Production Timeline
Budget at a Glance
YEAR 1:
YEAR 2:
YEAR 3:
YEAR 4:
-0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1m ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2m
Average Annual Burn: 1.Xm
Performance of Comparable Indies
Reviewing the high-performers from the last 8 years of other single-player RPGs has allowed us to outline some reasonable goals. Of the titles shown, when considering art style, length, and gameplay, Sifu is our current lodestar for a successful release and lifecycle of The End of Ardestea. As such, this has informed the following production decisions:
- Console releases are highly recommended – Xbox, PS5, and Switch.
- Price point of $39.99, with frequent discount sales at $29.99 – as Steam reports that more users are willing to purchase a game if it is on sale.
- Target sales of 1M units on Steam can expect to be reflected in equal sales across all console platforms.
- FIREWATCH
- HELLBLADE
- PLAGUE TALE
- STRAY
- SIFU
- CRAB
| Title |
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| Studio, Size | Campo Santo - 12 | NinjaTheory - 20 | Focus Ent. - 40 | BlueTwelve - 18 | Sloclap - 60 | Aggro Crab - 13 |
| Release Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2019 | 2022 | 2022 | 2024 |
| Publisher | Panic Inc. | Xbox Games | Self Publish | Annapurna | Kepler Interactive | Self Publish |
| Steam Sales* | 1.97M - 2.57M | 1.62M - 2.59M | 1.68M - 1.8M | 3.72M - 4.62M | 600k - 1.3M | 241k - 480k |
| Profit Range** | $13.7M - $26M | $16.9M - $35.8M | $18.6M - $33.2M | $56.2 M - $94.1M | $16.8M - $38.1M | $6.7M - $13.2M |
| Total Sales*** | 2.5M (2018) | 6.3M (2021) | 3.4M (2022) | 9M (2025) | 3M (2024) | 500k (2024) |
| Price | $19.99 | $29.99 | $39.99 | $29.99 | $39.99 | $29.99 |
| TEOA Percent Performance at Profit | % | % | % | % | % | % |
**Profit Range may not include Steam, Unity or Unreal percentage cuts. Gross aggregated from Gamalytics.
***Total Sales dependent on self-reporting over social media or gaming news outlets.
Other conclusions can be drawn about the efficacy of an established publisher – by all accounts Aggro Crab “goofed” their way to 500k sales with guerilla marketing on TikTok, where A Plague Tale: Innocence enjoyed the benefit of a long standing IP. Of the titles that were published out of house, unsurprising standouts include Annapurna (Stray, Journey, Outer Wilds) and Panic Inc (Firewatch, Untitled Goose Game). This brings our final two conclusions quite easily:
- We’ll need to be courting publishers.
- Without the benefit of an established IP, effective grassroots marketing is a must.
Path to Profit
Revenue Diversification
The ASk
For the production of The End of Ardestea, over a period of 4 years from day zero:
Pragmatic Unknowns
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a Message from the Producers
Contact US
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