How much MONEY my Game made (and how much it cost!)

🎮 Play the game! cmonkey.co/dinkyguardians
❤️ I really hope you like it! Please write a review with your thoughts, thanks!
🌍 The Assets I used assetstore.unity.com/lists/di...
❤️ Watch my FREE Complete Course • Learn Unity Beginner/I...
🌍 Get my Complete Courses! ✅ unitycodemonkey.com/courses
👍 Learn to make awesome games step-by-step from start to finish.
🎮 Get my Steam Games unitycodemonkey.com/gamebundle
🔴 RELATED VIDEOS 🔴
Announcing my Steam game! (How I calculate Goals for SUCCESS - Dinky Guardians) • Announcing my Steam ga...
How much MONEY did my Indie Game make? Battle Royale Tycoon (Steam) • How much MONEY did my ...
How to SURVIVE as a Game Dev for a DECADE! (Over $1,000,000 Revenue!) • How to SURVIVE as a Ga...
How the Steam Algorithm Works! (Indie Game Devs NEED to know) • How the Steam Algorith...
Quick Sales Numbers Reveal! (Steam First Week Revenue) • Quick Sales Numbers Re...
Day in the Life of a Game Dev and KZbinr • Day in the Life of a G...
💬 My game has been out for a month, here's how much money it made.
I'm going to showcase both revenue as well as what were the costs involved in making of the game, how much I value my time, how much I spent on artists, musicians, translators and assets.
This has been a fun 7 months journey, I hope that by following along it has inspired you on your own game dev journey to complete your games!
🌍 Get Code Monkey on Steam!
👍 Interactive Tutorials, Complete Games and More!
✅ store.steampowered.com/app/12...
See you next time!
- Website: unitycodemonkey.com/
- Twitter: / unitycodemonkey
- Steam: store.steampowered.com/develo...

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

💬 My game has been out for a month, here's how much money it made and how much it cost! 🎮 Play the game! cmonkey.co/dinkyguardians ❤ I really hope you like it! Please write a review with your thoughts, thanks! 🌍 The Assets I used assetstore.unity.com/lists/dinky-guardians-assets-used-6872546705418?aid=1101l96nj&pubref=dgfirstmonth 🔴 RELATED VIDEOS 🔴 Announcing my Steam game! (How I calculate Goals for SUCCESS - Dinky Guardians) kzbin.info/www/bejne/poaom2mPaparZs0 How much MONEY did my Indie Game make? Battle Royale Tycoon (Steam) kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2jGqH2nq9aSfNE How to SURVIVE as a Game Dev for a DECADE! (Over $1,000,000 Revenue!) kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZenZYCDe8iYmKc How the Steam Algorithm Works! (Indie Game Devs NEED to know) kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6qyaYKkmLmarZY Quick Sales Numbers Reveal! (Steam First Week Revenue) kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGncdXmnmtJmm5I

[@CODEUM_UZ]

The link to the assets doesn't work.

[@sylvaind]

+1

[@PotatoManager420]

Hi Codemonkey, I downloaded your project with lobby sample. I tried it remake it myself as well as copy and use yours. One thing I couldn't implement - is how to auto kick player from lobby if player suddenly looses connection or crashes. Do you know how to do it? Have you done in your other videos? It would be really helpfull for my project

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

​@@CODEUM_UZ Yeah it seems yesterday the Asset store broke down, seems to be working now

[@DevSquirrelGaming]

the advise you give is great. I just lunched my Kickstarter Campaign way to soon with a high goal but you talk about many points im working out at this moment. - STILL RUNNING - my game has been free so far. Id love your feedback and help! -jake

[@trek1016]

I love how transparent you are with all of your development and life. Thank you for always sharing this information! As a hobby game dev myself, it is great to see how things actually work out vs. the "What if". And your instruction videos have been invaluable, granted my games are both mobile only. Anyway! Thanks again for the great content!

[@FuryProject]

I feel really bad knowing how far every dev has to go in order to sell his game, just after he does insane amount of work. I mean even if you make an outstanding game, it won't just go instantly popular...

[@mrfatuchi]

Why? You people overrate these games. No offense but a game wont succeed because its just not that good. I am aspiring game dev myself and I have been at it for few years yet I still havent put anything out there because I simply havent developed anything really original or polished. I frequent gamedev and Unity forums alot and majority of the stuff presented is already done rehashed stuff and certainly only fraction is outstanding to you use your word. You should be grateful the market treats these as they do which means if you truly develop something good it will spread and sell. There is no way you develop something outstanding and it flops completely.

[@garryguan7115]

Demand for your game genre plays a huge part.

[@PatrickCreations]

@@mrfatuchi you do really show your ignorance about the argument, I suggest you to read a post about how to make a hit with your indie game, building just a polished and fun game is NOT ENOUGH.

[@joeman123964]

​​@@PatrickCreationswell keep in mind there were a decent amount of purchasers who loterally stated they bought the game NOT to play, but to support. this youtube channel is the reason of why it sold over 1k. (which lets be honest, 7 months of labor is NOT worth 14k....you'd be homeless in america and great britian) also lets be honest, this dev doesn't NEED to sell games. he just does it for fun. the other commentor was talking about doing it for a living etc. you know codemonkey's main revenue stream is most likely youtube. which codemonkey does an excellent job on this channel and is loved. he is a smart business man imo.

[@arcday4281]

@@mrfatuchi It all depends on the contingent of players...if they are underdeveloped, then they will play the corresponding degenerative games (for example, porn games clearly do not make a person better)!

[@jasugun00]

As a full time programmer in a video game companty, I commend your discipline and dedication to make and release your own stuff from start to finish; and manage to make a living out of it. Cheers.

[@jensenraylight8011]

But that was brutal, even begging on the street with zero skill gave you more money. even after all of that pocket change earnign, the tax, electricity, utilities, foods, aren't even included yet having all of that knowledge, degree and skills, yet you're earning less than a beggar. and i know a lot of worser game than his game

[@moose6459]

@@jensenraylight8011 Well he makes up for that on income from this channel. Unfortunately he seems stuck on limiting art to what he himself can handle, which is a big limiting factor for getting people to buy a game

[@sebandres]

So refreshing to see how transparent you are Hugo on your endeavours. It really helps the community and aspiring game devs with some real and down to earth insights rather than sensationalist videos about success/expectations in making games.

[@MatthewMagued]

bro, you are far way better than most humans I know, maybe that's not a standard But for me and others as well I think you are an Inspiring role model. Thank you CodeMonkey for doing what you love and not caring too much about money You are a real human❤❤❤ Right now I can't support you financially cuz I live In a country with an economy that is about to collapse .But When I can I will

[@arcday4281]

Are you from Africa or Russia or South America ? I think so)))

[@MatthewMagued]

@@arcday4281 yes I am from Egypt

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@sametcicek8160]

I think Turkey :d@@arcday4281

[@autist1cvoice]

Or Ukraine@@arcday4281

[@davidwusoftdev]

It's really cool following the whole journey for your project and finally seeing the tangible results. Thank you for sharing!

[@xrqton]

Man you're a great source of inspiration, congrats for shipping your game. So happy for your achievement !

[@McBritish]

You continue to inspire me to work on my own projects! Thanks as always for not only the valuable tutorials, but for the real life insight. Early congratulations on 500k, you certainly have earned it :)

[@pedrohertz]

I can totally relate with your perspective on money and opportunity costs. I'm also in Portugal, having low costs really helps to pursue careers impossible elsewhere. Let me know if you ever need a sound designer. Keep up the good work.

[@hipunpun]

Thanks for being transparent about everything, really helps those interested in the field to have grounded expectations

[@aminrezaie976]

really enjoyed how much you went in depth of every cost and gains, not only money but also your happiness about the thing you wanted to do. this is what i'm kind of struggling with but the points you made were very understandable. great video as always ❤

[@HackHeyner]

Your work continues to be a great inspiration to us all!

[@smirelesz]

Thank you for being so transparent and willing to share your experience to cast out any speculation or wild dreams that might be around us indie devs. I'm so happy for you to know that you are doing what you like and you can afford a living. Not only professional but you seem like a healthy and happy person. Much respect and admiration. Saludos y gracias!

[@lew.bow.studios]

Thanks for making this video! I was feeling quite demoralized after my game got no wishlists but hearing you talk about your journey and goals cheered me up and Im gonna go back at it and keep trying! Thank you for being such a great source of inspiration!

[@gfujigo]

Out of curiosity, did you have adds? Why do you think it had no wishlists? Thanks and keep ya head up and keep at it. Don’t feel bad. Many folks with tons of success started off with rejections.

[@lew.bow.studios]

@@gfujigo Heya, nope, I didn't get any adds or anything like that, just posted about it on some dev discords and the rest of the impressions were from steam traffic but barely any of them converted into wishlists so its probably my steam page that's not as good as it should be :(

[@ZiberianDev]

Hey Code Monkey I really appreciate the transparency. Especially towards the end where you talked about pure $ vs. enjoyment in life is I think a severely overlooked point. After seeing your day in the life video it looks like you have a great balance, you enjoy life & you get to do what you really want while being able to afford it. Now that is a great goal to strive towards, cheers!

[@_stephenhubbard]

Really appreciate the transparent look into something like this! Super helpful, so thank you!

[@NicTheThicc]

Thank you for sharing your insights so transparently! Watching your videos recently makes me actually feel like I might have a grasp on what to expect from my game - even though I do know that it's impossible to actually calculate it. Also congrats on reaching your goals with Dinky Guardians! That's big & very well deserved!

[@Ironroc]

I always love these breakdowns and you did a great job of going through it bit by bit. Thanks!

[@mohitgangrade351]

I've been watching your videos for a long time. I'm really happy to see that you're working on things you like, and making a living that you're happy with. It's really inspiring to see that.

[@piratemin_vr]

This is so useful, thank you for being so transparent!

[@pole]

Thanks for being so transparent! Also, seeing your perspective on money and making games was refreshing, you reminded me that you don't have to make a hit, you can just make games!

[@Atenvardo]

Awesome video, and as usual, thank you for always being so open and transparent with videos like this! It really is helpful, can’t wait for your next game.

[@YasserSedrati]

So much clear and transparent information dropped. Thank you! And am happy that you are satisfied with your results.

[@adammed8667]

I really love your transparency, it is so inspiring. I hope one day will be able to do as you are doing. Free life, work for myself, and care more about enjoying life, rather than piling money for no reason.

[@Teckstudio]

Wow! 🤩A very deep and honst explanation of all the financial stuff around your game. I really do love these kind of videos. Keep on going!

[@averagecagemain]

Transparency! Thank you very much!❤

[@skippy5652]

First, Thanks for showing how your game is doing! To me as a solo indie dev Its amazing to see the numbers in action and what you should do to hedge your bets. Just seeing that you can make 2k a month is amazing since I'm pretty much living on nearly that in the UK so this makes my dream as a VR developer even more interesting (I know VR is a niche but growing industry).

[@rouven-gamedev6447]

Thanks for being so transparent, very insightful! Keep up the good work!

[@MoonGameDev]

Showing off which assets you used was a hidden gem in this video. I always use your promo code when I get assets too. The 10% off is nice

[@JustBitsAndPieces]

Transparency and the honesty is why I like you , love the channel in 2023 like the first time I found it ❤

[@allaboutpaw9396]

Thank you for your honest opinion and game development feedback. I agree with your opinion. Please continue your amazing work.

[@chaelandrade]

I'm happy for you man, you achieved your goals and kept your life balanced. Another profit that you have is the impact that you make in many people's lives.

[@mattrobb3566]

Thanks, another excellent video. Your clarity and honesty about the realities of Game Development are truly inspirational. I think you do an exemplary job of keeping your costs down. I make educational 'games' for children, they can cost me £10K to £20K to make and sadly only 1 in 5 actually makes a profit in the first 2 years! I too have learned that using selective assets can help reduce costs. Good luck with your sales.

[@toprogress]

Thank you for being so transparent and sharing your opinion with us!

[@Cohlrabi]

These videos have become some of my favorite to watch, keep up the good work! Wishlisted forsure.

[@Jordan-rh5rm]

Thank you for your complete transparency, this was a great video :) best of luck with all your future games

[@QuangNguyen-lf4lu]

Thank you for your video. Your videos are always inspiring me a lot to keep working on my solo gamedev journey.

[@Mudtek]

Great video. Many thanks for the honesty and complete transparency of your whole project!

[@ArmandCloud]

Thanks for developing this game and sharing the journey. Best wishes. 🎉

[@abdulwasay81]

This was a great video mate, I loved each topic that was discussed here.. very informative and helpful thanks!

[@anthonykariuki5153]

Its rare to find this level of honesty and transparency on youtube so for that alone, thank you. Interesting to hear that the pick and shovel principle alive in the game industry as well. I wonder if it would be more or equally profitable to make assets than to make actual games

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

The asset store is just as crowded as Steam so it's pretty much the same. If you make an excellent asset that everyone finds useful (Odin, Text Animator, Feel) you will make tons of money (like making a hyper successful game) but most assets don't really make money since there's so many of them already, especially if you just make "Yet Another Low Poly Pack".

[@abdellatifgzem3223]

Thank you for being transparent with your steam data, and i wich you mor success in your upcoming games 🎉❤

[@goma8167]

Congratulations on your success! I love Dinky Guardians. Thank you for all the details and your transparency. It is very inspiring to me but I can't help myself but think that damn, that's a harsh reality. Somehow, I am glad that my first motivation that put me into gamedev is just having fun making a game, not the money. But a little return on investment doesn't harm.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Yeah sadly this is a really tough business, most games don't really make money. But if you have a good hook and have some success with marketing you can get a decent result. And of course there's always the chance you might make the next Thronefall and make $1mil in one week!

[@DerSolinski]

Dude, congrats. If you manage to sell additional 800 units in the next two month you hit ROI phenomenally fast. Hitting ROI in a year is already an achievement, you are speed running it. Considering the time spend on it and your additional revenue streams as side products you made the right call. Nice to see you succeed, there are a lot of people with different stories. Good luck with whatever comes next 😉

[@klauseba]

Usually games get much cheaper on Steam as time goes by. The crazy part is that Steam takes a 30% cut out of all the sales. Some players use VPN to buy it cheaper, other just torrent it for free to try it out 1st.

[@lostmarblesdev]

Great video, thank you for sharing! Another aspect that I think works in favour of choosing to make a game is to diversify your income sources. You have a good mix of youtube, courses, and games, so if any of those streams starts under performing you still have the others keeping you going.

[@PetraPunctRazu]

I love your work a lot, and your personality even more! Thank you for sharing such valuable information!❤

[@jasontoddchampion]

I love seeing all of the guts and mechanics. Thank you for sharing.

[@xraidev]

Great video, thanks for all that info! Can always rely on you to make videos that are straight to the point!

[@marcmustermann1676]

Congratulations on the successful project! Super interesting to watch.

[@denisgoodman4492]

The Great explanation of your project, thank you for share it with us. Best wishes and good luck in future projects.

[@SPAC3R4IDRGAMES]

Thank you Code Monkey! I appreciate the transparency! You are the best!

[@FallenMerick]

This video was incredibly inspiring, thank you for sharing!

[@ekagaurangadas]

I don't always share your views on some topics but I have ton of respect for your professionalism and dedication, being open like this is a great insight into the Indie Gamedev Industry. Thanks!

[@ThatGamePerson]

Good job! Love the transparency!

[@smitesoft6824]

Great video, keep them coming! Dont forget there is always a chance that a game goes viral. so the more you make the higher the chance for that to happen.

[@mastef]

great vid man, thanks for sharing!

[@Ai_Unofficial]

Congratulations on 500k subs 🎊 👏 💐 We are always with you ❤

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Thanks!

[@masterlewzilla2116]

Hello code monkey. really detailed overview and thank you very much for the infomarionts. it was very interesting! amazing video :)

[@garic4]

Wow this video was amazing. Thank you so much for this valuable info. I would love to have a course step by step on how to create a Valheim-like game. Congrats on your success

[@Vasquez2150]

thank you for sharing and keep it going! :)

[@MrOmega-cz9yo]

Glad to see you hit your numbers CM!

[@m.g.electronic3707]

Thanks for showing how well it went. Totaly agree that game sale revenue it self is not indication of total project revenue. Thanks for motivation and transparent. Fingers crossed for your future revenue. 🎉🎉

[@alexsilva42361]

Thank you so much for all details provided!

[@abnejne4737]

I miscalculated my release date by almost a year. However, just getting it done and out on Steam was a significant personal success.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Nice! Congrats!

[@abnejne4737]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity Thanks!

[@ThousandAnt]

Nice video dude! Congrats on the project success.

[@Adrian19958a]

Hugo! Hugo! Hugo! Thanks for being so transparent about your journey. I bought your Course with GameDevTV when it launched on their. I hope you do more course, because you have an audience. Even if just shedding light on what it really takes to develop a game.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Thanks! I hope the course helped you a lot!

[@gamepass505]

Great video. thanks for sharing your experience. overall as your first 3D game, I think you did great.

[@prajwalprvce]

congrats - you're so good :) thank you

[@AnthonyTopper]

Interesting approach. Thanks for sharing your insights. Have you ever considered working with an art director? That is something that your end product might benefit from. In that regard, scaling up your studio could be risky but would also give you a chance at a more breakthrough game.

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

That would indeed help me make much better looking games, but like you said making a studio massively increases the risk amount and I really don't know how to work alongside other people since I've always been solo. So perhaps one day but not planning something like that anytime soon

[@AnthonyTopper]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity I suppose you could always work to level up those skills within yourself as well. Lots of good courses and KZbinrs sharing their knowledge and insights. 😃

[@bigadingm5908]

i love you wtf, you are doing things with PASSION

[@RobertGercia]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@ahmaddhayni6351]

👏 Great video and congrats

[@noise_dev]

congratz and thanks for sharing this data! indie gamedev is not a piece of cake

[@shahriyarshawon79]

Hey, the video was amazing as always. It's very insightful to see the more financial side of being a Game Developer. I'm still a beginner in Unity and also a student, so I don't have to rely on games in any way. I'm constantly trying to teach myself new stuff. ❤ And on the topic of learning new stuff, have you made any videos about utilizing Assets? Like how to use this and that? I got very intrigued when you said you used an Asset Inventory from Unity in order to organize your other Assets. Same for the Text Animator and Shader Assets. 😅 So, what I'm trying to say is, I'd love to see the journey you've gone through to learn how to Find and Implement Assets. 😊

[@0darkwings0]

Thank you for those updates, it helps to see what should I expect from being a solo game developer 😊 How do you choose what game to make? Where your ideas come from? Do you take inspiration from existing games? If so, do you play them to get the inspiration? Does the inspiration come from indie games?

[@Tobi_Fragile_Things]

Man, huge respect! very inspiring!

[@Creere]

well said.. its about happiness you cant buy.. I love your vids and explanations - keep it going! :)

[@GhostCreativeStudio]

Considering the number of subscribers and views on your videos, I am surprised by the small number of wishlists, even knowing that your audience is mostly other devs, for the simple fact of helping to boost the wishlists I am surprised that they have not done it. Personally my wishlist and purchase was assured from the beginning :)

[@Martinit0]

Thanks for the transparency and congratulations for being on track to profitability! It shows how competitive it is as game dev. Basically, the one profitable route is keep costs extremely low, very short dev cycle and don't overspend on licenses/assets. Productivity is really really important. It's telling that ad spend is the biggest direct cost position even though you went for the cheapest rate and I am guessing you won't be trying that again. I was just wondering how you didn't know your asset expenses. I'm working on business software as solo dev (not in Portugal) and I record every license and other expense for end-of-year tax. Don't you get to subtract all expenses from your income so your taxable income is revenue minus direct expenses? At least that is how it's in my country. Basically I put every business-related purchase in spreadsheet right away so I don't forget it.

[@ArtusMagnificus3_2_1]

Good job man, well deserved

[@JoaoAlvesfilm]

I follow your channel for a few months now, had no idea you were Portuguese. Great to see an awesome game dev channel from a fellow Portuguese. Congratulations!

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Obrigado!

[@SanyaBane]

Thanks for sharing this "behind the scenes" info with us

[@b4ph0m3tdk9]

This was great, no waste of time, pure content. Thx

[@ChernobylComedyAndWings]

After watching your vids and some other videos about the dev industry I realize I should really reduce my scope and I think that's the plan going forward. So far ive spent maybe $500 but a lot of time I wont get back. Thanks for the video!

[@thassioalves304]

Thank you for sharing so much content

[@lucasalmeida7951]

anooooother point is, the current game was a filler for the other game you have planned. Excited about the next game journey ahead of u. Tnks for sharing it!

[@AugustoBulow]

Parabéns pela transparência em mostrar os dados, em mostrar a vida de um desenvolvedor indie. Eu estou há mais de vinte anos desenvolvendo jogos. Uma hora, vamos bater um papo, trocar umas ideias. Siga firme!

[@artemsys1876]

Thank you for the video. It will be cool to know more about your advertisement actions.

[@thiscris-qj7ce]

Thank you for sharing all these details. One thing that would be interesting to find out is if the translations paid off. Compare the cost of localization per language against the revenue from the target country.

[@TheAdek10]

Nice haircut my man. Fresh look! 🔥🔥🔥

[@MarkGrob]

Thanks for sharing this insight!

[@omarmokrani]

This is really inspiring , THANKS

[@dontstopbelieving1]

Always love these videos. I have a game coming out next year and I’ve been making a ton of progress toward the demo. It will be in the next fest February but I’m on pace to get it done by the middle of next month to send out to KZbinrs and already have several who said they will give it a try once the demo is ready. Really hoping that makes a big difference as getting traction is so tough! In your experience, what has been the most successful way to get a decent amount of wishlists outside of your channel?

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Nice! The Steam Fest is definitely the best way to get wishlists, if you have a good polished demo you can get tens of thousands. Remember you only have one shot so make it count, get some playtesters before the fest and make the demo the best it can be. Best of luck!

[@EdMechGames]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity Thanks! I really appreciate it. This is my separate acct I mainly use for my game but not much to see yet, just a short every now and again. I am really looking forward to the next fest. I certainly hope it goes well! I have been making big progress and the game has been just about feature complete for a little while now, a lot of my time recently has been fine tuning small details. I hope to get it in peoples hands next month so I can get a good month worth of feedback before the fest.

[@EdMechGames]

So I comment all the time that I am working on a game. I am pretty brand new to game dev but I knew if I kept putting off making a game I would just keep finding excuses to not do it. I would love to see a video on when you should start trying a commercial project or what milestones you think it may be valuable to hit before working on a commercial project. In some ways it has been easier than I thought it might be and some things have been much harder. It seems like there is never a "perfect" time to start making your first commercial game so I would be interested in hearing your take

[@LifeIsAComedyDontOverDoIt]

Thank you for your trasnpersncy and knowledge ❤️😊

[@AndrisGameDev]

That was a super helpful video, thank you very much! You have been an inspiration to me since 2016!

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

That's awesome to hear, thanks for being here so long, I hope my videos have helped you on your own game dev journey!

[@AndrisGameDev]

@@CodeMonkeyUnity The pleasure is mine! Back then you had no videos of course, but I read your blog posts and was actively following the success of your first games. I tried my best to find data points for Computer Tycoon and in general data points from other solo devs, so you were a very important source of information and motivation that "it is possible".

[@damsen978]

Really good insight when about opportunity costs. Thinking what else you could have been doing instead. And when you see you did a good choice is when you got nothing to regret about, it should feel rather fulfilling.

[@NinetyRalph]

I didn't notice you were recording with facecam, really cool!

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

heh yeah I've been using it for a few videos lately, still feels pretty weird!

[@shiningsword5306]

Congrats Man!Succes is subjective.For me you did a great job developing this game for only 7 month. U deserve a break

[@CodeMonkeyUnity]

Thanks!