There are what hundreds of games coming out every week?
Most are on android market where they take I dunno 70% of your profits?
Even $100 US a month seems unlikely now as we speak.
Maybe its more profitable to build websites and mobile apps for business people?
As long as the game is , you will make money with it, even when you have to pay 30% of your money to another company (e.g steam, appstore,…) -> the mass makes the profit
Websites and mobile apps are also a good way to earn money, but there the competition is as big as in the game dev. industry + you need a good idea for a programm 
You could also earn money with services -> e.g simulations made with the UE4 for the media/promotion industry (TV),…
On desktop market quality is what is most impotent as most of indie titles lacking it, in mobile (and in desktop too) the idea to make something original, which is very hard in F2P environment.
Making a game shouldn’t be purely about making money… If that’s your only goal then you won’t succeed?
Where did you get those numbers?
Google Play doesn’t get 70% from your profit.
You’ll never make any money as a hobby, games are very hard to make != hobby.
Can you expand more on this making money on services like simulations with UE4 for the media industry?
Here is the thing, I wanted to learn programming by using UE4 or even Unity 5. BUT it won’t be killing 2 birds with one stone, as I was told that I would be better off building a mobile app and a website connected to a database with java script and .net framework etc.
As this would be more beneficial to me when applying for a programming job in the business sector. And there are no game design industry in my country. So if I learn UE4 I would have to make money off it, or use the project to show an employer so they would consider it as part of my skills you know? in the end I may be better off creating other stuff that would have more weight than a game.
I can just give you some examples -> here in Austria a company searched someone which could create a simulation of a ropeway for promotional purposes. They were searching for a Unity or UE4 dev to create the simulation. Another one searched a UE4 dev for a simulation of a weather forecast,… I dont know if the projects were realized, but they had a job ad on a job advertisement site.
^ ooow I see thanks. Sounds interesting.
Is programming your primary focus?
Totally agree with you man. It should be about the love of the game. Money if it ever comes should be secondary. But the sad truth is that indie devs almost never make it. Simple fact is that indies are constrained by funding.
I don’t know, maybe I guess. I should have probably gotten my truck license, LOL I would have been in a better position today.
Well there is a difference between making money on a game you make and making money because you have marketable skills.
If you want to put 100% of what you make into your pocket…mostly…then freelance.
freelance looks like a good site to make money off. And I can underbid most people, stuff that Americans would charge $12,000 for, the Indians seem to be charging $1800. I could go a little lower than the Indians.
I think I would have more luck making money on that site rather than building a UE4 game yes? wonder how long it will take me to learn this programming now.
I also know I could make money locally in my country from folks who have university assignments and homework etc. In the past they had called me but I didn’t do anything in ASP.NET it was always Joomla for me.
There’s definitely more consistent money in building apps (or websites) for other people. I feel like the website design/development field is probably a bit oversaturated, and the rates tend to be lower. Mobile is clearly headed in that direction, but it’s not there yet.
But… that’s the nature of not just app development, but pretty much any technically-dependent artist endeavor (movies, apps, website, etc.). The people taking the risk are the ones who will make a lot of money if things go well. They’re also the ones who will lose money if they don’t. People working for them will (in theory) get paid either way.
It’s basically the same equation anyone deciding to work for themselves or for someone else faces. Do you choose the steady paycheck or the higher risk path with greater potential and freedom?
It’s not easy.
There are brief moments in time when the basic equation changes. Those who had games on Apple’s App Store the day it opened nearly all did well, for example. But generally speaking, it’s hard to make a successful game that turns a profit. Really hard. Heck, there are more Flappy Bird clones in the App Store then there were apps the day the store launched. A lot of people are still chasing down that gold rush.
Yes, you should love making games – there are easier ways to make a buck – but that’s not enough. It’s not an “if you build it, they will come” situation, especially on the app stores, which are flooded with hundreds of new apps daily. Your starting point has to be a good, fun game. But that’s not enough to be successful. You have to get the word out. You have to rise above the din of a crowded market. You have to get people to notice you in the first place and then get them to decide to spend their money.
But, it’s a lot easier than it used to be. The tools are better, cheaper, and more accessible. i hear people complain about the 30% payout to the app stores all the time, but those people have almost certainly never had to go through the process of getting a piece of boxed software onto retailers’ shelves. Because it cost a lot more than 30%. You had substantial up-front costs that made it nearly impossible for individuals and small companies. You had to maintain an inventory. You had to take returns. You had to pay for better product placement, or to be featured in ads.
The fact that a small team today can create a great looking game and sell it to consumers with relatively little in the way of up front costs is incredible to me.
You definitely absolutely definitely 100% can make money. But that doesn’t mean you will, and it definitely doesn’t mean it’ll be easy.
^ thanks I like your approach to life. Its incredibly spot on and 100% accurate.
What I want to do is get the programming skills necessary to build apps and make bids on freelance website. I think there is a possibility of me making money from freelance I know that people say there are thousands upon thousands of developers there. But still the amount of jobs that are posted there every minute is huge.
I think I can succeed in life, I just have to try hard is what I think. And I think over the years if I work on a UE4 project in my spare time I think one day I can also make money from this.
is spot on in my opinion
unless you work for someone else there will be good times(with money) and horrible times(no money coming in which our team calls dry spells) and thats not even for game development that’s in a design.website.software development company that I am a co-owner of. especially in the beggining
I believe it is still possible to make money from UE4 Games by innovating how the game is monetized and marketed. I’ve planned to offer 2 or more ways to pay and play using the same game content with item malls, tournaments/contests, gifts, and group purchases. Compliment sells with physical merchandise such as mugs & t-shirts with services like cafe press. These items serve a dual purpose as advertisement. Why not sell your own Game manuals, etc. I favor a commission-driven multi-tier referral program for distribution, over steam, appstore, etc. Not only is the competition fierce in game production, its equally fierce in how these games are monetize and marketed.
To be fair, it has always been hard to make money from games. Even back in the shareware days (early 90’s) where developers had virtually non-existent overheads, no distribution costs and could keep all revenue generated, they were still doing well if they made enough to scrape by.
I would argue that today it is easier to make eye-catching games with great access to middleware like UE4 and Unity, and easier to distribute to a mass audience via Steam.
Unfortunately, it has always been the case that the big budget blockbusters make all the money, and the indies and individuals make very little unless they produce something truly special.
I think is quite the opposite, it’s the best time to make money from games.
But to succeed you not only need a good game, you need to be a good marketer and provide something that is interesting to the market.
The truth is that the majority of people is focused on selfish needs and that includes developers, we fall in love with our concepts and creations but if they’re not valuable to the market you won’t get any money in return.
You need to find a balance between creativity and market “wants” and that’s accomplished through massive testing.
There’s not been a better moment than now to test stuff, you can make a protoype with promotion material in a matter of weeks, share it all over the Internet and get feedback very quickly, and the cost is almost zero.
And if you can spend money advertising you can accelerate the process massively through ASO and PPC.
Yes, on average there is no much money, but that is simply because the marketplace is saturated with uninspired clones and with shameless creations using default assets.
But think about it, that is good news! because if you’re a little bit smart you can stand out very easily.
Hello. Yes you can make money with ue4 but you just have to make a game or tools for game development that are highly sought after. Single player story games dont usually make a ton of money for long periods of time, but mmorpg games will maintain a constant cash flow as long as you continue to make DLC. Think of popular single player games that would be fun if made massively multiplayer, such as super mario galaxy or kingdom hearts. That should send you in the right direction.