Getting a job vs starting for yourself

Starting for yourself.

It has never been easier to write a game for yourself or with a couple of friends. Unreal & Unity take care of the technical foundation and Steam is a great way to publish.

This is a new thing. Up until 2010 it was almost impossible to produce a competitive game with less than a dozen people.

So, should you take advantage of this and write your own game?

Unfortunately many people are thinking the same thing and competition is stiff.

This is a graph of the number of games released on Steam.


Clearly there is a lot of competition.

How much money can you expect to make? It's complicated but:

68% of titles released on Steam in 2019 have made less than $10k to date.

The chances are that your first games on Steam are not going to make anywhere near enough to live off. Here are some interesting videos by CodeMonkey who is experienced and able to eek out a living on Steam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQMfT_RqBgk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg3Xrv7jUtk

Keep in mind most developers aren't anywhere near as successful as him.

There is nothing like making your own game and it is the fastest way to learn. If you are able to release a decent game on Steam it will really help you getting a job with a big company if that's what you decide to do later on.

Even though it is unlikely you will be able to make a living writing Indie games, it is a great stepping stone into games and if you have the room in your life to do it you should absolutely consider it.

Working for yourself means working crazy hours and it will be difficult to combine with a family.


Getting a job.

Getting a job with an existing company has many advantages.

You work with more experienced people and can learn from them.

Your game is more likely to be successful and that's good for your cv.

You have better job security and are more likely to make more money. This allows you to move forwards with other areas of your life such as buying a house and starting a family.

Working for a bigger company is the safe option but it does slow you down. In a big company you start at the bottom and will have to work your way up. It is harder to stand out and some companies promote based on seniority/age rather than competence.

The bigger a team is, the further divided the work is. This can cause you to get pigeonholed in a particular area and it may be difficult to try your hand at different things.



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