I launched my first commercial game after almost a year of development. Here's what happened after the first week.
I recently released my first-ever commercial video game, Necromancer Delivery Service, a physics-based delivery game inspired by Crazy Taxi, where players take on the role of a struggling necromancer forced into a delivery job in a chaotic city. The game was created by two other developers and me, with me taking the role of project lead and handling much of the overall direction, design decisions, and coordination. After the initial launch week, sales slowed down significantly, and I wanted to share what I've learned so far as a small indie team handling development and marketing. The game has not reached my initial sales expectations, but this project was never only about making a profit. My team and I originally created it as a portfolio piece to showcase our skills and prove that we could bring a complete game from concept to release. One thing I still think about is that I wasn't able to compensate my teammates for their work. This was a volunteer project created as part of our portfolio experience, and everyone understood that going into development, but I still wish I could have provided them with a proper paid opportunity. My teammates put a lot of time and effort into bringing this game to life, and I am extremely grateful for everything they contributed.
The biggest challenge after launch has been marketing. Promotion and spreading awareness were completely new experiences for us. I have always believed that the game should speak for itself, and I realized that making a good game is only one part of releasing something commercially. Getting people to discover it is an entirely separate challenge.
Before release, playtesters were generally very positive about the game. We also brought the game to a public convention where players could try it, and the feedback was very positive. Most of the issues we found were smaller glitches or polish problems, which we fixed before launch. Since release, we have continued supporting the game and are planning additional free updates in the future. However, balancing development, post-launch support, and promotion has been difficult, especially without the budget to hire someone specifically for marketing.
My next game idea is more ambitious, but I want to better understand how to approach scope, development, and marketing after this experience.
For other indie developers who have launched a game:
-How did you handle marketing when you didn't have a budget?
-Did you find anything that helped your game gain traction after launch?
-How did you decide when to move on from a project versus continuing to support it?
I'd appreciate hearing about your experiences. If you're curious about checking out the game, feel free to ask, and I'll send the link.