Ask HN: How much do you flash game devs make?

by chaosprophet on 11/27/2009, 5:37 PM with 2 comments

Hi guys, I've been doing a few flash games for fun, and recently I have been wondering if it could be something that I could make a living out of. However, most literature on the subject paints a bleak picture, so I thought I'd ask the devs themselves.

So here goes: How much money ends up in your pocket every month/per game??? If possible, please include a split-up indicating how much you got from sponsorships, revenue-sharing, in game ads and virtual goods and also a measure of popularity of the particular game.

Regards, chaosprophet

  • by messel on 11/27/2009, 6:13 PM

    I believe your best opportunity lies in the social space. Consider Farmville, a Zynga social game. It's wildly successful and derivative works could make incredible revenue.

    I'm sorry I don't have specific numbers, but you can probably get them if Zynga goes public.

  • by Vindexus on 11/27/2009, 5:56 PM

    I'm not sure how much you'll make but one thing to consider is to build a flash game with persistent accounts and virtual goods that can be purchased by your players. This is more profitable than building flash games that you will sell to game portals. An acquaintance said they made about $2000 for building and selling a game. Games normally took him around a month or more to finish.