I have talked to a mobile game Dev, a very drunker heart to heart. He had an India mobile game (like alto). He made about 120k in 5 years between two versions of the game. And then some tenent adjacent studio offered him 650k for the IP.
In his words “All I could think was that in 650k, my house would be paid. My education loan would be paid and I would still have enough money to ensure my kid goes to college and not worry about an education loan. I knew selling game would mean enshittification of my baby. But then i looked at my actual baby and I knew I had to betray the digital one”
That’s the first time I saw it from the dev point of view. He wanted to keep the project, but between choosing fans of his games that can’t keep a subreddit alive and doing right by no name, no face fan base vs 650k hard cash from a shitty studio that would concretely secure his family’s future. I am not sure if I would hold out.
I know it’s not the same with the studio Microsoft bought… But I can’t help but wonder people who sellout might not be such horrible pieces of shit that we imagine them to be.
Yeah, right? Like, that deal sounds like a no-brainer, to me.
Sure, the game could go viral and explode and make money hand over fist, and he’s missing out on that potential… But it probably won’t. And $650K is a lot of money, and he doesn’t need to keep grinding for years to make it happen.
With a paid off house, it’s easy to stay afloat just coasting until he finds something new that excites him.
I have talked to a mobile game Dev, a very drunker heart to heart. He had an India mobile game (like alto). He made about 120k in 5 years between two versions of the game. And then some tenent adjacent studio offered him 650k for the IP.
In his words “All I could think was that in 650k, my house would be paid. My education loan would be paid and I would still have enough money to ensure my kid goes to college and not worry about an education loan. I knew selling game would mean enshittification of my baby. But then i looked at my actual baby and I knew I had to betray the digital one”
That’s the first time I saw it from the dev point of view. He wanted to keep the project, but between choosing fans of his games that can’t keep a subreddit alive and doing right by no name, no face fan base vs 650k hard cash from a shitty studio that would concretely secure his family’s future. I am not sure if I would hold out.
I know it’s not the same with the studio Microsoft bought… But I can’t help but wonder people who sellout might not be such horrible pieces of shit that we imagine them to be.
When you’re young you tend to think accepting money means you’re a sellout.
When you’re an adult you think accepting money means you’re taking care of your family.
Also adults are less likely to think video games are the most important thing in the world.
Yeah, right? Like, that deal sounds like a no-brainer, to me.
Sure, the game could go viral and explode and make money hand over fist, and he’s missing out on that potential… But it probably won’t. And $650K is a lot of money, and he doesn’t need to keep grinding for years to make it happen.
With a paid off house, it’s easy to stay afloat just coasting until he finds something new that excites him.
Who wouldn’t take that deal?