Indie Game Makers Open Up about the Money They Make

HN really needs more articles like this to tell the whole story about pursuing passions (like making games... or startups). The reality is you're probably going to either fail at turning it into a business or will wind up making significantly less than you would have had you kept working. You need to be prepared for that reality and then decide if the pursuit is worth it to you.

"I’ve had a funding deal, which enables me to make a game at over the poverty line."

"I spent all of that plus all of my retirement savings... I don’t think I made good decisions."

"I’ve not made enough money on Rosa’s Garden to live on yet."

"Part of the reason I’m living in Connecticut is because I couldn’t afford to live in a city anymore."

"We recouped our expenses and ended up with the equivalent of the French minimum wage in sales for at least four to six months."

"I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to sustain myself with the income I got from Environmental Station Alpha if I lived in a full-priced apartment."

"I was paying myself the bare minimum to make rent and buy food."

The game creators in the article who did OK often seem to have had either a grant or relied on support networks for a good chunk of expenses. Incidentally, this is one of the big reasons I support UBI - so many people simply don't have the luxury to pursue their passions at all because failure could mean living on the street (at least in the US).