9 Game Developer Success Stories [2024]
Are you passionate about video games and want to turn your hobby into a career? Have you always dreamed of creating your own game and seeing it come to life on the market? If so, then becoming a game developer may be the perfect business opportunity for you.
As a game developer, your job will involve creating, designing, and coding video games from start to finish. This includes coming up with ideas for new games, creating prototypes and mockups, coding the game using programming languages like C++ or Java, and testing and debugging the game to ensure it is functioning properly.
To start and run a successful game development business, you will need a few key things:
A strong foundation in programming and computer science. While you don't need to be an expert programmer, having a strong understanding of programming languages and computer systems will be essential to creating and coding your games.
Creativity and a knack for storytelling. Game development is about more than just coding - it's also about coming up with engaging and immersive storylines that will keep players coming back for more.
Marketing and business skills. Once your game is complete, you'll need to market it and get it in front of potential customers. This will require a strong understanding of social media, digital marketing, and business strategy.
A team of skilled professionals. Depending on the size of your business, you may need to hire a team of developers, artists, and other professionals to help bring your game to life.
With these skills and resources, you can start and run a successful game development business and turn your passion for gaming into a lucrative career.
In this list, you'll find real-world game developer success stories and very profitable examples of starting a game developer that makes money.
1. RetroStyle Games ($3.96M/year)
Inspired by an interview with "The Witcher" developers, avid gamer Pavel Konstantinov launched RetroStyle Games, now a $5M/year game art and development studio, showcasing the potential of passion-driven entrepreneurship.
How much money it makes: $3.96M/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
How many people on the team: 80
This case study article is about RetroStyle Games, a game art and development studio that has over 100 projects a year and a turnover of about 4.5-5 million dollars per year, despite being based in Ukraine during the war, and provides insights into the process of building and launching a successful game development business.
2. Scirra Ltd ($1.2M/year)
Thomas and Ashley Gullen, founders of Construct 3, were passionate about computer games from a young age. Ashley's struggles to build his dream game led him to develop a general-purpose game engine called Construct Classic. They launched Construct 2 as a commercial product, focusing on HTML5, which proved to be a successful gamble. They now generate around $100k per month in revenue and have learned important lessons about running a business and listening to customer feedback.
How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
How many people on the team: 3
Construct 3, a browser-based game engine that allows anyone to create games without coding, has grown from a pay-once model to generating $100k per month in revenue through a subscription-based system, after launching with the help of early-adopter customers and a focus on organic growth, customer feedback, and white-hat SEO.
3. Gameray ($1.02M/year)
As a project manager at a major CIS online store, Mikhail Tsyrulnikov noticed physical logistics hampering sales. Combining his e-commerce acumen and passion for gaming, he launched Gameray—a digital game distribution platform—with an MVP built in 2.5 months, driving over 3 million euros in annual turnover.
How much money it makes: $1.02M/year
How much did it cost to start: $30K
How many people on the team: 15
Discover how an aspiring founder turned a $30,000 investment into a profitable digital game distribution platform with an annual turnover of 3 million euros, leveraging key partnerships and innovative marketing strategies to attract 50,000 monthly users.
4. Dilly Dally Games (Mexican Train) ($240K/year)
The game development started as a project for Christian's masters degree in computer science, and was going to sell software licenses on eBay and ship the game via CD.
How much money it makes: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 0
Dilly Dally Games, run by solopreneur Christian Tuskes, has over 10k daily active users and earns between $16-17k per month from ad revenue due to its unique appeal to a demographic underserved in the gaming industry, as well as its focus on long playing times.
5. Purpur ($36K/year)
Elena Zaharova and Anfisa Savchenko leveraged their marketing expertise from a skincare company to launch Purpur, a therapy-game app that deepens relationships through conversation, after their printed card games generated over $300K in sales. With an app launch in spring, they aim for $3K monthly revenue by mid-October.
How much money it makes: $36K/year
How much did it cost to start: $7K
How many people on the team: 5
Purpur App, a therapy-game app to develop relationships through talking, generated over $300K in sales from printed card games and have launched a new app that has the potential to reach $3K monthly revenue by mid-October.
6. YOU DON'T KNOW MY LIFE ($30K/year)
Dennis Hensley, a former entertainment journalist, came up with the idea for You Don't Know My Life! while hosting Virtual Game Nights during the pandemic. The game, which combines elements of Cards Against Humanity and personal storytelling, quickly gained popularity and now brings in about $2,500 a month in revenue.
How much money it makes: $30K/year
How much did it cost to start: $12K
How many people on the team: 0
Dennis Hensley's co-created You Don't Know My Life, a boxed party game, and host virtual game nights via Zoom, bringing in about $2,500 a month in revenue as well as being featured in The Star, Parade, and The New York Times reviews.
7. UltraShock Gaming ($15K/year)
Hassan, the founder and CEO of UltraShock Gaming, came up with the idea for his indie game marketing firm when he noticed the struggles indie game developers faced in getting their games on large PC platforms like Steam. Inspired by their frustrations, he decided to create a platform to help these developers with marketing, copywriting, and beta testing in exchange for a percentage of profits. With a community of over 500,000 gamers, UltraShock Gaming has generated $15k in revenue per year, with $12k in profit.
How much money it makes: $15K/year
How much did it cost to start: $4K
How many people on the team: 1
Aspiring founders looking to start a profitable business can learn from the story of how Hassan founded UltraShock Gaming, an indie game marketing firm, built up an audience of over 500,000 gamers, and generated $15k in annual revenue (with $12k profit) in just 2 years by offering marketing and advertising services for indie game developers.
8. Traveling Tales DMing ($3.6K/year)
James Gallagher turned his love for tabletop games into a business during the pandemic when he saw other Dungeon Masters earning money online. By June 2022, he quit his job and launched Traveling Tales DMing, offering high-quality game mastering services and generating buzz in Nebraska's TTRPG community.
How much money it makes: $3.6K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
How many people on the team: 1
Traveling Tales DMing LLC is a professional game mastering company that offers high-quality table-top role-playing game experiences, which includes Dungeons and Dragons, for $10 per 3-hour game, generating a lot of buzz in Nebraska's TTRPG community by working with local game stores.
9. Monster MMORPG ($2.4K/year)
Furkan, the only owner and developer of Monster MMORPG, came up with the idea for his browser-based creature hunting game during his third year of Bachelor's education. Inspired by the popularity of fan-made Pokemon games, he and his colleague created a simple game that gained massive attention from players worldwide. After graduation, Furkan continued to develop the game solo, eventually converting it into a unique, full copyright-owned, branded creature hunting game. Today, Monster MMORPG generates about $200 per month and has a dedicated player base that has been with the game for around 10 years.
How much money it makes: $2.4K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
How many people on the team: 1
Monster MMORPG is a browser-based creature hunting game generating $200 per month from ads and Patreon support, started as a fan-made project in 2009, and developed by a single owner and developer.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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