The fatal mistake most indie devs make is treating all platforms like Steam.
Are these numbers realistic? Yes, but ONLY if you understand the algorithms.
The numbers in the tables below are highly conservative. The data arrays in this model represent the "Payout" (the money sent to your bank account) AFTER Steam has taken their 30% cut, and AFTER Roblox has taken their ~70% DevEx cut. Then, we subtract your Server Costs to find the True Net Profit.
This model is intentionally conservative. We only count the primary revenue stream for each platform. Several additional income sources are excluded, meaning the real numbers could be significantly higher.
| Revenue Stream | Steam | Web | Roblox | Quest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 💰 Game Sales (one-time purchase) | ✅ $14.99 | — Free | — Free | ✅ $4.99 |
| 📺 Ad Revenue (interstitial + rewarded video) | — N/A | ✅ $3-$8 CPM | — N/A | — N/A |
| 🛒 Cosmetic Microtransactions (skins, trails, etc.) | ❌ Not modeled | ✅ $0.99-$4.99 | ✅ 50-800 R$ | ❌ Not modeled |
| ⏱️ Engagement-Based Payouts (Roblox EBP) | — N/A | — N/A | ✅ Modeled (~10-15% bonus) | — N/A |
| 📢 Immersive Ads (Roblox in-game ad placements) | — N/A | — N/A | ✅ Modeled (~5-10% bonus) | — N/A |
| 🔄 Subscriptions / VIP Pass (monthly recurring) | ❌ Not modeled | ✅ Modeled ($2.99-$6.99) | ✅ Modeled (200-800 R$) | ❌ Not modeled |
| 🎁 DLC / Expansion Packs | ❌ Not modeled | — N/A | — N/A | ❌ Not modeled |
| 🤝 Sponsorship Deals (portal featured placement) | — N/A | ❌ Not modeled | — N/A | — N/A |
Our model now directly incorporates Cosmetics, Web IAP, Roblox Engagement-Based Payouts (EBP), Immersive Ads, and VIP Subscriptions into baseline projections. Extra unmodeled upside includes:
⚠️ Bottom line: Projections include all standard platform income pillars. Actual earnings will easily exceed these figures with seasonal events and portal features.
| 🚫 Remove Ads Pass | $2.99 | → $2.09 |
| 🏎️ Premium Vehicle Pack | $1.99 | → $1.39 |
| ⭐ VIP Pass (no ads + skins) | $4.99 | → $3.49 |
| 🏎️ Vehicle Skin | 150 R$ (~$1.88) | → $0.53 |
| ✨ Neon Trail Effect | 400 R$ (~$5.00) | → $1.40 |
| ⭐ VIP Game Pass / Sub | 800 R$ (~$10.00) | → $2.80 |
| ⚡ Speed Boost (temp) | 75 R$ (~$0.94) | → $0.26 |
| 🎵 Custom Horn | 50 R$ (~$0.63) | → $0.18 |
| 🚫 Remove Ads Pass | $2.99 | → $2.09 |
| 🔮 Premium Marble Pack (5 skins) | $1.99 | → $1.39 |
| ✏️ Pro Level Editor Tools | $3.99 | → $2.79 |
| ⭐ VIP Creator Pass (all skins + tools) | $6.99 | → $4.89 |
| 🔮 Premium Marble Skin | 200 R$ (~$2.50) | → $0.70 |
| ✨ Particle Trail Effect | 350 R$ (~$4.38) | → $1.23 |
| ⭐ Level Editor VIP Pass | 600 R$ (~$7.50) | → $2.10 |
| ⏱️ EBP (Premium Playtime) | Auto-Payout | → +15% Boost |
| 📢 Immersive Portal Ads | Impressions | → +8% Boost |
| 🚫 Remove Ads | $1.99 | → $1.39 |
| 🐍 Creature Skin Pack | $0.99 | → $0.69 |
| ⚡ Starter Boost (2x size) | $0.99 | → $0.69 |
| 🐍 Creature Skin | 150 R$ (~$1.88) | → $0.53 |
| 🌈 Neon Glow Trail | 250 R$ (~$3.13) | → $0.88 |
| 👑 Kill Effect (crown pop) | 300 R$ (~$3.75) | → $1.05 |
| ⏱️ EBP (Premium Playtime) | Auto-Payout | → +10% Boost |
| 📢 Billboard / Portal Ads | Impressions | → +8% Boost |
| 🚫 Remove Ads | $2.99 | → $2.09 |
| 🎭 Character Skin Pack | $1.99 | → $1.39 |
| 🔫 Weapon Camo Bundle | $2.99 | → $2.09 |
| 🎭 Character Outfit | 400 R$ (~$5.00) | → $1.40 |
| 🔫 Weapon Skin (camo/neon) | 250 R$ (~$3.13) | → $0.88 |
| ⏱️ EBP (Long Match Sessions) | Auto-Payout | → +12% Boost |
| 📢 Immersive Ads (Lobby Billboards) | Impressions | → +6% Boost |
| 🚫 Remove Ads | $2.99 | → $2.09 |
| 🔫 Weapon Skin Bundle (3 skins) | $2.99 | → $2.09 |
| 💉 Revive Pack (5 extra lives) | $0.99 | → $0.69 |
| ⭐ VIP Co-op Pass (all skins + lives) | $5.99 | → $4.19 |
| 🔫 Weapon Skin (gold/neon) | 300 R$ (~$3.75) | → $1.05 |
| ⭐ VIP Pass (2x XP + loot) | 800 R$ (~$10.00) | → $2.80 |
| 💉 Revive Token (consumable) | 50 R$ (~$0.63) | → $0.18 |
| ⏱️ EBP (Highest Session Time) | Auto-Payout | → +15% Boost |
| 📢 Immersive Ads (Safezone Screens) | Impressions | → +7% Boost |
Running total of money banked per platform. Use the checkboxes to toggle time period and platforms. The Y-axis auto-adjusts to your selection.
Total monthly active users generated by all active games in the studio's portfolio, separated by platform.
Every single month, per platform. Year 1 = actual data. Year 2 & 3 = 2.5%/mo decay from Month 12 baseline.
Use the toggles below to see how shutting down unprofitable games saves you money. Or use the universal buttons to toggle ALL games on a platform at once.
| Game | Active Platforms (Click to Toggle) | Total Payout (Post-Cut) | Server Costs | True Net Profit |
|---|
Total cash banked after 12, 24, and 36 months — broken down by platform.
| Period | 🔵 Steam (Net) | 🟠 Web (Net) | 🔴 Roblox (Net) | 🟣 Quest (Net) | 💰 COMBINED NET |
|---|
| 🔵 Steam | Player pays $14.99 | -30% cut | = $10.49 payout ✅ |
| 🟠 Web Ads | $3-$8 CPM | -50% ad network | = $1.50-$4 per 1K views ✅ |
| 🟠 Web IAP | Player pays $0.99-$6.99 | -30% portal fee | = ~70% kept ✅ |
| 🔴 Roblox | Cosmetics + EBP + Immersive Ads + Subs | -70% DevEx cut | = $0.0035/Robux + EBP & Ad payouts ✅ |
| 🟣 Meta Quest | Player pays $4.99 | -30% Meta cut | = $3.49 payout ✅ |
Building a game for Web (HTML5/JS), Roblox (Lua), or Steam (C#/C++) requires completely different technologies. Therefore, every platform port is treated as its own separate project. Here is the recommended chronological order based on your current progress.
Timeframe: 1 Month | Budget: $1,500. Port your racing game to Web (HTML5/WebGL) to tap into the massive web portal audience and eliminate heavy server costs.
Timeframe: 1 Month | Budget: $1,500. Rebuilding the racing mechanics in Roblox Lua. Leverage Roblox's algorithm and physics engine to capture a new audience.
Timeframe: 1 Month | Budget: $1,500. Blue ocean on Web Portals (Poki/Coolmath). The user-generated content from the level editor provides infinite replayability.
Timeframe: 1 Month | Budget: $1,500. Rebuild the physics engine in Roblox Lua. Puzzle platformers with custom levels drive massive Engagement-Based Payouts (EBP).
Total Estimated Time: 4 Months
Total Estimated Budget: $6,000 ($1.5k per port)
After completing these 4 primary ports, Phase 2 will focus on HyperCycle Beast, Retro Pixel VR, and Zombie Survival Co-op.
Your biggest strategic advantage is that you can deploy to massive organic platforms with almost zero server costs.
When we calculate "Web" revenue, we are combining the projected algorithmic traffic of 2 to 3 major portals at the same time (e.g. CrazyGames + Poki, or Poki + Coolmath). Because the game runs in a browser via HTML5, you can instantly export and upload the exact same build to multiple portals simultaneously, multiplying your organic reach while your server costs stay locked at $5-10/month. If you hit all 5 major portals, these projections are extremely conservative.
Roblox takes a massive ~70% cut of revenue, but in exchange, they pay for the servers, the databases, the networking, and the DDoS protection. You could have 100,000 players in your Battle Royale, and your server bill will still be $0. This completely eliminates the financial risk of building large multiplayer games.
HyperCycle League on Steam costs $200/month for servers. As you can see in the data, once the game stops selling organically after Month 2, those server costs don't stop. You immediately start losing money every single month just to keep the game alive. You must either shut down the Steam servers or push an update to get sales.
Select a platform and target net above to run the report.
Shows what each game earns on the selected platform month-by-month, required UA spend, and Player Counts Needed.
The real UA economics for each game on every platform (CAC, ROAS, server burn, target ad budget).
Compare ad platforms (TikTok vs Reddit vs Meta) to see where to spend your UA budget.
| Ad Channel | Best For | Avg CPC | CVR % | CAC | Net/User | ROAS | Verdict | Notes |
|---|
Games ranked #1 → #6 by total 12-month net profit. Includes strategic conditions to maximize earnings.
| Rank | Game | 12-Mo Net | Platforms | Why This Rank | 🔑 How to Maximize Profit | ⚠️ Biggest Risk |
|---|
While Roblox dominates the standalone app ecosystem with 380M+ MAU, there is a massive race to build the "Roblox of the Web" — platforms that don't require an app download and run purely in HTML5/WebGL via the browser. Lower friction means easier user acquisition. Here are the true numbers on the top competitors:
Status: The Current Kings of Web
While technically "portals" rather than game engines, they function like Roblox for developers. They handle hosting and pay out a revenue split (ad revenue). They have the biggest web audience, but lack the unified social/avatar systems of true UGC platforms.
Status: The Strongest Contender
Raised +. Started as VR business meetings, pivoted entirely to a web/mobile UGC gaming platform. You build games in Unity and export to their web engine. They have a massive Gen Z audience and a functioning economy.
Status: Pure Browser Tech
A voxel-based UGC engine that runs 100% in the browser. Even the game editor runs in Chrome without downloads. Highly accessible, but the visual style and audience size are currently smaller.
Status: The VC Bet
Raised +. Pushing a heavily "no-code" 3D creation experience. Extremely ambitious graphics for web/mobile, but still struggling to hit the mainstream viral escape velocity needed for a UGC platform to survive.
The Krunker.io ecosystem proved that a purely browser-based 3D game can support a multi-million dollar skin economy, a custom modding community, and a massive e-sports scene without ever touching Steam or requiring an app store download. The technology is already here.
Historical growth and 2040 market projections for Monthly Active Users (MAUs) and player average age across PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, Epic Games Store, Roblox, and Poki / CrazyGames / Spatial.io.
Minimal organic reach. Player base struggles to surpass 5,000 MAU.
Solid steady community of ~50,000 MAU.
Front-page placements. Reaching 250,000+ MAU.
Minimal organic reach. Player base struggles to surpass 5,000 MAU.
Solid steady community of ~50,000 MAU.
Front-page placements. Reaching 250,000+ MAU.
Minimal organic reach. Player base struggles to surpass 5,000 MAU.
Solid steady community of ~50,000 MAU.
Front-page placements. Reaching 250,000+ MAU.
Minimal organic reach in saturated VR storefronts.
Solid dedicated player base on App Lab.
Featured on Official Quest Store.
Brutal retention. Players leave for Fortnite clones.
Solid steady community of ~50,000 MAU.
Front-page placements. Reaching 250,000+ MAU.
Minimal organic reach. Player base struggles to surpass 5,000 MAU.
Solid steady community of ~50,000 MAU.
Front-page placements. Reaching 250,000+ MAU.
You have ~$70,000 invested in the core Steam racing game. To break even on Steam at $10.49 net revenue per copy, you need to sell 6,673 copies.
Investment: $1,500 each ($3k total)
Web portals like Poki and CrazyGames provide 100% of the marketing algorithms for free. You do NOT spend money on marketing here.
Break-Even Target:Investment: $1,500 each ($3k total)
Roblox requires initial "seed" traffic to trigger the algorithm, usually via Roblox Sponsored Ads.
Break-Even Target:Conclusion: Your strategy completely avoids the $30k+ paid marketing trap of Steam. By risking only $1.5k–$2.5k per port on Web and Roblox—where the platforms provide the traffic—you achieve a massive asymmetric upside. One viral hit pays for the entire $70k Steam investment 10x over.