[2024] Quitting my job to make games & becoming a father was not the easiest combo. But getting a daily deal & seeing your game on front page of Steam makes it all worth it.

Hey all,

Around 3 years ago I quit my job to pursue a career of full-time indie gamedev. I had recently released a semi-successful game called Mortal Glory, so I wasn't completely unprepared. After quitting my job, I was so excited about being able to spend all my working hours doing what I love and the feeling of freedom I experienced was exhilarating.

Over time I learned it's not all fun and games though. I spent 17 months making my second game and despite getting good reviews, the game ended up being a financial flop. It still earned a profit, but I was making less than a minimum wage doing work that is often challenging and comes with the extra weight of being an entrepreneur. Over time the sales kept dwindling down and financial anxiety started to creep in. The feeling of having to make a game that NEEDS to make money is not a fun feeling. It also didn't help that I knew that I didn't need money just for my own survival. Me and my wife were expecting a baby.

A few months later I was fortunate enough to become a father to a healthy baby girl. Becoming a parent came with its own distractions and there were many sleepless nights, but I kept working on my next game the best I could. Making my third game ended up taking 17 months, the same as my previous game (I actually wanted to finish it within ~10 months, but your first, second or even third estimate is never correct...). In March of 2024 it was time to release the game and... it was a hit!

The game launched with good reviews and good sales (for a solo dev). Thanks to the release going well, I was able to keep working on the game and after a few months, I actually received my first ever daily deal slot from Steam. This means that a game gets to stay 24 hours on the front page of Steam. I had been trying to get one for a long time but I was always turned down previously - so yeah, I was pretty excited to get it... I had a big free update & a DLC launch coming up so I thought that was the perfect day for the deal. That day was 2 days ago and here's what it looked like: https://imgur.com/a/5pGdYRq. It's pretty crazy to see your own little game on the front page of Steam next to big titles. Moments like that really make all the struggles worth it.

This post became a lot longer than I intended, but I felt compelled to write it. Being an indie dev is hard and it's not something that I would lightly recommend. But it does have its moments.

Here is the game if you are interested - it's a turn-based gladiator roguelike. I wish I had the sense to write this post when it was on the front page, but a picture will have to do now (the discount from the daily deal is still active though).

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2216660/Mortal_Glory_2