Game Development Cost Calculator: Budget a Game

Enter who works on your game, for how many months and at what monthly cost, then add one-off costs such as software, assets, marketing and the Steam Direct fee. The calculator totals the budget, charts where the money goes and works out how many copies you need to sell at your price to earn it back after the store's cut.

Step 1 of 3: Team
Who works on the game, for how long, and what does each month cost?
The starting figures are examples, not market rates. Replace them with your own salary, a contractor's quote or what you need to live on, so unpaid months count too.

How to use it

  1. List each role with its months and cost per month, using Add role for more, and press Next.
  2. Enter your one-off costs, tick Release on Steam to include the Steam Direct fee, and press Next.
  3. Enter your price per copy and pick Steam or Other store with its cut.
  4. Press Calculate budget to see the total, the breakdown chart and the break-even number of copies.
  5. Press Copy as markdown to paste the budget into your design document or pitch.

How the budget and break-even point are worked out

The total is every role's months multiplied by its monthly cost, plus the one-off costs. People are usually most of a game's budget, so count your own time too: if you are not paying yourself, enter what you need to live on, or the budget hides the biggest cost.

Break-even is the fewest copies whose revenue after the store's cut covers the whole budget. On Steam, Valve takes 30% of a game's revenue up to $10 million, 25% of revenue between $10 million and $50 million and 20% above that, so most indie games keep 70% of each sale.

Worked example with the starting figures: a programmer and designer for 12 months at $4,000, an artist for 6 months at $3,500 and sound for 1 month at $3,000 cost $72,000. With $5,000 of one-off costs and the $100 Steam fee, the budget is $77,100. At $14.99 on Steam that takes 7,339 copies, or about $110,000 in gross sales, to earn back.

Costs that are easy to forget

The Steam Direct fee is $100 for each app you release on Steam. It is not refundable, and Valve pays it back in your payout once the game reaches $1,000 in Adjusted Gross Revenue, which the break-even figure includes.

The engine can cost nothing: Godot is free and open source under the MIT license, so you pay no fees or royalties on what you sell. The license only asks you to include Godot's copyright notice and license text somewhere in your game, such as the credits.

Other costs to budget for: paid tools and plugins, bought art, music, sound effects and fonts, a trailer, capsule art, festival or event fees, test devices, controllers, legal help and age ratings for consoles. Put them in the Other field if they do not fit elsewhere.

Why real revenue is lower than price times copies

The break-even figure assumes every copy sells at full price with no refunds. In practice many copies sell during discounts and at lower regional prices, some buyers refund, sales tax and VAT are not yours, and any publisher takes its share after the store. Treat the copies figure as a minimum and see the Steam revenue calculator for a fuller estimate with refunds and average price paid.

To lower the break-even point, shrink the scope before you raise the price: fewer levels, fewer characters and a shorter schedule cut the largest line, the team's months.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to make an indie game?
It depends almost entirely on how many people work on it and for how long. A solo developer working a year spends their own living costs plus a few thousand dollars on tools, assets and marketing, while a small paid team for two years can cost hundreds of thousands. Enter your own team to get a number for your game.
How much does it cost to publish a game on Steam?
The Steam Direct fee is $100 per game. Valve pays it back once the game earns $1,000 in Adjusted Gross Revenue, and then takes a share of each sale: 30% up to $10 million in revenue.
How many copies do I need to sell to break even?
Divide your budget by what you keep from each sale. On Steam you keep 70% of the price, so a $50,000 budget at $10 per copy needs about 7,143 copies before refunds, discounts and taxes.
Does Godot cost money to use for a commercial game?
No. Godot is free and MIT-licensed, with no fees or royalties on sales. You only need to include its copyright notice and license text, for example in your credits.
Should I include my own time in the budget?
Yes. Even if nobody pays you, your months are the largest cost of most indie games. Enter what you need to live on per month so the break-even point shows what the game must earn to be worth the time.

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