]

OMG thank you again! I have sketched and made so much pixel art for my project, but I still have some doubts...like, I haven't bought the programme itself yet, and I'm kinda scared that I won't master it... But your channel gives me confidence! thank you SO much!

[@ViceRoze]

You will it’s hella easy

[@killeak999]

Hi, from France. thx for the motivational message, hope it's still relevant even more today.

[@ahmedtaraque]

Congrets on 1k subs. :)

[@LvLUpDesign]

Thank you so much 😀 It's been a lot of work and it's all thanks to you and all of the other people who love the videos I make.

[@DoubleXP76]

I have to say this was a wow and that some are done with one dev, like I am trying to do... In reality I couldn’t imagine even selling the game I’m working on for 9.99 or even 14.99. For me I was thinking 4.99 - 6.99 lol! I would be happy if I sold 1000 - 500 copies lol! Keep up the great video; I would love to see how to make custom tilesets :)

[@LvLUpDesign]

That's a big video, and definitely on the content list!

[@DrugzMunny]

Pricing it somewhere between 4.20 and 6.9 would be sensible.

[@DoubleXP76]

@@DrugzMunny of course why didn’t I think of that 🤣🤣 KEKW

[@GTSN38]

Imagine a 99 cent game. You'd probably outsell every other game, because people would just buy it for being so cheap.

[@SilasRobinson]

Thank you. Great motivation. Much appreciated 🙏

[@PchipsPresents]

Truly inspirational. Well done, and thank you!

[@jamicassidy7955]

Quite a nice video, thank you. Even with all the RTP made-in-two-months garbage games out there, we can strive for a truly enjoyable game and a nice bonus being potential financial support.

[@multigrainpasta8943]

Dude, congratulations on your 1k subs!! I've been watching your videos for a while now and look forward to many more in the future!

[@LvLUpDesign]

Thanks a ton! All the support for this channel is amazing!

[@Kyleology]

The actual revenue would be much less for all these games. Steam takes a 30%, most post- launch game sales are heavily discounted, and many of those copies owned are not sales, like To the Moon which had a lot of copies handed out through bundles.

[@1stimemoments996]

I remember when you had 100 subs lol great work man

[@LvLUpDesign]

Thanks man! The supports been great!

[@soldier8424]

Wtf i didnt even watch his sub count, If i didnt know anybetter i would say he has at least a couple 100k subs. That was a very well made video.

[@davidcaruso2517]

Can't tell you how useful and encouraging your videos are. Thank you!

[@krabanlo-la5229]

Thanks you for these sweet words 👊🏽🔥🔥

[@farbencut]

Congrats on 1k Subs! **Creative text congratulating You**

[@LvLUpDesign]

🥳Thanks Farben! You have witnessed only the beginning!

[@xiliangyao]

ok,我點讚了，我希望能夠跟你還有那些卓越的獨立遊戲製作人一樣忠實自己

[@LvLUpDesign]

你能行的！继续！

[@xiliangyao]

@@LvLUpDesign wow！謝謝你的鼓勵！我正在觀看你的視頻學習RPG maker MZ

[@LvLUpDesign]

@@xiliangyao 棒極了！我希望您學習此軟件，並講一個您想講的故事！

[@polen2077]

it's funny how this video was made just before the release of omori, which sold over 1.4 million units and was also made using rpg maker

[@unitexconquer375]

Wonderful video, thank you for making it.

[@SadTown99]

OMORI (Which I believe grew more popular than To The Moon) has sold over 1,500,000 copies at $19.99 … So yea … even if you cut that number lower than half + subtract sale/marketing/etc percentages, that’s still an insane profit.

[@TF2_VI]

To the moon is a banger

[@blindedjourneyman]

my plans a simple one, get afew games out to get a feel for the engine, slowly replace the default assets and the assets im borrowing with ones ive done on my own, Then once theres a bit of respect, I try to make something n sell it reasonable on price. like 50¢ cause im just one guy and I aint making the next mona lisa tho I wish I had the skill. but that goal is a LONG way off, thank you for the encouragement and guides.

[@marb_rebel4532]

The witches house teddy bear gave me ptsd

[@mangaexperts]

Actually the witch's house already had a manga and the manga ends where the game starts

[@scattysmall5734]

The last minute made me hit the like button XD. "pls, hit the like button, hit the like button. do it!" XD Lol. Love your videos, btw :)

[@scholes8734615]

Hi, thank you for sharing this video. I am wondering if the number of sales includes those from all regions. Game pricing on steam in North America and Europe is high, yet it is lower in other countries or regions, for instance, Russia and China, Southeast Asia, South America etc. Maybe the revenues will be lower than those shown in this video.

[@LvLUpDesign]

Hi Chester, it's more than likely games are priced differently by region. This doesn't even take into account games that go on sale for 25% off. That's why I went with the lowest sales estimates with steamspy, because unless the game devs release the numbers themselves. Steamspy is all we have to go off.

[@scholes8734615]

@@LvLUpDesign Thanks for your reply sir. Your explanation makes sense. I didn’t get your thoughts at the beginning now I get it :)

[@DrugzMunny]

Man. I wonder how much more I have to change my game before it can make a million dollars. Having a million dollars would be nice.

[@PRDGL_WindyBW]

This video was uploaded on my birthday lol

[@xCalamityGames]

I'm new to RPG maker. I'll be happy to sell even 10 copies of my game. I just want people to like my product and to come back for more.

[@GarryGri]

It does happen! Even just sticking a game up on itch with no to minimal advertising can garner sone sales. The game I knocked together whilst teaching myself to use RPG maker even made money on twitch! Not a lot, but something. I've been working on my first real attempt on-and-of for the last couple of years, and am just getting around to completing and polishing it up just now. It's the promotion part that gets me.

[@xCalamityGames]

@@GarryGri thank you for sharing. I'm in the middle of making a fighting game in UE5. I'm having do much fun I love it.

[@gj1234567899999]

Great message man! BTW, how much money have those rpgmaker H game ones made? There seem to be a lot on steam. Also for your earnings I would make conservative estimate again that half were bought on sale at half off. So cut 25% off those estimates. Still would love to make any money at all from the game I am working on!

[@LvLUpDesign]

RPG Maker horror games are pretty common, but If you can make a good one they do very well, like Corpse Party for example. They had anime adaptations, sequels and everything.

[@HyperNova137]

Holy cow... But how much money, on average, goes into the production and distribution of these games? I've barely touched RPG MAKER yet, and certainly haven't finished anything, but what kind of costs go into finishing one and getting them out to the public? I'm imagining things such as copyright / licensing, perhaps hiring someone with a bit more professional programming skills to review and clean up your game's code, etc, things like that... And does ALL of the revenue go directly to the person who made the game? Any cuts going to other involved parties for distributing it?

[@LvLUpDesign]

Good question! The cost of making an RPG maker game depends on the scope of it but you're probably looking between $10,000+ if you're outsourcing work. in regards to distribution, Steam specifically takes 30% of revenue. Ideally you would also want to have a marketing budget as well so you could email blast and video blast you're game to people. Marketing budgets can vary depending on ROI and market cap. So to answer your question, before overheads, the creator receives 70% revenue, and then minus any overheads.

[@HyperNova137]

@@LvLUpDesign Sounds about right, compared to what I heard in another recent video of some guy who managed to make and sell a 3D game in a few years, using the ridiculously small amount of free time he had while working his job and taking care of his family... But the video was strongly emphasizing how much effort he put into marketing and getting everybody hyped up over it, which he was busy doing for a long time before the game was ever released. I don't think he addressed the split from distribution though -- 30% is a pretty good chunk, so I guess you'd need to make around $30,000 in sales just to break even on that investment!

[@LvLUpDesign]

@@HyperNova137 Yeah, a lot of devs are really unhappy with the 30% split. That's what all those devs are trying to market their own launchers.

[@CleosetricVlyers]

I am begin my journey in rpgmaker game dev since 2013. I never make money from game. I kinda want to sell one.

[@xno_elysiumx3744]

If i'm using tilesets from RPG Maker, do i have to worry about copyrights? Or are these license free?

[@LvLUpDesign]

You can use them with RPG maker programs but no other engines

[@eslamel-deeb3084]

Thank you good sir

[@JuhstGoh]

Thanks bro

[@JvsEvil]

Where can a person buy RPG maker mz , excluding on steam

[@LvLUpDesign]

You can get it right from their website. www.rpgmakerweb.com/

[@JvsEvil]

@@LvLUpDesign thank you so much :)

[@PulkitSingh]

I have a video request! whenever you can, I have looking at a lot of plugin sets (core+extensions) to use with my first rpg maker game, 2 that I like are VisuStella and CGMZ. Now I havent worked on RPG Maker at all before so I am not able to make an objective opinion about these sets. Can you please make a series/video about these, reviews or maybe self scripted alternatives. I really want to include some systems like quest bars, occupation, etc but idk if I really need to spend a lot of money on sets like VisuStella or is free sets like CGMZ good enough

[@LvLUpDesign]

Hey Pulkit, I definitely have plans to do some VisuStella plugin reviews. I have a huge list of videos I still have to make.

[@HydraulicSandwich]

So 100% of the money from a purchase of the game goes to the creator? Does steam take any % for hosting it?

[@LaCrownedGamer]

They take about 30 percent initially, but the more copies of a game sold the less they will take to stay competitive.

[@samuelchai1716]

我听说steam upload游戏非常困难，是真的吗？

[@LvLUpDesign]

不，我相信它的价格是100美元。而且必须得到批准。

[@Exvalcore]

Your unlikely to get 275 downloads a day at 14$ your not going to be hitting 1million dollars by the end the year after release. Aiming for 27 a day downs is more simple thats 10,000 copies a year vs 100k then aim higher for year 2, however if your going to make a lot of sells in the first year your going have to release early access & with a ton of updates for the up coming year with almost certain sequels. Thats means you push for sells are hard as you can & entice your potential buyers/investors with the knowledge the game will become absolutely filled to the brim with never ending content, & that they themselves are the feedback machine that drives what type of content within that game will be made, you want more on map combat, post your feedback about it on the steam discussion board, more npcs/quests... discuss more animated front facing battlers, sure I'd get right on that... extra zones to explore, more side quests, NEXUS MODS, KZbin videos, you name I'll do it, & all while hinting at Arc 2 of 6, that this first game was only part 1. Start with a free game demo, Then for 7.25$ you get to beta test, & if you like what you see you upgrade to the full version which receives updates for the additional 7.25$, mostly free dlcs, as Arc 2 is where you charge an addition 7.25$ as it will be basically a stand alone game thats interconnected with the first game, & just like arc 1 updates galore... EASY MONEY if people like the gameplay loop of exploration, & combat, with lite story thats Typical Tropey RPG Story Plot, aka I'm not the best writer in the world, if my/your game sells well enough you should definitely hire so extra help in the departments that your aren't that great in or to just manage your time/content release cycle. More content will drive more purchases. MY games releasing New Years, Jan 1st will do exactly whats described as above, I really up everyone enjoys that, mid way development, early access, a year & a half so far spent working on it, & plenty of room for evolving into a top contender for best or rather ultimate RPG Maker of all time, well with helpful feedback & people that care about the Retro RPG Scene.

[@LvLUpDesign]

WOW. You've really thought through your sales plan! That's awesome! I can't wait to see how it goes!

[@Exvalcore]

@@LvLUpDesign The Rpg Maker has a bad rep, but content is king, quality is 50/50 you can only expect so much from a solo/small group of friends working on a game in their free time, no reason to bash a person who puts in the work, which has always been my stance, give a game fair shake watch/read reviews & then decide for yourself.

[@WorldAquariumSingapore]

Coolests thkss

[@setokaiba6758]

I'm hoping to make money off the game I'm building. Hoping zombies and time travel can mesh well enough.

[@LvLUpDesign]

You can make a game about anything and it can be sucsessful. The important thing is it needs to stand out. Art, Systems, Music and Hype. You need to be able to convince people to spend money on your game with your marketing efforts and there are so many videos out there on how to build hype and market your game.

[@lunathegamer]

And then my game is only going to make $5 because it’ll only get one sale :(

[@joshuaevans7386]

This is a little late since I just came across your comment 3 months after you originally posted but don't sell yourself short. I play a lot of rpg maker games and even if the game uses all of the original art and tiles if it has a good story line and can keep me interested I'll buy it.

[@OsinakiKun]

My guy you look like Elon Musk

[@buennyo]

XD