I handled taxes for a number of video game companies. The parent comment is wrong. If it were correct, the video game industry as we know it wouldn't exist. Mo

I handled taxes for a number of video game companies. The parent comment is wrong. If it were correct, the video game industry as we know it wouldn't exist. Most games are played heavily within the first year, and thereafter not so much. Indeed, game revenues in general are even more front-loaded than movie revenues; for most games, 80% of the game's lifetime revenue is made in the first 6 months of release, which is why DRM is a thing on new games but usually gets removed in a patch a few months after release: to stop piracy during those crucial first few months. (With movies, excluding blockbusters which live or die by their box office, most of the revenue is made after the film leaves theaters from licensing deals and consumer media sales.) Excluding subscription games like MMOs, only a tiny handful of games continue making substantial amounts of revenue after 6 months. Games like Minecraft, Terraria, and Stardew Valley are the exception, rather than the norm. Don't let that dissuade you. As a solo developer, you only need a few thousand in sales to make a good living.