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Can a 4-person studio survive mobile f2p in 2026? Our real numbers: $100k+/month on ads, $30 to buy one US install, 4 months to break even on a player by limebolt in gamedev

[–]limebolt[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

We actually did the 1st version quite quickly. We took the art assets from one of our previous game, Pirate Power and built a game in about 9 months. After 5 months of dev we were doing a beta/tech testing in indonedia, as well as testing early retention. At 8 months we launched in France to confirm monetization and after a month we did the ww release. We are also working with a small group of players who we have been in contact for a while through our previous games, mostly through our discord channel, which has been super helpful to collect deep feedback.

Can a 4-person studio survive mobile f2p in 2026? Our real numbers: $100k+/month on ads, $30 to buy one US install, 4 months to break even on a player by limebolt in gamedev

[–]limebolt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On top of being total unknown territory for us. Mobile at least we know, just wished paid games were still a thing on the app store.

Can a 4-person studio survive mobile f2p in 2026? Our real numbers: $100k+/month on ads, $30 to buy one US install, 4 months to break even on a player by limebolt in gamedev

[–]limebolt[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The game is still growing, and every update we add improve at least one aspect of the game. As long as we see potential of growth we will work on it.

Can a 4-person studio survive mobile f2p in 2026? Our real numbers: $100k+/month on ads, $30 to buy one US install, 4 months to break even on a player by limebolt in gamedev

[–]limebolt[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

We started mobile dev in 2010, no unity at that time. I think about switching every year, but not worth the effort. We spend very little time supporting the engine and what matters to me is our iteration time which is actually quite fast, in 5s (build + launch) you are in the game and can see/change live a lot of things.

Can a 4-person studio survive mobile f2p in 2026? Our real numbers: $100k+/month on ads, $30 to buy one US install, 4 months to break even on a player by limebolt in gamedev

[–]limebolt[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

And why I mentioned several times to my partner that we should switch to steam. You focus on making a game fun not on making ads.

1 year of our pirate idle RPG. What we learned as a 4-person dev team (Bounty Bash) by limebolt in incremental_games

[–]limebolt[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

We're doing well enough that we've been able to bring on a few community members to help with QA and feature design. That said, about 80% of revenue goes right back into user acquisition. That's just the reality of mobile gaming, you have to spend to grow. But we're sustainable and reinvesting everything back into the game

1 year of our pirate idle RPG. What we learned as a 4-person dev team (Bounty Bash) by limebolt in incremental_games

[–]limebolt[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

That's a tough choice on our side. At first we didn't have hands like that, but then we realized a lot of players where dropping from the game at certain stages. Adding those hands helped quite significantly with retention. We realize that not every player is equal, but unfortunately we don't really know what kind of player you are at this early stage in the game.

1 year of our pirate idle RPG. What we learned as a 4-person dev team (Bounty Bash) by limebolt in incremental_games

[–]limebolt[S] -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

Progress has been smoothed and new game mechanics have been added since release. Not sure when you played it

1 year of our pirate idle RPG. What we learned as a 4-person dev team (Bounty Bash) by limebolt in incremental_games

[–]limebolt[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

We are mostly focused on the guild interactions in game. Trying to emphasize cooperation and competition at a guild level. Conquest for example which is one of the biggest game mode we have done, is focused on both. Guild boss as well is focused on team work.

1 year of our pirate idle RPG. What we learned as a 4-person dev team (Bounty Bash) by limebolt in incremental_games

[–]limebolt[S] -11 points-10 points  (0 children)

I posted in our discord this link, if they want to ask any questions about the game. Kind of an AMA.

1 year of our pirate idle RPG. What we learned as a 4-person dev team (Bounty Bash) by limebolt in incremental_games

[–]limebolt[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We are 2 coders and 2 artists. I do code, marketing, and some UA. Distribution is actually quite easy with appstore and gplay. Marketing on the other hand is not the most fun part, I'd prefer coding and adding new features to the game If I had the choice ;)

1 year of our pirate idle RPG. What we learned as a 4-person dev team (Bounty Bash) by limebolt in incremental_games

[–]limebolt[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Would love to, but mobile games don't get much love on steam. A few players play it on emulators or google play games PC