More than 10,000 new games are released on Steam every year, and most of them earn less than $5,000 in total. It sounds scary, especially if you're just starting out in game development. But the good news is that most failures could have been prevented if you knew what to look for.
Development without idea validation
The most common mistake is to fall in love with your idea and spend two years developing it without checking if anyone else needs it. You create the "innovative mix of genres" you've always dreamed of, and in the end you get a game that is incomprehensible to the audience and does not fall into any established tag on Steam.
What should you do instead?
Create an MVP – a minimum playable version – and show it to real players as early as possible. Launch the prototype in the public domain, gather a community in Discord, and conduct playtesting with friends who won't lie to you out of politeness. One developer from Russia created a demo of his game in three weeks, posted it on itch.io - and realized that his mechanics just didn't work. Instead of wasting a year, he turned around and created a game that eventually earned $200,000.
Lack of marketing before release
Many novice developers think: "First I will make the perfect game, and then I will tell the world about it." This is a suicidal strategy. In reality, Steam algorithms take into account the number of wishlists before the release, the first days of sales are critical, and it is simply impossible to build an audience a week before the release.
The right approach is to start marketing at the same time as development. Create a page on Steam six months before the release (or even earlier). Keep a devlog on Twitter, TikTok, or Reddit — show the process, share failures and achievements. People love to watch games being made, and every post is a potential wishlist. Participate in Steam festivals, post gameplay gifs, and interact with the community. By the time of the release, you should already have several thousand subscribers waiting for your game.
Reassessing your strengths at the start
Ambition is great, but an open world with thousands of NPCs and dynamic weather is a bad idea for a first game. Most successful indie developers started with small projects that can be completed in 3-6 months, not three years.
The problem is not just that you will burn out (although this is also a common story). The problem is that a large project does not give you the opportunity to quickly learn from mistakes and iterate. It is better to release three small games in a year and a half and learn how to work with the audience than to spend these eighteen months on one project that may fail.
Ignoring technical debt
When you're just starting out, it's very tempting to write code "how it turns out", just to make it work. The problem is that in six months you won't be able to add new mechanics, because the code has turned into spaghetti, bugs appear with every change, and refactoring will take months.
This does not mean that you need to write perfect code from day one. But the basic architecture, the use of design patterns, comments and documentation are investments that will pay off in a month. This is especially important for Unity and Unreal — the engines forgive a lot, but technical debt in large projects kills productivity.
Wrong choice of scope and genre
Some genres are simply not suitable for indie development if you don't have the experience and budget. Multiplayer shooters, MMORPGs, battle royale — all this requires not only programming skills, but also server infrastructure, balance, constant support and a critical mass of players from the first days.
Beginners are better off looking towards genres where you can compete with the quality of mechanics, not scale: roguelikes, metroidvania, puzzles, visual novels, short horror games. These genres forgive small budgets and allow you to stand out with interesting ideas rather than AAA-level graphics.
Underestimating the importance of visuals and sound
"Gameplay is more important than graphics" is true, but only half of it. Yes, the mechanics should be interesting. But if your game looks like a student project from 2005, most players won't even try it to evaluate these mechanics.
You don't have to be an artist — you can buy assets on the Unity Asset Store or Itch.io, hire a freelancer for a reasonable amount of money, or use stylized graphics that don't require photorealism. But the visual style should be holistic, the animations should be smooth, and the UI should be clear. The same goes for sound: the lack of sound effects or cheap music instantly kills the immersion.
Launching in early access is too early or too late
Early access is a powerful tool, but it's easy to mess up. Release the game too early, when there is nothing to do — you will get negative reviews, from which you will not wash even after updates. Release too late, when the game is almost ready — you will lose the opportunity to get feedback from the community and adjust the course.
The ideal time for early access is when you have 3-4 hours of content, working core mechanics, and a clear roadmap. The game should be interesting enough that people are willing to pay for it now, but with obvious potential for growth. And most importantly, regularly update the game and communicate with the players. Abandoned games in early access are a graveyard of reputations.
Lack of monetization plan
Many beginners think: "First I'll make a game, then I'll figure out how to sell it." This is a mistake. The monetization model influences the game design from the very beginning. Will it be a $20 premium game? Freemium with cosmetic items? With paid DLC? The length of the game, the structure of the progression, and the replayability depend on this.
Plus, it's important to understand the real economy. If you are making a game alone and spend a year on it, you need to sell 5,000-10,000 copies at $10-15 to recoup even the minimum costs and your time. It sounds like a small amount, but in reality it means 10,000-20,000 wishlists before the release, active marketing and good reviews in the first week. Keep these numbers in mind from day one.
Working in isolation
Game development is not just about code and art. It's a community, feedback, mutual assistance. Beginners often work alone, not showing anyone their work until the release, and lose the opportunity to learn about critical issues earlier.
Join developer communities, show your progress, ask for feedback, participate in game jams. This not only helps to improve the game, but also creates connections that can lead to future collaborations. Every successful indie developer I've talked to has emphasized the importance of their community — the people who supported them at different stages.
Unpreparedness for the first game to fail
And the last, but most important mistake is the expectation of instant success. The statistics are cruel: the first indie game almost always fails. The second one often fails too. But the third or fourth one can already shoot, because by this time you have experience, portfolio, audience and understanding of how the industry works.
Think of the first game as a training. Don't spend three years and all your savings on it. Do something small, finish it, release it, look at the results — and move on. Each next game will be better than the previous one, and the chances of success will increase with each release.
The path of an indie game developer is a marathon, not a sprint. Yes, most games fail, but that doesn't mean you will fail. The main thing is to learn from other people's mistakes, not to be afraid to experiment in a small format and to constantly develop.
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