Steam Week in Evaluate: This indie writer launched 29 terrible-looking Steam video games in a single day—will they make any cash?

It has been a busy week for prodigious recreation writer Onerous Shark Video games: on September 15 it launched an astonishing 29 video games on Steam throughout an enormous number of genres.

Not solely did Onerous Shark Video games publish that many video games, however the firm can be marked as developer for each certainly one of them. All of which, thoughts you, are early entry affairs. “We’re launching in Early Entry to contain the neighborhood from the very begin,” reads the primary sentence of each single one of many early entry blurbs for Onerous Shark Video games launched in September 2026, which embody genres as various as racing, retail sim, survival horror, sport, flight sim and 2D platformer.

The identical is true for among the 29 video games Onerous Shark Video games launched on March 4 final yr: “We’re launching in Early Entry to contain the neighborhood from the very begin,” reads the primary line within the blurb for Speedboat Simulator. “We’re launching in Early Entry to contain the neighborhood from the very begin,” reads the primary line within the blurb for Toy Battlegrounds: Shoot ‘Em Up Survival. You get the thought.

The “firm” has additionally taken the same strategy to early entry updates: the replace notes for Starship Fighters, Sky Fight and Streets of Rageness (!) are an identical: “Optimized a number of core methods, leading to smoother gameplay and as much as 10% higher total efficiency, particularly throughout longer periods,” reads the primary sentence of all three, every of which had been revealed on March 5 inside 5 minutes of one another.

Will Onerous Shark Video games revenue from any of the 29 Steam video games it launched final week? Chances are you’ll be stunned. It prices $100 to open a Steam retailer web page, which is recoupable if a recreation makes greater than $1,000 adjusted gross income. So it could have value Onerous Shark Video games $2,900 to publish its 29 very unpromising trying video games on Steam, all of which carry an AI disclosure for capsule artwork however no different facet of improvement.

Chances are you’ll like

Utilizing the favored Boxleiter Technique (by way of impress.video games), which makes use of a recreation’s public Steam evaluate depend to estimate gross sales, Grocery store Life Simulator—to make use of only one instance—may have made as a lot as $885 as a excessive estimate, or $295 on the decrease finish. Then there’s Pool: it may have made as a lot as $2,780 or as little as $926. In the meantime, for F1 Simulator we’re $1,686 as a excessive estimate and $562 as a low.

So including up the low estimates, these three video games alone—of 29—have made $1,783 within the 5 days since launch. That is nicely over half of Onerous Shark Video games’ outlay for the shop listings in lower than every week available on the market, although if the excessive estimates are extra correct, the $2,900 outlay has been lengthy handed and Onerous Shark Video games’ funding is already paying off handsomely.

In fact, that assumes these video games value nothing to make, and that is unlikely, regardless that all of them look fairly low effort. For instance, Grocery store Life Simulator clearly makes use of the $50 Checkout Frenzy – Comfort Retailer Simulator Unity template, which very many retail sims on Steam do. There’s nothing unsuitable with utilizing a template, however evaluating the pictures of Grocery store Life Simulator with the Unity template screenshots reveals some an identical grocery imagery. Steam consumer critiques declare Grocery store Life Simulator is a straight asset flip of the template, and that is an accusation levelled at Onerous Shark Video games very often.

(Additionally: how on earth did Kratos find yourself in a screenshot for the creative-titled Axe Slasher?)

Onerous Shark Video games has a complete of 217 listings on Steam. Of all of these—which absorb 121 video games and 96 demos—the very best peak concurrent participant determine is a whopping 13. So as to add insult to harm, that document excessive is for a demo, specifically Grocery store Simulator Professional Demo, which is not accessible. So not many individuals play these video games within the scheme of issues, however assuming Onerous Shark Video games is only one individual turning out extraordinarily low cost template-based software program at a speedy tempo, the enterprise is certainly able to making a tidy sum of cash.

What to learn subsequent

I’ve reached out to Onerous Shark Video games to see if somebody there’ll shed additional mild on their methodology. It is hardly the least prolific writer on Steam although: BFG Leisure has launched a whopping 555 video games, whereas PlayWay—the non secular residence of shortly rotated retail sims—has 340.

Prime Steam video games by income (September 8 – 15)

Wardogs hitting primary in its launch week was inevitable: it is a uncommon instance of an early entry multiplayer launch the place the dialog is not centered on what’s unsuitable with the sport. Gamers—together with our Morgan—appear to be loving it.

Final week The Blood of Dawnwalker hit primary in its launch week; now it is all the way down to 10, which is an effective end result for a single participant RPG. It did appear to outperform Onimusha, on PC a minimum of: final week the latter ranked sixth, whereas this week it is at thirteenth. It is probably promoting a lot better on PlayStation.

Halloween: The Recreation is not accessible in Australia—it was refused classification—however seems within the chart however.

Final week’s Steam deep cuts