Gamedev talk #2 - Can we really become wealthy off game development?

Hello Stencylers!

Shorter article this week. Anyway this weeks topic is: Can we really become wealthy off game development?
Now I know we have seen this question pop up in many game development forum topics and discussions so I thought it may be a good idea to discuss it.

 So lets get something straight, all goodness comes through  effort and hard work. You can't just expect something ( in this case money) to just appear because you did a action. The action needs concentration, hard work , effort.
Now this also applies by game development. I've seen so many times, that people think that if they make a silly game or just throw a game out there without real gameplay or concept and  they think that the next day they will become a millionaire.
Its not true. Like all work, you need concentration, hard work , effort, and the same goes for game dev. Yes, there have been game devs who made good profit, or even some who became rich, but they put in concentration, hard work , effort.
They didn't just throw a game on the market and the next day they owned a jet. They worked hours, day, months, and sometimes even years on this game. Everything in life that has a good after benefit requires a lot of work. And the same goes by gamedev.
Yes, in someways it might be easier by gamedev because you need less resources ( only a PC, and maybe a licence for your software), but it still requires lots of work. I've seen people become game devs only because they want to become instantlly wealthy  or make a good profit. They don't have real commitment and and then when there game fails they give up.

Why do people make this mistake?  Because they see all the famous people and companies who created games like minecraft, candycrush, and pokemon go and they see their great profit. Then they think " oh, they made so much off only one game? I can do that also" and then they start on a game.

So remember: Game dev is like all other work, yes it may be more enjoyable, but it still requires concentration, hard work , effort. Game dev doesn't make you automatically rich. If you create a game, with a great concept, great gameplay, you have commitment and effort, you market it correctly. Then maybe, like all other jobs, you can earn a good profit.

Feel free to share your thoughts, suggestions, and tips!

Have a great weekend!

Donni,

I think sometimes people tend to ignore 2 facts:

- a profitable business can exist with games that don't make as much as 2 million USD a day, and there are lots of them, just go to the top free charts and probably many of these apps might not be heavy in in-app content but they have ads and they are often overlooked.

- because people like games and know how to make them they often ignore some of the most important keys for a commercially succesful product: polished graphics, good UI/UX, marketing, UA... this might take time to realise but it's very easy to differentiate an "amateur bad" app on the store than a "appealing one"

With all this I mean, there's people making good money but chances are that they don't show themselves in forums or share info about money, If I recall correctly the mobile gaming industry will be worth 160B in 2020!

All markets changes over time.

When mobile market emerged, was possible earn millions with a simple Tic-tac-toe game or animated background.

The same thing happened with literature on Amazon. You do not even needed to write the book, you could sell ebook for public domain books.

Electronic music the same thing in iTunes, Beatport, Spotify, etc.

With webdesign too, selling Sites Templates and Wordpress blog themes.

The same with the Google adsense and Facebook Ads.

When the market is profitable, nobody says anything. When people start selling courses on how to make money from this, it is when the market is already saturated.

And all these markets the cost of membership was low. You just needed a computer and internet. It's not like a franchise, that to enter you need to invest thousands of dollars.

But, these waves pass. And the possibility of making money as Craftsman becomes increasingly more and more difficult.

Because companies organize and dominate all niches and sub-niches.

Over time, the best brands placed on the market are 90% of total sales. And all the others share the remaining 10%.

But, there is no impossible. What is there is improbable. And easier, very easier, difficult and very harder. Because, there are always unexplored niches, and new ones that always come up. It all depends on the maturity of the market and of developer.

I really enjoy making games as a hobby, so trying to become wealthy off of it would kinda take away the fun for me.

Yeah, it would be really cool to get featured for a few days on the app store, or catch a wave of enthusiasm or trend. The money from such an event would be an awesome bonus - but would probably not, in itself, make someone wealthy. Of course, a motivated developer could build on such a success, gain an audience, and pump out lots of games like, "Five Nights at Freddie's".

We are creators, so it's okay to dream. If becoming wealthy from your creations is a goal, then educate yourself on the business aspects, find a mentor, and surround yourself with supportive people who can help you make that happen... then come back and share exactly how you did it! 

I really enjoy making games as a hobby, so trying to become wealthy off of it would kinda take away the fun for me.

I agree. I am happy make enough to survive on. If I get a hit, that's fine. But being able to make games for a living is reward in itself