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Being a game developer is hard, and being an indie one is even harder.

If it’s not happening, you gotta make another game or reassess what you’re doing."

Bulwark

His advice is harsh, but it comes from experience.

“If the game’s not going to make money you shouldn’t work on it.

That’s a brutal reality.

How To Make Games ALONE In 2025 — Full Time Game Dev Podcast Ep. 022 - YouTube

I think mobile game developers have more or less learned that lesson.

This is the jungle we’re in now.”

Obviously, Sala’s advice is only for people who want to make games as a business.

ben starr dressed in harlequin makeup chomping down on a banana

But if you want to get into the business of making games, his points are useful.

He also says, “I do my games in two years, that’s my goal.

Less than two years to make big, visually stunning games.

Dungeons & Degenerate Gamblers

Not six or seven years, ‘cause that’s just dumb.”

In this way you don’t abandon what you’ve learned and can build on your successes and mistakes.

A final piece of wisdom from Sala is about being realistic.

Cabin Crew Life Simulator

it’s possible for you to’t turn a turd into a hit.

You learn and you keep at it."

There’s a reason creatives are told to kill their darlings.

Deep Rock Galactic

You take the lessons you learned and apply them to something new.

Balatro Joker card

Challenging The Manacle in Balatro, which limits hand size by -1 and playing two Jacks

Manor Lords screenshot of an upcoming snowy, mountainous map.

Frostpunk 1886

The Falconeer

A screenshot of a castle in Manor Lords.

City Tales - Medieval Era appearing in FGS Live from GDC

Raev Kingdom on the Distant Shores appearing in the Future Games Show Spring Showcase 2025

Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom

Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in Speed

Deadpool

Gabriel Luna as Tommy in The Last of Us

Oblivion Remastered "Sir Vancealot"

Skyblivion

Articulate box, cards, board, and tokens on a wooden table

The cast of Thunderbolts standing in an elevator during the trailer for the upcoming Marvel Phase 5 movie.

Jonah Hauer-King as Conrad in Doctor Who: ‘Lucky Day’.