Solo Developers Are Not Exactly Solo

Its is a bird, its is an plane, no its a solo developer. He turns on his computer, spends 10 years coding without talking to anyone. And develops his dream game and gets rich…

Actually, that might not be so true.

Solo developer

When we think of solo developers, we think of names like Toby Fox, Eric Barone, Greg Styczeń and Jonathan Blow. We think that these people made a game that sold millions of copies and became rich. We can make games like them and get rich too. Of course we can do it. Let’s take a unity course, and after 5 years we can buy an island and become a king.

Unfortunately, things are not as they seem from the outside. These people are really successful people. But we misjudge their situation. They are not solo developers. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a solo developer. After entering the game industry, we realize that no one can make a game alone, even if it is very simple. There is a lot of work involved in making and selling a game. Universe design, narrative, game design, level design, algorithm, coding, QA tests, visual art, localization, sound, music, voice acting, UI/UX, marketing, ads, social media, publishing, budget, planning, contracts…

These are the necessary things to make a game. And all of it has to be done in a professional way. If even one stage is handled in an amateurish way, everything else can go to waste. Just like Schim. A simple mistake in pricing policy caused a game with a 200,000 wishlist to go unsold. (Edit: When I wrote this article, the game had been out for a week and had achieved very low sales figures. It seems to have recovered afterwards.)

So how did these guys succeed? Now, firstly, these guys are geniuses. We are not, we shouldn’t compare ourselves to them. Secondly, these guys are not solo developers. At least not as much as we imagine. For example, Toby Fox has a lot of people working with him. We can easily see this when we look at the credits of Undertale. Yes, he does a lot of things himself, but he has a lot of help. Greg Styczen, the developer of Manor Lords. 10 minutes of credits should tell you something. Maybe we can only give credit to Eric Barone here. He developed the game entirely himself and released it, but this guy worked 15 hours a day. And I still don’t think it was solo developer. His girlfriend Amber Hageman was his financial sponsor during these years of development. She sacrificed as much as Eric Barone. An also, after the first prototype of the game, Eric Barone was exhausted and admitted that he needed a team to develop the game.

Eric Barone and Inev Games

If you dream of being a solo developer, let me tell you that you should give up. (Edit 2: Of course don't give, but if you give up when someone you don't know on the internet tells you to “give up,” then maybe you really should give up.) At least it won’t be the way you envisioned it in your head. You should let some work be done professionally. If you have money, you will have to hire them. If not, you’ll have to build a team.

Finally, these examples are exceptional. This is survivalship bias. You should not fall into this trap. I think the possibility of being successful as a solo developer is similar to the possibility of becoming rich by gambling. At least with this way you won’t get tired. If your goal is to become the next Eric Barone and Toby Fox, I advise you: Give up. But if your goal is to improve yourself, build a portfolio, and introduce yourself to a company with your game, then you are on the right way. I wish you success in your life as a solo developer.