Join players and independent developers in the NeonRoof Discord community to discuss these games, publishing, and practical game-development work.
What should an indie game cost?
There is no universal price for an indie game. A useful starting price reflects the audience, depth, polish, replay value, comparable releases, ongoing support, regional affordability, store fees, taxes, refunds, and the studio's goals. Price is a promise about value, so it should be explainable without calling the game premium merely because development was difficult.
Build a comparison set
Choose five to ten recently available games with a similar genre, scope, platform, production level, and audience. Record their normal price, common sale price, amount of content, review pattern, release age, and support history. Do not compare a first two-hour project with a mature game that has years of updates.
Complete the pricing worksheet
Write down:
- Estimated playtime and replay value
- Single-player, cooperative, or competitive scope
- Current polish, accessibility, and localization
- Planned updates and real support capacity
- Store fee, payment processing, taxes, refunds, and chargebacks
- Regional pricing or purchasing-power strategy
- Sustainable launch discount and future sale floor
- Revenue needed to support the next milestone
The worksheet does not calculate a perfect number. It exposes assumptions that can be tested with players and adjusted before launch.
Decide whether free, paid, or a demo fits
Free can maximize access but does not remove hosting and support costs. Pay-what-you-want may fit experiments and community releases. A paid game needs a clear value proposition. A demo can reduce uncertainty when it represents the real experience and ends with an appropriate next step.
Read how to build a demo that converts interested players before treating a demo as automatic marketing.
Keep discounts trustworthy
Set a real base price, avoid permanent artificial discounts, and document when the launch offer ends. Review each storefront's current pricing and discount rules. Regional prices need deliberate review; a direct currency conversion can produce prices that make little sense locally.
Publish the reasoning clearly
Your public page should show the actual price, included content, release state, required accounts, refund route, and meaningful limitations. NeonRoof supports free and paid PC listings, with paid releases gated by identity and Stripe payout readiness. Review where to publish an indie game and start NeonRoof developer onboarding when your pricing and release package are ready.
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