Then what makes you think they will even be able to make the game in the first place? Where are they getting the money to pay for the software licenses? Or the computer hardware? Or like I have pointed out a million times by now, ***the money to even just pay themselves wages? ***
And no, you can’t make a good game on a zero dollar budget. A lot of indie devs think they can bypass all the costs by using free programs or assets. They can’t. Or at least not without massively sacrificing quality.
Cry me a river. You aren’t being denied food or healthcare. Nobody is entitled to making it as a video game developer. If it’s for the industry’s own good to now allow just anybody to publish then the entry fee should be higher than it is currently.
What did he need those 5 grand for? What game was he making?