Joke Game Generates $1.38 Million in Sales But Leaves Creator with Minimal Profit

An indie developer expected a massive payday before players started utilizing Steam refunds.

This year, indie developer Stolen Valor Studios released a niche project on Steam called This Game Costs 200 Dollars, pricing it at $200.

In an interview with WMUR-TV, Stolen Valor Studios stated that the $200 price tag was chosen because it was the maximum price allowed for a game on Steam at the time, although games like Congratulations On Your Purchase exist and cost around $1,000. The developer did not expect anyone to buy it, but after seeing a nominal revenue of $1.3 million, the developer nearly died.

In reality, This Game Costs 200 Dollars generated only about $2,000. This happened because many buyers utilized the Steam refund feature. As the developer noted, a large portion of the game’s sales originated from China:

Based on the provided data, sales of This Game Costs 200 Dollars reached 6,717 copies, out of which 6,707 users requested a refund, meaning more than 99% of the sales were refunded.

The revenue truly reached $1.38 million, but the actual profit is hundreds of times smaller.