10 Low-Budget Games That Made Millions

[h1]{Whenever we hear about game development, we think of astronomical sums. After all, there's the creation of sprites or 3D models of the characters, buying assets, an engine, musicians, voice acting, and creating a storyline. Games currently have budgets that rival major Hollywood movie hits.

But not every successful game has a billion-dollar budget to support its launch, development, and marketing. There are cases of games that were successful and only needed a low budget and creativity from their creators. And that's what we're going to talk about today.

Games that had a relatively low budget and a resounding success that generated millions of dollars. Of course, these numbers aren't exact, after all, the values ​​aren't always disclosed, both in terms of initial cost and total sales. Furthermore, we're also talking about games that had an almost artisanal creation process.

So, let's talk about ten cases of games that earned millions with a budget equivalent to a croissant and a lemonade, and if you have any questions, leave a comment.}

Developer: Toby Fox

Platforms: PC, PS4, PS Vita, Switch, Xbox

Estimated Budget: about US$ 50.000

Estimated revenue: over US$ 100 mi

Undertale is an RPG with simple pixel art visuals, but with a high difficulty level and a decision-making system not seen in other games before. The story follows a human who falls into an underground world inhabited by monsters and must find a way out.

The game's unique quality lies not in its basic structure, but in how it treats the player. The combat system allows you to simply not fight. You can talk, spare enemies, and resolve conflicts peacefully. This completely changes the course of the story. Every decision has consequences. Characters remember what you did, even after resets. This created an unusual relationship between player and game.

Development was practically solo, with Toby Fox handling programming, script, and soundtrack. Funding came mainly from crowdfunding. The cost of around US$50,000 is extremely low compared to the return the game generates to this day. Undertale became a cultural reference, generated a gigantic fanbase, and continues to sell well to this day.

Developer: Eric Barone

Platforms: PC, consoles and mobile

Estimated Budget: about US$ 70.000

Estimated Revenue: over 30 million copies

Stardew Valley is a farming simulator directly inspired by Harvest Moon. You inherit an abandoned farm and begin to rebuild your life. Throughout your journey of reconnecting with nature and discovering the small pleasures of life, you meet, become fond of, and even develop relationships with the residents of Pelican Town.

The game goes far beyond planting and harvesting. There's fishing, mining, cave combat, relationships with NPCs, seasonal events, and many secrets to be discovered. The project took about 4 years to be developed by a single person: Eric Barone. The developer took care of everything: code, art, music, and design.

The direct cost is difficult to know because it involved years of work without immediate return, but estimates place the personal investment at around US$70,000, which is relatively low by industry standards. But what is known is that the return was absurd. The game sold tens of millions of copies, gained console versions, and became one of the biggest independent successes in history.

Developer: InnerSloth

Platforms: PC, mobile, consoles

Estimated Budget: from US$ 5.000 to US$ 10.000

Estimated Revenue: approximately 105 mi. Profit mainly after 2020

Among Us is a multiplayer game that was a huge success during the Covid-19 pandemic and the global quarantine we faced. The idea is so simple, the graphics are cute, with an almost childlike design of little characters running around and doing tasks, but it saved many people from going crazy during isolation.

Players are crew members on a spaceship, each with their own color, but some are imposters trying to kill the others. You move around the ship, trying to repair the damage done by the imposter and saboteur, while that player tries to kill the others without being discovered and before they repair the entire ship. The core mechanics revolve around discussion, deduction, and lying. After each round, players vote on who they believe to be the imposter.

The game was released in 2018 without much impact. Only in 2020, with streamers and YouTube, did it explode globally, becoming a success and selling millions of copies. The extremely low cost, combined with its late success, makes it one of the most extreme examples of return on investment in gaming history. Currently, it’s available on PC, console, and mobile, gaining new classes and functions and a 3D version for VR devices.

Developer: Dong Nguyen

Platforms: mobile

Estimated Budget: almost zero

Estimated Revenue: around US$ 50.000 daily on its peak

Flappy Bird is an absurdly simple game. You control a bird that needs to go through pipes without touching them and get as far as possible. There's no story or game modes. You just tap the screen to make the bird fly in "jumps" and try to control the height of the flight. The game went viral because it was difficult and frustrating. This generated massive sharing.

Despite its technical simplicity, the financial return was enormous in a short time. The cost was practically zero, since the creator developed the game in two or three hours of work per day, and the most he probably paid was to publish the game on the Apple Store. It’s estimated that the game generated US$50,000 per day during its peak, in terms of advertising and downloads.

However, without detailed explanations, the creator himself, Dong Nguyen, removed the game from the market because he couldn't handle the fame well. He said it wasn't what he expected, and the game disappeared from virtual stores. It spawned thousands of clones, but none with the impact the original created, in addition to the controversies regarding the similarity of the green pipes to the pipes in the Super Mario Bros. game.

Currently, due to some licensing disagreements, Flappy Bird was relaunched in 2024, but without the involvement of its original creator.

Developer: Facepunch Studios

Platforms: PC

Estimated Budget: practically zero

Estimated Revenue: over US$ 100 mi through time

Garry's Mod, created by Garry Newman and released by Facepunch Studios, originated as a Half-Life 2 mod within Valve's Source engine, and required virtually no initial investment because the engine was already developed. It essentially consumed only the creator's own time and nothing more. No team, no hard work, no budget. Just a nerd in front of his PC.

The game itself is a sandbox. It has no campaign or defined objective. Players can create situations, objects, and games using the game's tools. You can create your own games and distribute them within the game's ecosystem, leaving them there for players to discover and enjoy. That's the goal: create whatever you want and achieve it!

When it became a commercial product in 2006, it was still simple, but it began to grow organically. What fueled this growth wasn't marketing, but the community. Players started creating game modes within it, such as TTT and Prop Hunt, and this completely transformed the experience. With the integration of the Steam Workshop, this cycle accelerated because anyone could easily create and share content.

Developer: Alexey Pajitnov

Platforms: many, from mobile to PC

Estimated Budget: practically zero

Estimated Revenue: about US$ 8 mi a year

Born in a computer lab as a personal project on computers no more powerful than today's pocket calculators, Tetris came from the mind of a computer engineer from the former Soviet Union and became a very popular pastime among his colleagues at the time, due to its elaborate and difficult puzzle nature.

Basically, blocks of pieces in various shapes fall from the top of the screen and must be aligned, avoiding gaps in the lines. Each time a line is filled from one side of the screen to the other, it disappears and the player scores points. Making four lines disappear at once, a move called "Tetris", yields even more points.

Tetris was an absurd success when it was released on the Game Boy, Nintendo's handheld console, and also helped the console skyrocket in sales in Japan and the West. Alexey went years without receiving anything for his creation, as it was developed in a state laboratory and due to the socialist policies of the Soviet Union, but currently, he receives amounts that can reach up to 8 million dollars a year.

Developer: Team Cherry

Platforms: PC, consoles and Steam Deck

Estimated Budget: around US$ 57.000

Estimated Revenue: over US$ 100 mi

Hollow Knight is a Metroidvania focused on exploration, combat with precise timing for dodging and counter-attacks, and non-linear progression, where the player controls a small knight in a ruined underground kingdom called Hallownest.

The game stands out for its interconnected map, which encourages constant exploration and the discovery of secret areas, as well as an environmental narrative told without direct explanations. Combat demands precision and pattern learning, especially in boss fights, which are frequent and challenging. Throughout the journey, the player unlocks new abilities that expand mobility and open previously inaccessible paths.

The project began with crowdfunding, with a relatively low initial budget of around US$57,000 and a small team. Even so, the game attracted attention for its hand-drawn art style and striking soundtrack.

Growth occurred mainly due to positive recommendations and reviews that highlighted the difficulty and touching story, even without spoken dialogue. Over the years, it has been released on new platforms, expanding its reach. The second game, recently released, is as good and successful as the first.

Developer: Lucas Pope

Platforms: PC, mobile and PS Vita

Estimated Budget:approximately US$ 10.000

Estimated Revenue: around US$ 70 mi throughout the years

Papers, Please is a personal project by a former Naughty Dog developer (the same studio behind Uncharted and The Last of Us) who used his severance pay of approximately $10,000 to develop the game independently. The game is a type of bureaucracy simulator.

You’re the customs controller of a fictional war-torn country, and you have to decide who enters and who doesn't, analyzing people's documents and earning your salary based on your successes and failures in this job. Throughout the gameplay, people appear who need to enter the country for various reasons or with tragic stories, and you have to choose between helping these people and sacrificing your own family members who need food and medicine.

Papers, Please has simple graphics and an atmosphere reminiscent of the former Soviet Union, cold and devastated by war, while simultaneously trying to maintain its pride and present itself as a successful country that all citizens should be proud to live in. The game is a success and has already grossed over $70 million according to Steam sales estimates.

P.S.: There's an amazing Papers, Please fan film on YouTube. If you can, watch it.

Developer: Daisuke Amaya

Platforms: PC, consoles and mobile

Estimated Budget: practically zero

Estimated Revenue: around US$ 2,5 mi throughout the years

Developed as a college project over five years, Cave Story is a game that cost virtually nothing, except for the time of developer Daisuke Amaya who, after the success of the initial release, received an offer to port the game to Nintendo consoles such as the Wii and Nintendo 3DS, and achieved success.

The player controls a character known as Quote, who explores an underground world inhabited by creatures called Mimigas, facing enemies and discovering his own origins. The game combines 2D shooting with exploration and weapon progression that evolves with use.

Although there are no official sales figures, projections from specialized websites indicate that the game has grossed over $2.5 million to date. Others suggest figures as low as $1.7 million, but for a game that cost absolutely nothing, a million dollars is very good, isn't it? Cave Story is frequently cited as one of the first great examples of the modern indie game movement.

Developer: Chris Sawyer

Platforms: PC, mobile and consoles

Estimated Budget: never mentioned

Estimated Revenue: about US$ 30 mi on its initial release

The developer of Rollercoaster Tycoon claims he made 99% of the game himself, in his free time and over two years of development, initially releasing it for PC and achieving success. The game is a rollercoaster simulator where you build your amusement park and the most insane rollercoasters possible to attract visitors and make it a success.

However, you have to be careful about the type of park and roller coaster you create. It must be safe and attractive enough to remain interesting. Make something too insane and visitors will be scared. Make something that ends in disaster and your park will go bankrupt quickly, with no visitors and numerous lawsuits.

There’s no information on how much he spent to create the game, and the information that exists says that the first game made around US$30 million for the developer. And if only the first one made that amount, it’s very likely that the following games and the original will continue to generate a lot of money for him.