Start A Game Development Business - Business Ideas

Updated: September 15th, 2022
Start A Game Development Business

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

Starting a game development business requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell games, or selling games online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Key Stats

market size
$159B
revenue (monthly)
$1.73M
starting costs
$11.7K
gross margin
88%
avg product price
$13000
time to build
210 days
growth
Organic social media
business model
Advertising
time investment
Side project

Startup Costs

Min Startup Costs Max Startup Costs

Office Space Expenses

$0

$7,000

Employee & Freelancer Expenses

$150

$250

Website Costs

$223

$7,015

Business Formation Fees

$600

$4,700

Software Expenses

$162

$2,894

Advertising & Marketing Costs

$0

$1,400

Total Startup Costs

$1,135

$23,259

Successful Businesses

Business URL Rank

DnDBeyond

dndbeyond.com

2,472

CodinGame

codingame.com

23,038

BR Softech

brsoftech.com

52,368

R2 GAMES

r2games.com

80,922

Scirra Ltd

construct.net

85,776

Buy HTML5 games

marketjs.com

119,320

Stonemaier Games

stonemaiergames.com

152,665

Personal Computer Center

pckuwait.com

220,725

Delta Sigma Pi

deltasigmapi.org

503,306

Remote Game Jobs

remotegamejobs.com

639,010

Humantech

humantech.com

704,076

Pros & Cons

Pros Description

Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

Ability to start your business from home

It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!

Little startup costs required

The cost to start a game development business costs significantly less money than most businesses, ranging anywhere from 62 to 23,259.

Rewarding work

Starting a game development business can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.

Scalable

With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.

No overhead costs

To get your game development business started, there are no costs associated with overhead, storage, packaging, etc. This will save you a lot of time and money!

Cons Description

Crowded Space

Competition is high when it comes to your game development business, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.

Longer Sales Process

A game development business can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers.

Work can be inconsistent

As a game development business, the amount of work assigned to you and schedule tends to be more inconsistent, which may make your income less stable. It's important to set boundaries and budget accordingly based on the amount of work you plan to have.

Lack of benefits

With a game development business, you are typically self-employed and responsible for finding your own insurance, which can be quite costly and time-consuming.

Isolation

Often times, as a game development business, you typically work alone and do not have much face-to-face interaction with other team members.

Taxes

As a game development business, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.

Marketing Ideas

  • 1

    Affiliate Program

    Affiliate marketing is a great way to bring in a new revenue stream, especially when you don't sell products or services.

    Simply put, an affiliate program is an agreement where a business pays another business or influencer ("the affiliate") a commission for sending traffic and/or sales their way.

    The affiliate typically gets a unique link where clicks and conversions can be tracked.

    Learn more about affiliate program ➜

  • 2

    Word of mouth

    Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.

    Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.

    According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.

    Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.

    Learn more about word of mouth ➜

  • 3

    Social Media Advertising

    Social media advertising is the use of social media platforms to connect with your audience with the objective to build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic.

    According to Oberlo, approximately 48% of the global population use social media, and the number is ever-growing.

    Therefore, social media allows brands access to cost-effective advertising by enabling them to interact with a large audience.

    Learn more about social media advertising ➜