Posted On: 2025-01-06
When I first began making games full-time, I intended to spend the bulk of my time working on my main project, but also work on side projects that could help defray some of the costs of development. Before long, however, it became clear that attempting to sell a product actually introduced more costs than developing the product in the first place, so any serious effort to generate a profit from selling games would necessarily be more than a mere "side project". In light of that, I decided to double down on my main project: tightly controlling costs and staying focused on one thing seemed like the best use of both my time and money.
While that approach may have made sense back in 2019, it's no longer realistic in 2025. The project keeps slipping, everyday costs are higher (both for the project and in my personal life), and it's become clear that the main project will require paying others to complete some tasks that are simply too far outside my own skillset. In short, my main project will have to become a side project.
Precisely what changes that will bring remains to be seen. One option is to simply pivot: remain a solo, full-time game developer but focus on making and selling small games. Another is to seek a separate job (likely unrelated to game development), and turn my (current) main project into something I only work on in my spare time. A third is to try to sell my project to a publisher so that I will be making the project for them (rather than for myself.)
Regardless of which direction things go, it's clear that 2025 will bring massive changes for my project. I hope you'll continue reading along to see where they lead.