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Results: iOS Game Revenue Survey

54 points by EvilTrout 15y ago

5hoom 15y ago
Interesting how median lifetime revenue increases with the number of developers on a game up until 20+, where it dips. From this it would seem 10 to 20 person teams are the sweet spot for mobile game development. Now I just need to find 9 to 19 more developers for my project :)
- LordBron 15y ago
  Yeah, one is truly a lonely number especially when you consider there needs to be game design, art, sound, music AND code. Luckily, we've found that if you start, Fate will lend you a hand and deliver some needed help.
  - d_r 15y ago
    As a single indie dev, I couldn't agree more. It can be a long road! Games (as opposed to say, utilities) are challenging because of the additional art/sound/creative requirements, IMO. And I think one important reason for why > 1 is better is that two founders can push each other along when times are uncertain (and they often are!) That said, keeping momentum, coding away, and most of all greatly enjoying the process of creating something will really help you.
    - pagekalisedown 15y ago
      Any idea where a lone programmer can go to find other people to work with on a project?
      - LordBron 15y ago
        Game jams and conferences are good places. Ludum Dare is an online game jam/challenge while 360iDev has a great in-person game jam.
- acak 15y ago
  The median revenue per developer per month is an indicator of profitability and probably a better metric to decide the right team size. So if you look at figure 7b, the sweet spot seems to be a team size of 6 to 9 people (where the median revenue per developer per month is $550 to $820. In contrast, the median revenue per developer per month for 10 to 19 person teams is $320 - $620). If you can hire 19 people, you should probably split them to run two projects of 6-9 people each. :-]
  - thirdhaf 15y ago
    Well count me in for somewhere between #3 and #9 then :-P
  - cageface 15y ago
    If you consider what a capable developer can bring in just in salary in a month you realize what a ridiculous chicken-scratch game this is. Making indie apps may be fun but it's a dumb way to try to earn money.
davidtyleryork 15y ago
To me, this just shows that the iPhone app is totally hit based The medium lifetime revenue is right beside the 90th percentile, which means those top 10% earn the vast majority of the revenue
- cageface 15y ago
  This has been my experience too. I have one fairly successful app, with good reviews and a long stint on the featured page in its category. It's still not even close to paying for the time it took to develop it. I would have been much better off financially if I'd spent that time consulting. Writing apps is appealing because it's so much easier than bootstrapping a software business from scratch outside the store but I'm not convinced it's a good bet for the average developer.
  - Woost 15y ago
    Am I reading that right? 100k lifetime value seems to be near the top end of what you can expect from one app. A reasonable salary at a normal job for a senior-level developer is near or a little better than that. If you want to succeed better than you could by working for someone it seems like you either need to be completely serious about releasing new games every 3-6 months(and release hits constantly), or, maybe, not write games (do business apps fare better?) Has anyone tried the minecraft approach on the app store?
    - Impossible 15y ago
      This assumes you only care about money and don't care about creative control and the satisfaction of running your own business. For a lot of indie developers making equal to or slightly less than they would as a salaried developer is doing well, even if you don't have a massive hit that makes $1M+.
      - ido 15y ago
        I'm making half of what I did when working as a "hired gun". I consider this wildly successful - I get to work on my games (which I would have done for free anyway) and earn enough to pay the bills.
Dove 15y ago
Take-home lesson: To be successful, (1) Practice. (2) Network.
- cageface 15y ago
  And, if you look at the games that are really doing well in the store, write gimmicky, addictive games and make a fortune selling virtual coins/tokens/badges/clothes to people psychologically locked in to your scheme. Freemium is king in the app store now.
  - felipemnoa 15y ago
    I think is better to try to go for quality rather than gimmicks. In the long run it will succeed more often than not. Anecdotal Example: Apple Going for gimmicks is like going for get rich quick schemes.
    - cellis 15y ago
      Apple started out as a get rich quick scheme, not a "lets change the world" scheme.
      - felipemnoa 15y ago
        I don't know if that is true but it is irrelevant since they became successful NOT by using gimmicks or schemes but focusing on quality, which is the point I was trying to make.
    - LordBron 15y ago
      I have to agree with you. Our company briefly contemplated freemium, but have opted against it. It's still early in the freemium era and I already see a backlash in the reviews and within myself as I play games. So yeah, while it is currently king, I don't think it's one whose rule will last forever. And if you've committed and positioned yourself to survive on freemium alone, you'll find yourself in a world of hurt.
    - 15y ago
atomicdog 15y ago
I'd be interested to see the distribution of revenue from sales vs ads.

54 points by EvilTrout 15y ago

5hoom 15y ago

Interesting how median lifetime revenue increases with the number of developers on a game up until 20+, where it dips. From this it would seem 10 to 20 person teams are the sweet spot for mobile game development. Now I just need to find 9 to 19 more developers for my project :)

LordBron 15y ago
Yeah, one is truly a lonely number especially when you consider there needs to be game design, art, sound, music AND code. Luckily, we've found that if you start, Fate will lend you a hand and deliver some needed help.
- d_r 15y ago
  As a single indie dev, I couldn't agree more. It can be a long road! Games (as opposed to say, utilities) are challenging because of the additional art/sound/creative requirements, IMO. And I think one important reason for why > 1 is better is that two founders can push each other along when times are uncertain (and they often are!) That said, keeping momentum, coding away, and most of all greatly enjoying the process of creating something will really help you.
  - pagekalisedown 15y ago
    Any idea where a lone programmer can go to find other people to work with on a project?
    - LordBron 15y ago
      Game jams and conferences are good places. Ludum Dare is an online game jam/challenge while 360iDev has a great in-person game jam.
acak 15y ago
The median revenue per developer per month is an indicator of profitability and probably a better metric to decide the right team size. So if you look at figure 7b, the sweet spot seems to be a team size of 6 to 9 people (where the median revenue per developer per month is $550 to $820. In contrast, the median revenue per developer per month for 10 to 19 person teams is $320 - $620). If you can hire 19 people, you should probably split them to run two projects of 6-9 people each. :-]
- thirdhaf 15y ago
  Well count me in for somewhere between #3 and #9 then :-P
- cageface 15y ago
  If you consider what a capable developer can bring in just in salary in a month you realize what a ridiculous chicken-scratch game this is. Making indie apps may be fun but it's a dumb way to try to earn money.

davidtyleryork 15y ago

To me, this just shows that the iPhone app is totally hit based The medium lifetime revenue is right beside the 90th percentile, which means those top 10% earn the vast majority of the revenue

cageface 15y ago
This has been my experience too. I have one fairly successful app, with good reviews and a long stint on the featured page in its category. It's still not even close to paying for the time it took to develop it. I would have been much better off financially if I'd spent that time consulting. Writing apps is appealing because it's so much easier than bootstrapping a software business from scratch outside the store but I'm not convinced it's a good bet for the average developer.
- Woost 15y ago
  Am I reading that right? 100k lifetime value seems to be near the top end of what you can expect from one app. A reasonable salary at a normal job for a senior-level developer is near or a little better than that. If you want to succeed better than you could by working for someone it seems like you either need to be completely serious about releasing new games every 3-6 months(and release hits constantly), or, maybe, not write games (do business apps fare better?) Has anyone tried the minecraft approach on the app store?
  - Impossible 15y ago
    This assumes you only care about money and don't care about creative control and the satisfaction of running your own business. For a lot of indie developers making equal to or slightly less than they would as a salaried developer is doing well, even if you don't have a massive hit that makes $1M+.
    - ido 15y ago
      I'm making half of what I did when working as a "hired gun". I consider this wildly successful - I get to work on my games (which I would have done for free anyway) and earn enough to pay the bills.

Dove 15y ago

Take-home lesson: To be successful, (1) Practice. (2) Network.

cageface 15y ago
And, if you look at the games that are really doing well in the store, write gimmicky, addictive games and make a fortune selling virtual coins/tokens/badges/clothes to people psychologically locked in to your scheme. Freemium is king in the app store now.
- felipemnoa 15y ago
  I think is better to try to go for quality rather than gimmicks. In the long run it will succeed more often than not. Anecdotal Example: Apple Going for gimmicks is like going for get rich quick schemes.
  - cellis 15y ago
    Apple started out as a get rich quick scheme, not a "lets change the world" scheme.
    - felipemnoa 15y ago
      I don't know if that is true but it is irrelevant since they became successful NOT by using gimmicks or schemes but focusing on quality, which is the point I was trying to make.
  - LordBron 15y ago
    I have to agree with you. Our company briefly contemplated freemium, but have opted against it. It's still early in the freemium era and I already see a backlash in the reviews and within myself as I play games. So yeah, while it is currently king, I don't think it's one whose rule will last forever. And if you've committed and positioned yourself to survive on freemium alone, you'll find yourself in a world of hurt.
  - 15y ago

atomicdog 15y ago

I'd be interested to see the distribution of revenue from sales vs ads.