Can You Pay Rent Making Small, Niche Indie Games?

If you're discouraged because you think your game is too small and too niche and you'll never find an audience, then in this video I'll share with you five mindsets that will help you start making a living doing what you love.

Hey, my name is Dariusz. And like you, I'm a very creative person. I love art, programming, and making music. And all I ever wanted was to pay my rent doing creative things. And back in 2005, I finally figured out how to make a living by carving out a very small niche doing creative things.

So let me share the mindsets that worked for me, and how you can apply this mindset so that you too can start paying your rent making small niche indie games...

Mindset Number 1: Forget the 99%. Focus on the 1%.

Next time somebody says your game is too niche, they are full of shit. And if they tell you that you need to change X or Y in your game, they are wrong.

Here's why...

Yes, your game will never attract a Call of Duty player.

No, your game will never be talked about on r/gaming.

But...

There are people who are attracted to niche indie games NOT because these games follow trends and do what is popular.

No.

There are people who are attracted to niche indie games because these games DON'T follow the norm.

These 1% are your true fans. These are the people you want to attract. And these are the people who will buy your game and help you make a living.

How? Well...

Mindset Number 2: New Fans Are Born Everyday

I just told you to focus on the 1%. That might seem too small. How are you supposed to pay rent with such a small market size buying your game?

Well, everyday a new fan is born. New markets open up all the time. That 1% can turn into 5%... then 25%.

For example, look at the Cozy Game genre...

This genre for a long time was small and very niche. These games were not about epic action packed moments. These games fulfilled a DIFFERENT need that a lot of people want: a sense of warmth, fullment, and relaxation.

Then of course, as this small niche went from 1% to 25%... more and more devs jumped on the bandwagon. And now this genre has lost most of its charm because it became oversaturated.

All these new games flooding the genre don't feel fresh anymore. And players get genre fatigue.

And what often happens is, an indie dev will see a trend... and come up with an idea but they will add their own twist or innovation.

But by the time they finish their game, it's too late. The genre is oversaturated. And now it's almost impossible to get attention because there are a lot of other games fighting for the same attention.

By the time a new genre has matured to a certain point, it's too late.

And no matter how hard game devs try, and innovate, and add their own twist to a mature genre, nothing works in getting attention. That's because once a market is too saturated, there is very little room for innovation. Chances are, players have already seen and played all the variations of the genre.

Basically, the genre doesn't feel fresh anymore to players. So they pay less attention to any new games.

My point is, you WANT to go after the 1%. And you don't want to be the game dev that is too late, and release a game when the genre has matured.

This leads me to my next mindset...

Mindset Number 3: It's YOUR Responsibility To Grow That 1% (Not Steams, TikTok's, YouTubes, etc.)

Yes, focus on that 1%. But to make that 1% grow, YOU have to put in the effort.

What a lot of indie game devs do is, they make an innovative game. They put all their passion into it. They don't follow trends.

And then they post their game on Steam... and HOPE that Steam will do the marketing and sales for them.

Or they post on TikTok or YouTube, and expect the platform to work its magic, and all of sudden their fan base grows.

It doesn't work like that.

Game devs can't develop a game in an ivory tower, isolated, and then release their game and hope that Steam will do all the marketing for them.

And game devs can't rely on social media platforms to help them grow.

If you want to grow that 1% to 25% or more, then YOU gotta put on your business hat. And I'll help you with marketing and business strategies.

But at the end of the day, there is no guru, or master class, or blueprint, no platform, that will help you pay your rent.

The path you are taking, nobody has ever seen. Nobody can ever tell you what you need to do.

But I will tell you this, you do NEED to do something. You need to put in effort, and take on the responsibility on finding your own fans.

How?

That's next...

Mindset Number 4: Players Are Consumers Not Producers

There's a LOT of fans of small, niche indie games. And your job is to get your game in front of as many of those people as you can.

But how?

Well, you gotta talk about your game.

But when game devs talk about their game, they talk about the PROCESS of making games. They'll talk about how to program, or how to draw, or how to design levels.

But remember, players are NOT developers. They are not producers. They are consumers. Consumers DO NOT care about the process of making games. Consumers only care about what they GET when they consume a game.. In other words, players only care about what emotions they'll feel when they play your game.

So then what do you talk about that will resonate with small niche indie fans?

Well... how are you rebelling in your genre? What new things are you trying? What are some things you hate about your genre?

Players love niche indie games because these games often go against the grain, and offer something unique and different than any mainstream game.

THIS is what you need to talk about. Talk about the ways you're being different because that will resonate more with players than if you just talked about code or art or design.

Ok, then where do you go and talk about your game? That's next...

Mindset Number 5: Go Where Your Fans Go

The go-to places are Twitter, Reddit, TikTok, YouTube. And yes, there are some success stories. And what happens when a technique becomes successful? It gets oversaturated, and it no longer works.

Plus people use these platforms mostly for entertainment, doom scrolling, trolling, trying to win arguments. Most people are not on these platforms to discover new, niche, small indie games.

So the best place to talk about your game and your passion is Steam Community Hub.

Why?

Because that's where your potential fans are hanging out.

Plus, as a small indie dev, you don't have the time or resources to post on Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, and everywhere. Put all your 100% focus in the Steam Community Hub.

And yeah, it's not as big as other platforms. But remember, forget the 99%, and focus on the 1%.

Mindset Number 6: Growth Is Slow, It Takes Time... But You Gotta Be Persistent

The appeal to fast, easy, instant, convenient is VERY strong. That's why a lot of markers or gurus will use words like "fast", "easy", "3 simple steps", "now".

There are no shortcuts. Growth is slow, incremental, and not instant.

But if you're persistent, and stick to your vision, and keep posting on Steam Community Hubs, and talk about your passion and how you're trying to be different (and not coding, art, design), you will start seeing results.

So if you want to pay rent making indie games, then you gotta take the very first step RIGHT NOW...

It's all about taking action.

So do this right now. Start posting content on Steam Community Hubs. Don't have a Steam page? Well, then that's your first step.

Then start posting news and updates. And remember mindset 4: players are consumers not producers. Use that mindset to help you come up with content ideas.

Stuck? Send Me Your Steam Page...

If you're making progress, I would love to see it. Send me your Steam page, and I'll have a look... and maybe offer any tips or suggestions if you're stuck.

Here's my contact info:

Dariusz Konrad
Email: dariusz at mainquestmarketing dot com
Discord Username: dariuszkonrad
LinkedIn: My entrepreneurial successes
Work: Game devs I've helped so far