Just How Lucrative Can Inventing a Board Game Be?
As a passionate gamer and industry expert, I get asked often: "What‘s the real earning potential of creating an original board game?" With the global tabletop game market surging past $12 billion in value, the prospect of designing the next hit title is certainly tempting!
Let‘s analyze the key financial factors and see what a runaway success could mean for your bank account. The profit numbers may surprise you!
Board Games Are Big Business
The board game renaissance is real. Overall sector revenue grew by over 20% last year alone according to ICv2, fueled by breakout hits like Wingspan and renewed interest in hobby board games. With demand skyrocketing among audiences of all types, our beloved pastime is going more mainstream.
Top sellers like Catan now exceed 25+ million copies sold. And it’s not just the giants – many recent games easily move over 100k+ units yearly. With rapidly expanding opportunities to put innovative titles in front of consumers, designing an original board game has never been more financially promising!
Annual Unit Sales for Top Games
| Game | Genre | Est. Annual Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Catan | Strategy | 500,000+ |
| Ticket to Ride | Strategy | 300,000+ |
| Splendor | Card/Engine Building | 200,000+ |
| Dixit | Party/Storytelling | 150,000+ |
| Codenames | Party/Word Game | 100,000+ |
Sales estimates based on publicly available data from publishers and distributors. Conservative estimates used.
Where Does the Money Come From?
When assessing profit potential for an original game, you first need to understand the basic revenue streams involved:
Game Sales Revenue
The bulk of earnings come from cumulative game unit sales over the product lifespan. Popular titles may sell for 5+ years, compounding profits year-after-year.
Licensing Fees
Many designers license their games to major publishers in exchange for royalty payments on each copy sold. The industry standard is 5-10% royalties per unit.
Merchandising & Media Rights
Successful games can earn additional revenue from merchandising deals, mobile app versions, TV shows and more. But this is only realistic for major mainstream titles.
There are a few key factors that determine overall profit across these areas:
- Production Scale & Costs
- New Game Discovery & Marketing
- Mass Appeal & Longevity
Understanding how each affects the bottom line is crucial when evaluating financial upside.
Wait, How Much Does It Cost To Make A Game?
Let‘s quickly recap the major costs involved in taking a board game from concept to retail shelves:
- Game Prototype & Development – $5,000-$15,000
- Illustrations & Graphic Design – $5,000-$10,000
- Manufacturing Cost per Unit – $5-$15
- Marketing Promotions – $5,000+
- Misc. Expenses – $5,000
That puts the total upfront outlay at $25,000-$50,000+. And if you work with an established publisher, they typically front those costs in exchange for higher royalty rights.
But with the right idea and some business savvy, these investments can pay off big time…
Projecting Realistic Profits
Let‘s run some numbers to better understand profit scenarios, assuming a $40 retail price point and 7% royalties:
Profit Estimate Ranges
| Annual Sales | Revenue | Profit Range |
|---|---|---|
| 5,000 copies | $14,000 | $5,000-$7,000 |
| 50,000 copies | $140,000 | $50,000-$100,000 |
| 250,000 copies | $700,000 | $250,000-$500,000️ |
| 1,000,000 copies | $2,800,000 | $1M-$2M️ |
So you can see, even a moderately successful mid-tier game selling 25k-50k copies annually means earnings in the solid six-figures for a designer!
Create the next Gloomhaven or Catan? We‘re talking multi-million dollar profits and potential to leave your day job for good!
Realistic Expectations
In reality, runaway mainstream success happens for only the tiniest fraction of new games – maybe 1 in 5,000! Managing expectations is important.
For a first-time designer without industry connections, moving just 5,000-10,000 units of your passion project game is a phenomenal feat!
But the market has spoken – great ideasmulator with polished execution can absolutely catch fire, even from indie designers. Unlikely success stories happen, and the rewards justify the dedication.
As a hardcore gamer, I dream of taking the plunge myself soon! Do you have an ingenious idea just itching to turn into cardboard? Maybe it’s time to start prototyping!
The potential profits once gamers experience your creation are life-changing! I hope this breakdown gets your game design ambitions ignited too.
Let me know if you start brainstorming – I’d be happy to offer my insider advice anytime!
