Japanese indie dev retires from industry after earning under $300 a year

For those who play them, working on video games may seem like a dream come true. Being directly involved with a title’s gameplay, story, and even its player base can make someone feel like they are building on or upon a world that people will want to escape to. This creative side of video game development is what gets people into the industry and brings out the best in it.

But as with all industries, video games have a business side that cannot be ignored. Making games is not cheap. Wages, office spaces, working servers for online games – these are just a few things developers and publishers account for when conceptualizing and creating games. This does not even count platforms like Steam that approve the release of hundreds of games every day. It can be hard for game developers to capture an audience, much less secure the funds needed to continue working on their passion.

https://twitter.com/infinitegame_ja/status/1776468090630623329

Post Translation: Notice: Thank you all for your continued support. It has been a year and a few months since I became self-employed as InfiniteGame in January 2023. I’ve been working hard for about a year to achieve my dream of becoming a game creator. I’m really happy and grateful that people are playing my games. As you know, my annual income in 2023 was approximately 40,000 yen. My funding has run out and it’s become difficult to continue production. Therefore, I am considering shutting down InfiniteGame. As for the works in my store, I will consider what can be done and try to make the best decision possible. I’m not going out of business immediately, but I have communicated my intentions. Thank you.

When we last looked at Japanese independent game developer InfiniteGame back in February 2024, they revealed that their annual income was only 40,000 Japanese Yen (roughly 263 USD). Sadly, this turned out to be the first of a series of unfortunate events for InfiniteGame, as the developer recently announced the one-man studio’s foreclosure in a recent X post. Follow-up announcements were made days after wherein the studio’s closing date would be set to either April 30 or May 1 of 2024.

https://twitter.com/infinitegame_ja/status/1777178913246212368

Post Translation: What’s next? Thank you so much for all your comments the other day. With InfiniteGame going out of business, I’d like to share with you my future plans.
Regarding “Ein’s Sword” and “LumiereMagna” – we are working to make these titles available for free in the Nintendo Switch and Steam stores. (…) I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. I hope you continue to enjoy InfiniteGame’s titles in the future.

InfiniteGame has two titles under its wing, both of which are available on the Nintendo Switch and PC (via Steam). Their first game, Ein’s Sword, is a simple hack-and-slasher set in enclosed rooms and features upgradeable abilities. The second title, LumiereMagna, is somewhat similar to Ein’s Sword, but differentiates itself by casting a mage character who can use four different types of spells. InfiniteGame was working on sequels to Ein’s Sword before news of their foreclosure was announced.

While Ein’s Sword and Lumiere Magna were not groundbreaking titles, they were labors of love by the people who made them. With enough time and effort, Ein’s Sword may have been a franchise where players could see the growth of the developer as they continued to hone their craft. It’s such a shame then that this current iteration of InfiniteGame has come to an end.

https://twitter.com/infinitegame_ja/status/1777310831178661928

Post Translation: Thank you all for your support. I apologize for contacting you so frequently. Unfortunately, I have been forced to discontinue sales of the Nintendo Switch versions. The scheduled date for discontinuation is Wednesday, April 24, 2024 for Japan, and Tuesday, April 30th for other regions. I’m currently working on sorting things out on Steam. (…) Therefore, on April 30th or May 1st, InfiniteGame will be going out of business. I would like to keep as much related content as possible on YouTube and other sites, but some content may need to be deleted for various reasons. Thank you all for your continued patronage over the years.

As of this writing, InfiniteGame is still giving constant updates about the state of its properties. The Nintendo Switch versions of Ein’s Sword and Lumiere Magna will soon be discontinued on both the sales and distribution fronts. Music streaming for the aforementioned games will end in April and most of the digital merchandise for the game (LINE stamps and e-books) will be discontinued. The Steam versions of InfiniteGame’s titles are still currently available so there is still hope that there may be at least one platform where the game studio’s hard work may be immortalized.