Selling Games on Steam

October 28, 2025 | Author: HDIAndrew

This article, about how many games do not turn a profit on Steam, has been making the rounds. The problem it highlights is legitimate, though it does not take into account how many of these are student projects, in early access, etc.

Even with these issues, and having sold games in physical stores, on mobile, on consoles, and in the modern online stores (Steam, GOG, Zoom Platform), I much prefer the last category (though seeing your game in a box at Target is a thrill). Yes, HOLISTIC DESIGN, INC. games face A LOT of competition on them every day, but these channels also give us sales year after year, as well as the chance to improve our games and find their audience.

We rereleased Emperor of the Fading Suns on GOG.com about five years ago, and it sold all right. When we released the Enhanced version in 2022, sales on GOG jumped. When we released the (even more) Enhanced version on Steam this year, sales on both platforms jumped again. There is no way we could have done this through any of the other sales channels, especially considering our near $0 marketing budget.

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Launching in a Recession

April 1, 2025 | Author: HDIAndrew

We have gotten a lot of great response since we announced last week that Emperor of the Fading Suns is finally coming to Steam on April 4 (Wishlist it now at https://store.steampowered.com/app/2799350/Emperor_of_the_Fading_Suns_Enhanced/). In fact, really the only negative response I have heard has been from fans worried about us launching our game during an economic downturn, or a “correction” as it is currently officially named.

However, this is not the first time I have faced this. When we launched “Vampire: the Masquerade,” it was during the 1991 recession brought on by the Gulf War. We worried about how this would impact our fans, but it proved to be an advantage. The base rules were $20, and they offered a huge amount of entertainment value for the dollar. 

As opposed to a movie, that you would go to a theater and watch once, this game offered hour after hour of fun. Many of our players who bought the book figured it ended up costing them less than 10 cents per hour of fun, and of course many people played the game without ever buying the book. I love that social component.

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End of 2024 Updates

November 15, 2024 | Author: HDIAndrew

Glad to say there are a lot of good things going on. Our HDI games continue to sell well on GOG. We are working on bringing Emperor of the Fading Suns to Steam, and while our old code does not care for Steam’s modern API’s, our efforts to crowbar them in are paying off. You can wishlist the game on Steam right now, as well as get the demo, and the full version will be up there next year.

Our old Warhammer Epic 40K: Final Liberation game is seeing a bit of a resurgence, perhaps as a result of fun recent streams. Check out this interview with Filmdeg Miniatures to enjoy gameplay and a fun converation.

The Georgia Game Developers Association had a very active year, including a month of SIEGE activities. We started with a really fun indie game festival in Doraville, followed up with our panels and Indie Playground at DreamHack, and wrapped up with a really successful college fair at ShaoCon. Working with our partners allowed us to support their worthwhile efforts while ensuring our attendees got access to even more activities.

The DeKalb Entertainment Commission continues to bring a lot of productions to the county. While production in Georgia has fallen to *only* $2.6 billion (who ever thought Georgia would be complaining about $2.6 billion worth of film production?), DeKalb residents are continuing to make millions renting out their properties and businesses to production companies.

Conventions and other events continue to grow here. If you are at Conjuration this weekend, please say hi. Other upcoming events include:

The GGDA Holiday Party Dec. 10 at Underground Atlanta

Conpossible Feb. 7-9 at the same hotel as Conjuration

The Atlanta Science Fiction and Fantasy Expo March 15-16 at Northlake Mall

Our next SIEGE Indie Game Festival April 17 in Doraville

Momocon May 22 in Atlanta

Hope to see you soon!

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