4 ms·

Yeah but they were not making that much the whole time. If you look back some years they were just scraping by.

TomK32 4y ago
Looking at the numbers and releases I must say: If they had streamlined their release process to put out releases more often then the revenue might have been more even and better.
- capableweb 4y ago
  Hard to say, working faster/harder doesn't usually mean the quality will remain unchanged, and their user base probably care more about the quality of releases rather than how fast they put out releases.
  - TomK32 4y ago
    I'm not talking about working harder or faster, barely anyone could keep up with their attention and dedication to detail, I mean the release process that appears (from the outside in the eye of a webdev who merely does a git push and clicks a button some time later) to be rather crude shipping of the game. They didn't even use version control software 9 years back https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19381634 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19381634
- dmarchand90 4y ago
  Yes and no. Possibly. Personally, I think their dedication to work on it in an artistic 'passion project' style is what made the game what it is. I suspect if they had followed a more regular schedule they would have gotten a more ordinary, and forgettable, indie game.
- AlwaysRock 4y ago
  Maybe. Factorio does a great job of putting out releases and sharing details about what they are working on and you would have thought they were evil incarnate after they recently said they had to raise their price by $5 to keep up with inflation. People are fickle and hindsight isnt always so clear.
  - thebigspacefuck 4y ago
    Wow, they raised their price? I thought their whole thing was $30 forever because they were never going on sale.
    - Akronymus 4y ago
      Yeah, because of having inflation close to 20% in the past year where they live.
      - thebigspacefuck 4y ago
        I’m guessing they’re multi-millionaires by now. Poor guys.
        oblio 4y ago
        Do you know this for sure? How big is their company?
        thebigspacefuck 4y ago
        I don’t know for sure but 3.5M lifetime sales times 30 is $105M*70% is $73.5M, they have around 30 employees, maybe they pay $200K a year, so that’s $36M over 6 years, netting them $37.5M. I could be way off though.
        bierjunge 4y ago
        The game wasn't always at $30. I saw it for $20 a few years ago (regular price) and I believe it was even lower before, like $15, but I'm not sure. There is also a Nintendo Switch release, so they will have to pay for the Dev-Kit's and licenses which are not cheap. Not as expensive as in the 80's, 90's, early 2000's where a single Dev-Kit could be six figures, but still a significant expense for a indie studio. So we are already a little bit off from the numbers you posted. I assume, the 30% you cut off is for taxes. Good idea, but Steam and all other platforms where the game is sold also want a piece of the cake. I don't know the numbers for other platforms, but Steam takes 30% of the listed price. So even with a $30 price tag on Steam, they get $21 after commission. An that is pre-tax... They need to buy hardware for their developers, rent an office, pay developers and so on. So even the founders are not getting rich. A "boring" job in business software can make you more.

Looking at the numbers and releases I must say: If they had streamlined their release process to put out releases more often then the revenue might have been more even and better.

capableweb 4y ago
Hard to say, working faster/harder doesn't usually mean the quality will remain unchanged, and their user base probably care more about the quality of releases rather than how fast they put out releases.
- TomK32 4y ago
  I'm not talking about working harder or faster, barely anyone could keep up with their attention and dedication to detail, I mean the release process that appears (from the outside in the eye of a webdev who merely does a git push and clicks a button some time later) to be rather crude shipping of the game. They didn't even use version control software 9 years back https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19381634 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19381634
dmarchand90 4y ago
Yes and no. Possibly. Personally, I think their dedication to work on it in an artistic 'passion project' style is what made the game what it is. I suspect if they had followed a more regular schedule they would have gotten a more ordinary, and forgettable, indie game.
AlwaysRock 4y ago
Maybe. Factorio does a great job of putting out releases and sharing details about what they are working on and you would have thought they were evil incarnate after they recently said they had to raise their price by $5 to keep up with inflation. People are fickle and hindsight isnt always so clear.
- thebigspacefuck 4y ago
  Wow, they raised their price? I thought their whole thing was $30 forever because they were never going on sale.
  - Akronymus 4y ago
    Yeah, because of having inflation close to 20% in the past year where they live.
    - thebigspacefuck 4y ago
      I’m guessing they’re multi-millionaires by now. Poor guys.
      - oblio 4y ago
        Do you know this for sure? How big is their company?
        thebigspacefuck 4y ago
        I don’t know for sure but 3.5M lifetime sales times 30 is $105M*70% is $73.5M, they have around 30 employees, maybe they pay $200K a year, so that’s $36M over 6 years, netting them $37.5M. I could be way off though.
        bierjunge 4y ago
        The game wasn't always at $30. I saw it for $20 a few years ago (regular price) and I believe it was even lower before, like $15, but I'm not sure. There is also a Nintendo Switch release, so they will have to pay for the Dev-Kit's and licenses which are not cheap. Not as expensive as in the 80's, 90's, early 2000's where a single Dev-Kit could be six figures, but still a significant expense for a indie studio. So we are already a little bit off from the numbers you posted. I assume, the 30% you cut off is for taxes. Good idea, but Steam and all other platforms where the game is sold also want a piece of the cake. I don't know the numbers for other platforms, but Steam takes 30% of the listed price. So even with a $30 price tag on Steam, they get $21 after commission. An that is pre-tax... They need to buy hardware for their developers, rent an office, pay developers and so on. So even the founders are not getting rich. A "boring" job in business software can make you more.