My first Steam payment

$2,641.15

That’s the amount of money I just received on my bank account.

I started working on my game 19 months ago. 

I knew how to code but I didn’t know anything about game development. 

I didn’t even know it was possible to make money creating games by yourself.

I thought it was something only big teams and companies could do.

But here I am, 1.5 years later, with a tiny pile of cash I got from a game I made.

Feels great.

Now, my game is still far from profitable.

I’m only netting a little more than $100 per month of full-time work.

The average is obviously going to go up in the next few months as I make more revenue.

But it’s still a financially bad decision in the short-term.

While I’m scrapping for pennies in my parents basement…

…my friends are making bank working normal programming jobs, buying appartments and moving up the corporate ladder.

What I’m getting at is this: if you want to make indie games as a career, you need to be patient.

Just like any starting any business, it’s an investment. And it’s a risky one.

Are you willing to work for free for the next year and a half before *maybe* getting anything in return?

Most people are not. And understandably so; I mean, it’s a pretty irrational decision.

But I’m convinced it’ll pay off in the long run, even if I don’t have the numbers to back it up just yet.

Until next week,

Thomas Gervraud,
Developer of Space Gladiators: Escaping Tartarus