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Articles on: Money in games
Evgeny Grishakov's articles on Money in games: real numbers from our Steam games, release breakdowns and lessons from a developer and publisher.
Money in games
How Much Do Indie Games Make on Steam, and How Many Break Even
The typical paid Steam game earns about $1,000, while a handful of hits pull the average up. We break down data on 1,230 games released in January 2026, revenue thresholds, break-even odds and what the games that earn have in common.
How Much Do Mobile Games Make: Ads, Purchases and Our Own Numbers
Most mobile games make almost nothing: in 2025, games outside the top 1% shared 7.5% of in-app revenue. I break down where a mobile game's income comes from, what the stores take, when paid installs pay off and what our games made, from $86 a quarter to thousands of dollars a month.
How Much Does Steam Take From Game Sales, and What the Developer Keeps
Valve takes 30% of a game sale, but counts it after VAT and refunds, and may then withhold US tax on top. Step by step, I show how much of Meltopia's $456,945 Steam revenue reaches us and how to estimate the payout for your own game.
How to See How Much a Game Made on Steam, and How Wrong the Estimate Is
You can't see the exact revenue of someone else's Steam game from the outside, but you can estimate it from reviews. We break down the formula and the tools, and test the method on Meltopia, whose real gross we know.
Do Indie Games Need a Publisher? What an Indie Game Publisher Does and How Much It Takes
A publisher buys the rights to publish your game and takes a third of the revenue or more, and much more until it earns back its investment. I go through fresh data on contracts and our own experience from both sides: Meltopia without a publisher, Silicone Heart with one, and our own console and mobile publishing labels.
How Much Do Game Developers Make: Salaries in Russia and Income from Your Own Games
In Russia, the median game developer salary in Habr Career surveys is about $2,030 a month: about $976 for a junior, about $3,540 for a senior. On their own games, two thirds of 2025 Steam releases made less than $1,000. I go through Russian salaries by role, the pay ranges in our own job offers, US and UK figures, and what indie, Roblox and Yandex Games developers earn.
How to Publish a Game on RuStore and How Much It Can Earn
How to publish a game on RuStore, Russia's Android app store: VK ID sign-up, APK or AAB, the store card and moderation within 72 hours. Who can get paid for purchases now, what RuStore takes, how to get featured and what our games made: about $1,880 from 34 games in July 2025.