RTS developer explained how $560k in sales turns into "$15k a year" - revealed the money distribution structure

Selling games can bring in a lot of money, but often the developer themselves only gets a small portion.

Some projects bring in millions or even billions of dollars, but not everyone is so lucky. Some creators receive (relatively) modest profits.

Recently, Northend Games, the developer of strategy games called Northend Tower Defense and Deepstone Rift, decided to share information about their financial successes with colleagues.

The RTS sales figure on Steam reached $560,000, but in fact, the creator received less than a third of that amount.

The developer explained how $560,000 turned into $73,000 (or $15,000 per year of work):

• Refunds accounted for $134,000 — over 60% of copies sold are in China. There, Northend Games explains, there's a huge market, but local players “have high demands.” The refund rate for games was 22% compared to the standard 10-15%.

• Steam commission — $127,000. After refunds, $425,000 remains from the original $560,000. Valve takes a standard 30% of this amount, leaving $297,000.
• The US tax authority takes $9,700. The developer opened an account when he lived in Iraq — this country does not have a double taxation avoidance agreement with the US, so in his case, the tax was 30%. He then moved to Thailand, where such an agreement exists, so the rate is now 5%. After tax payment, $287,700 remains.
• The publisher took $115,000.
• Local taxes (in Thailand, 15% on income from digital products) accounted for another $26,000.

The final profit was $146,000, and after sharing the income with the studio's co-founder, the developer received $73,000 “in hand” — i.e., about “$15,000 per year.” However, this amount is enough to live in Thailand: