How Do Indie Game Developers Make Money?

Indie game developers make money through game and DLC sales, crowdfunding, direct fan support, publisher advances, platform or subscription deals, grants, bundles, mobile ads and in-app purchases, merchandise, licensing, and memberships. Storefront economics vary: Steam starts at 70/30, itch.io lets sellers choose its share, and Epic offers 100/0 on the first $1M per product annually.

This page covers the three channels that publish a rate you can check — storefront sales, crowdfunding, and direct fan support. Publisher advances, platform and subscription deals, grants, bundles, merchandise, and licensing are negotiated per contract, publish no standard rate, and are noted here only where a public figure exists.

Where does indie game revenue actually come from?

Indie game revenue comes from three fan-facing channels with different published economics: storefront sales, where Valve's standard Steam split pays the developer 70% and Valve 30% (Valve); crowdfunding, where Kickstarter charges a 5% platform fee (Kickstarter — Fees); and direct fan support — tips, paid private questions, project-goal contributions, and recurring memberships paid to the developer outside either system.

• Storefront sales — a player buys a game, DLC, or in-game item through Steam, itch.io, the Epic Games Store, or a console marketplace. Depending on the store, the platform either sets its revenue share or lets the developer choose it.
• Pre-launch crowdfunding — backers pledge money toward a proposed game, usually in exchange for rewards such as a finished copy, Discord access, or physical merchandise. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are common venues.
• Direct fan support — a fan pays the developer directly for a tip, a private question, support toward a specific project goal, or a recurring membership, independent of any storefront listing or crowdfunding campaign. The broader mechanics are covered in how to monetize followers directly.

Direct fan support platforms publish their own rates. Ko-fi Free charges 0% on one-time tips and a flat 5% service fee on everything else, including shop items, memberships, and monthly tips (Ko-fi Help Center — Does Ko-fi take a fee?). Buy Me a Coffee charges no monthly fee and a 5% transaction fee, leaving the creator 95% of earnings, with card processing of typically 2.9% + 30¢ handled separately.

These are not the only ways indie developers earn money, and several carry public, citable rates. Apple's App Store charges a 30% standard commission on paid apps and in-app purchases, reduced to 15% for developers enrolled in the App Store Small Business Program (Apple Developer — App Store Small Business Program). Google Play charges a 15% service fee on the first $1M (USD) a developer earns each year and 30% on earnings above $1M, for developers enrolled in the 15% service fee tier (Google Play Console Help — Service fees). Patreon-style memberships carry a 10% platform fee on Patreon's standard plan, before payment processing and taxes. Publisher advances, grants, game bundles, merchandise, and licensing are negotiated individually per contract or program, so they have no single public rate to cite and are excluded from the fee comparison below.

Storefront revenue generally begins with a game or related product that players can purchase through that store. Crowdfunding requires a campaign pitch. Direct fan support can begin earlier, including while a developer is sharing prototypes, devlogs, or work-in-progress builds.

How much do Steam, itch.io, and Epic actually keep?

Valve keeps 30% of Steam sales until a title passes $10M in lifetime revenue, itch.io lets the seller set its platform share anywhere from 0% to 100% with 10% suggested as the default, and the Epic Games Store keeps 12% only after a product's first $1M in annual net revenue (Valve; itch.io; Epic Games Store).

Valve’s standard Steam split gives the developer 70% and Valve 30%, with the developer share rising to 75% after $10M and 80% after $50M in per-title lifetime revenue.

Valve charges a $100 Steam Direct fee per product submitted to Steam; the fee is not refundable but is recoupable in the payment made after that product reaches at least $1,000 in adjusted gross revenue on Steam (Valve — Steam Direct). Valve issues Steam earnings monthly by electronic funds transfer only once a developer's products have exceeded a minimum $100 payment threshold for the prior month. Valve's revenue share is applied to Net Revenues — Gross Revenues less applicable adjustments — and Valve remits the sales tax and VAT it collects to the relevant tax authorities before that share is calculated.

itch.io allows sellers to set its platform share from 0% to 100%, with 10% presented as the suggested default. Setting itch.io’s share to 0% removes its platform cut, but most PayPal transactions on itch.io still carry a payment processing fee of $0.30 + 2.9% per transaction.

The Epic Games Store gives developers 100% of the first $1M in net revenue per product each year, after which its standard split is 88% to the developer and 12% to Epic.

What does crowdfunding an indie game cost?

Crowdfunding an indie game costs roughly 8–10% of the money raised on either major platform. Kickstarter charges a 5% platform fee, plus US payment processing of 3% + $0.20 per pledge; pledges under $10 use a micropledge rate of 5% + $0.05. Indiegogo charges a comparable 5% platform fee, plus payment processing of 3% + $0.20 per transaction.

Kickstarter uses an all-or-nothing funding model: if a campaign ends without reaching its funding goal, backers are not charged and the creator receives no funds (Kickstarter Help Center — Why is funding all-or-nothing?). A missed goal therefore returns $0 to the developer regardless of how much was pledged during the campaign.

Because the processing fee carries a fixed per-pledge component, the effective rate falls as pledges get larger. Applying Kickstarter's published US schedule, a $5 micropledge costs $0.55 (11.0% effective, $4.45 net), a $25 pledge costs $2.20 (8.8% effective, $22.80 net), and a $100 pledge costs $8.20 (8.2% effective, $91.80 net).

That produces a combined fee of roughly 8–11% for a typical campaign on either platform, depending on pledge sizes. The result is close to itch.io’s suggested 10% platform share, below Steam’s standard 30% share, and near Epic’s 12% standard share after a product exceeds its first $1M in annual net revenue. These are not identical transactions: crowdfunding funds a promised future reward, while a storefront processes the sale of a listed product.

Crowdfunding also creates work beyond the fee. A developer needs a campaign pitch, reward tiers, promotion, backer communication, and potentially physical or digital fulfillment. It can fund production when an audience is willing to pledge, but it is not simply a lower-fee substitute for distribution through a storefront. For a closer comparison with lighter-weight fan funding, see creator wishlist vs. crowdfunding.

What can indie developers earn before the game is finished?

Before a game is finished, indie developers earn through direct fan support rather than storefront sales: Patreon's standard plan charges a 10% platform fee before payment processing and taxes, while FanBell charges a flat 12% only on transactions where a fan actually pays, with no monthly fee (FanBell pricing).

A developer may already have an audience before there is a purchasable game: devlog readers, Discord members, gameplay-clip viewers, or livestream followers. Direct support gives that audience a way to fund the work in progress, either through a transaction-based tool or a recurring membership.

A recurring membership suits developers who want predictable monthly income from a smaller committed audience, while per-transaction support suits developers who would rather not promise monthly deliverables. Neither model requires a storefront listing, a submission fee, or a funding goal that must be met before any money is released.

The relevant entry costs differ sharply. Steam requires a $100 Steam Direct fee per product before a listing can go live (Valve — Steam Direct), and Kickstarter releases no funds at all unless a campaign reaches its goal, whereas Ko-fi Free charges 0% on one-time tips with no listing and no goal. The same pattern is covered in how to monetize followers directly.

Disclosure: FanBell is this site's own product, so the figures that follow come from FanBell's published documentation rather than a third party. FanBell charges a flat 12% only on transactions where a fan pays, with no monthly fee, no follower minimum, and no finished-build or storefront-listing requirement, across project support, tips, and paid private questions (FanBell pricing; how FanBell works).

The table below separates each channel's platform share from its published payment processing, because the two are charged separately and are often quoted as a single number. These are not like-for-like revenue events — a storefront processes the sale of a listed product, a crowdfunding pledge buys a promised future reward, and a tip or paid question buys neither — and none of the figures account for refunds, chargebacks, or the income tax a developer owes on what they receive.

Applying those published rates to a single $10 payment: a $10 Steam sale returns $7.00 of net revenue at the standard 70/30 split (Valve); the same $10 sale on the Epic Games Store returns $10.00 inside a product's first $1M of annual net revenue and $8.80 after it; a $10 itch.io sale at the suggested 10% share returns $9.00 before PayPal's $0.30 + 2.9%, or about $8.41 after it; a $10 Kickstarter pledge costs $0.50 in platform fee plus $0.50 in processing, returning $9.00; a $10 Buy Me a Coffee payment returns $9.50 before card processing of typically 2.9% + 30¢, or about $8.91 after it; and a $10 FanBell payment returns $8.80 at its flat 12%, processing included.

Scaled up, a $10,000 Kickstarter campaign funded by 400 US pledges of $25 pays $500 in platform fee (5%) plus $380 in processing (400 × [3% + $0.20]), returning $9,120 — an effective 8.8% cost — while the same campaign missing its goal returns $0 (Kickstarter — Fees; Kickstarter Help Center — Why is funding all-or-nothing?).

Developers who publish devlogs or stream work-in-progress builds can find additional audience-specific offer ideas in how gaming creators can monetize their audience.

How can you publish a direct offer before launch?

A direct offer needs only a clear description, a price, and a delivery expectation — not a finished build, a $100 Steam Direct submission (Valve — Steam Direct), or a funding goal that must be met before money is released (Kickstarter Help Center). Any direct-support platform works; on this site's own product the process is documented in how FanBell works.

Frequently asked questions

Do indie developers need a certain number of followers before charging fans directly?

No. Ko-fi Free charges 0% on one-time tips with no follower requirement, Buy Me a Coffee charges a 5% transaction fee and no monthly fee, and this site's own FanBell charges a flat 12% with no follower minimum. A small audience can therefore support a developer before the game has a storefront listing.

Is Steam’s cut the same for every developer?

Steam begins with a 70% developer / 30% Valve split. The developer share rises to 75% after a title passes $10M in lifetime revenue and to 80% after it passes $50M (Valve — Steamworks revenue share tiers).

How much does it cost to put a game on Steam?

Valve charges a $100 Steam Direct fee for each product submitted to Steam, non-refundable but recoupable in the payment made after that product reaches at least $1,000 in adjusted gross revenue. Valve then pays out monthly by electronic funds transfer once earnings exceed a minimum $100 threshold.

Is itch.io free to sell on?

itch.io lets the seller set its platform share from 0% to 100%, so a developer can set itch.io’s share to 0%; the platform suggests 10% as the default. A 0% platform share should not be interpreted as a guarantee that every payment-related cost is zero.

Does crowdfunding replace selling through a storefront?

No. Crowdfunding raises production money through pledges for future rewards; it does not replace a PC storefront’s distribution and purchasing system. If the completed game is later sold through Steam, itch.io, or Epic, those later sales follow that storefront’s applicable revenue-share terms.

Neutral summary: an indie developer selling on Steam keeps 70% of Net Revenues until a title passes $10M (Valve); on the Epic Games Store, 100% of the first $1M in annual net revenue per product and 88% after; on itch.io, whatever share the seller sets, minus $0.30 + 2.9% on most PayPal transactions; and on Kickstarter, roughly 89–92% of a funded campaign after its 5% fee and processing. Direct fan support platforms publish platform fees of 0–12%, but payment processing of roughly 2.9% + 30¢ is charged separately on most of them, so the effective cost on a small payment is higher than the headline rate — a $10 Buy Me a Coffee payment nets about $8.91, an effective 10.9%, once its 5% fee and typical 2.9% + 30¢ processing are both applied.

Disclosure: FanBell is this site's own product. It charges a flat 12% only when a fan pays, with no monthly fee and no follower minimum (FanBell pricing; how FanBell works). Create your free FanBell page and add a direct-payment option next to whatever you're already building.