Gunpoint finds pre-order success after 64 seconds
PC Gamer writer makes the move into games development
Indie game developer Tom Francis has not only recouped the development costs for his debut title Gunpoint, but made enough to quit his day job.
"About 1 minute and 4 seconds after Gunpoint became available for pre-order on the evening of Monday the 27th of May, it had recouped its development costs," said Francis.
"This was not entirely surprising, since the only direct development cost was buying Game Maker 8 for $30 three years ago."
The game went on sale June 3, and Francis announced his departure from his day job (as a writer with PC Gamer magazine) on June 12. He added that due to the success of Gunpoint he was now able to continue to make games independently and without creative restraints, and could continue to sell them the way he wanted to.
"I can afford to keep being nice. I didn't let anyone pay for Gunpoint until I was ready to put a free demo out, so everyone would have a way to make sure it ran OK on their system and that they liked it before giving me any money," he explained.
"I have no idea if and how much the pre-release demo hurt Gunpoint's sales, but it doesn't matter now - that's how I want to treat people, and the amazing support for Gunpoint means I can afford to."
GamesIndustry International will be publishing a full interview with Francis about his success next week.