Cost Breakdown #
Development costs are only a single aspect of what it takes to make a game, and if you think that you’re going to get every dollar of your game’s price tag… think again.
While you may be able to retain more of your sale by self-publishing on platforms with better distribution rates (like Itch.io), you also miss out on quite a bit of marketing potential that publishers or other platforms like Steam can offer.
Not to mention that games released on more prominant (and less accessible) platforms like Steam or game consoles tend to be viewed as more “serious” or “quality” titles, which may help your game’s public reputation.
When planning your game, you’ll want to consider your distribution strategy early on:
- What platforms/consoles do you want to release on?
- If offered, what features of these platforms do you want to make use of? (Achievements, social tools, trading cards, etc)
- Where in the world do you want to release your game? (You’ll need this for determining taxes and other potential retail costs.)
- How are you going to make your game known to others?
- Will you be working with a marketing agency or publisher to spread the word?
- Will you run ads on YouTube or Twitch?
- Will you run ads on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc…?
- Will you be sponsoring content creators in exchange for a promotion?
The Average Cost Breakdown of a $60 AAA Game #
$30–35 for a major brand AAA sold at $59.99 is a common round number used in the industry for wholesale. In-box retail usually wholesales for half. Digital sales can be a 70/30 split. Some digital distributors are closer to 80/20.
That is gross wholesale, before expenses. Cost of goods, on a boxed version will be $8–10. An engine company will usually get some of a PC game, or the console company will get some. Different middleware might get a little slice and of course any licensor of IP, from concept to music will want something. There are server costs, on going advertising, title contribution to studio costs. In the end $10 - 14 of actual profit might be about right.
But remember, they earn nothing until they pay back the development costs.
_Taken from Quora: How much do game companies make from each game they sell if each game costs 60 dollars?
