A realistic indie-game budget is a month-by-month cash plan, not a single project-price guess. Map every role, payment date, non-payroll bill, funding receipt and milestone across the full development period. Keep dependable money separate from hoped-for sales or grants, show the economic value of founder work even when cash is deferred, and run a stress case before pitching.
What a realistic studio budget actually measures
A total development figure can hide the moment a studio runs out of cash. A useful plan answers four operational questions for every month: who is working, what will be paid, when money is expected to arrive, and what cash remains afterward. That makes the document useful for internal decisions and for a publisher or investor evaluating whether the team understands its risks.
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The plan is project-specific. Country, team size, game scope, schedule, platform and worker classifications all change the result, so there is no responsible universal price for “an indie game.” Treat any total as the output of your assumptions rather than as an industry rate.
- Cash cost: money that must leave the studio in a particular month.
- Economic cost: the value of all work performed, including founder time whose payment is postponed.
- Committed funding: signed, received or otherwise dependable money with known conditions.
- Contingent funding: a possible grant, publishing advance, investment or sale that still depends on approval, a milestone or market performance.
Keep those concepts in separate columns. A plan that counts unpaid labor as free, or counts an unsigned advance as cash in hand, will show an artificially long runway.
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Set the planning frame before entering costs
Write the assumptions at the top of the workbook so that every later number can be traced to a decision. Use a monthly period unless your payroll or funding cadence requires a shorter interval; a monthly view is usually detailed enough to expose a near-term cash gap without creating unmanageable administration.
Define the development horizon
- Choose a start month and an end month that include pre-production, production, launch preparation and the release window you intend to model.
- List milestones such as prototype, vertical slice, content complete, certification submission and release. Attach an expected month to each.
- State the release assumption: platform(s), launch scope and whether post-launch patches or downloadable content are inside this plan.
- Mark which dates are contractual, which are internal targets and which depend on a third party.
Describe the team and work allocation
For every contributor, record the role, seniority, location, employment relationship and expected allocation. “Programmer” is not enough to price a role: a senior employee in one country, a part-time contractor in another and a founder contributing evenings have different cash and compliance consequences.
| Planning field | What to record | Why it changes the budget |
|---|---|---|
| Role and seniority | For example, technical artist, producer or junior engineer, with the level of responsibility | Compensation and schedule depend on expertise and decision-making scope |
| Worker status | Founder, employee, contractor or part-time worker | Determines payment pattern, benefits, tax handling and legal obligations |
| Location | Country and, where relevant, state, province or city | Local labor and payroll rules can materially change total cost |
| Allocation | Full-time, part-time or a stated percentage of working time by month | Prevents a part-time contribution from being budgeted as a full-time salary |
| Start and end dates | First and last month of planned work | Shows when cash commitments begin and end |
| Payment timing | Payroll date, invoice terms or milestone payment | Two identical monthly rates can create different cash troughs |
Build a compensation model that does not hide founder labor
Create one row per person or role rather than one blended “team” line. Enter the planned compensation, expected hours or allocation, start and end dates, payment timing and any temporary deferral. Keep two totals: cash paid in the month and the full economic value of work delivered in the month.
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Choose a payment treatment for each contributor
- Cash salary or fee: the amount scheduled for payment, with the applicable payroll or invoice obligations identified separately.
- Deferred compensation: work performed now with payment postponed. Record the accrued amount, the event that can release it and the maximum amount the studio can owe.
- Reduced or part-time allocation: fewer hours or a shorter engagement, with the resulting effect on milestone dates made explicit.
- Founder contribution: show both the cash actually drawn and the value of the time contributed. Do not label the unpaid portion “free”; it is a financing contribution and a delivery risk.
A deferral is only realistic when its trigger is written down. Examples of triggers include receipt of a specified signed advance, closing a financing round or reaching a defined cash balance. Also state what happens if the trigger never occurs: cancellation, continued accrual, conversion to equity where legally documented, or a renegotiation. Do not promise repayment that the cash plan cannot support.
Do not apply a universal payroll multiplier
Employer taxes, insurance, statutory leave, pension contributions, benefits and payroll fees vary by jurisdiction and worker status. The available evidence does not establish one percentage that can be safely added everywhere. Obtain current official guidance and local professional advice for each hiring location, then place each obligation in its own line so a change is visible.
Contractors are not automatically cheaper employees. Compare the total cost of the engagement, availability, supervision, equipment, invoice terms, intellectual-property assignment and classification risk. Classification rules are location-specific; have an accountant or employment adviser confirm the treatment before signing.
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Lay out the monthly cash-flow sheet
Use one column per month and rows for opening cash, each inflow category, each outflow category and closing cash. The core calculation is:
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The next month’s opening cash equals the prior month’s closing cash. Add a separate row for the studio’s chosen reserve threshold. The first month in which closing cash falls below that threshold is the action point; if it becomes negative, the plan is unfunded unless a dependable receipt is scheduled before the shortfall.
Separate cash timing from accrual timing
Record a contractor invoice in the month it is paid, not only the month the work is completed. Record payroll on the actual pay date. If a founder defers compensation, show the economic cost in the compensation schedule while leaving the cash payment in the month of the agreed trigger. This prevents a deferral from disguising a liability.
Use categories that match the game
- Team payroll, contractor invoices and founder cash draws.
- Software licenses, hosting, source control, build services and other recurring services.
- Equipment, development kits and replacement or repair costs.
- Outsourced art, audio, writing, porting or specialist technical work.
- Localization, testing and quality assurance.
- Legal, accounting, insurance and company administration.
- Marketing, trailers, events, public-relations work and platform or distribution charges where relevant.
Do not add a category merely because another studio uses it. Include a cost when the project’s scope, platform or launch plan creates it, and note the assumption beside the amount.
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Map funding by certainty and receipt date
Give every funding source its own row and record the amount, expected receipt month, certainty, restrictions, repayment or recoupment terms, and any revenue-share or ownership effect. A signed agreement with a defined payment schedule belongs in the base case only if its conditions are realistically achievable. A hoped-for award or sales figure belongs in a separate scenario.
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| Funding question | What the sheet should show |
|---|---|
| How much? | Gross amount and any fees, withholding or staged payments |
| When? | Expected receipt month, with milestone conditions and a latest credible date |
| How certain? | Received, contractually committed, application submitted, or merely planned |
| What restrictions apply? | Eligible costs, geography, reporting, platform or schedule requirements |
| What must be repaid or shared? | Recoupment, interest, revenue share, royalties, equity or control provisions |
| Who qualifies? | Entity type, location, team status and any other eligibility condition |
In the IGDA Developer Satisfaction Survey 2023 Summary Report, 59% of surveyed self-employed developers reported self-funding, 30% reported sales as a funding source and 26% reported having no funding. Respondents could select multiple sources, so those percentages are not mutually exclusive and do not predict what your studio will receive. They are a warning to model funding uncertainty rather than assume a single path.
For a pitch, show the dependable base case first, then identify the gap that a publisher, grant or investor would fill. Explain exactly which milestone the new money funds and what happens if the receipt is late. A publisher advance that arrives after several months of payroll cannot solve an earlier cash shortfall.
Decide how founder pay fits the plan
Founder compensation should be a deliberate financing choice, not an invisible assumption. The IGDA’s 2023 survey found that 41% of surveyed self-employed developers said they did not draw a consistent salary or wage because they frequently had to forgo self-payment to cover company needs. An earlier 2021 survey reported that 38% said they always forewent salary or wages for that reason. The two results provide context about volatility, not a direct trend line: survey populations and methods must be checked before comparing them as a change over time.
Model three separate founder figures
- Required personal cash: the minimum the founder needs to remain able to work, after considering other income and obligations.
- Planned cash draw: what the studio can actually pay in each month without breaching its reserve threshold.
- Deferred economic value: the value of time contributed but not paid, with an accrual and a release condition.
Discuss these figures with co-founders before pitching. If one founder can defer pay and another cannot, the difference is a financing term that affects ownership, repayment expectations and sustainability. Put the agreement in writing and have counsel review any equity, repayment or employment implications.
Run a base case and stress cases
A single forecast creates false precision. Keep at least two versions: a base plan built from dependable funding and current scope, and a stress plan that changes the assumptions most likely to fail.
Useful stress variables
- Move a funding receipt later while leaving payroll dates unchanged.
- Extend a milestone or release by one or more months and retain the people required to reach it.
- Reduce sales or delay post-launch receipts instead of treating launch income as immediate cash.
- Replace a planned hire with a contractor, reduce allocation or cut a non-critical feature, and show the delivery consequence.
- Add a one-time legal, equipment, localization or certification cost when the project reaches the relevant milestone.
For each stress case, record the first month below the reserve threshold, the resulting runway and the decision that must be made beforehand. A stress plan is useful only when it produces an action: freeze hiring, reduce scope, renegotiate a milestone, seek bridge financing or stop work before obligations exceed cash.
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Do not present a reserve amount as an industry standard. Set it according to obligations that cannot be quickly reduced, the founders’ ability to add funds, payroll timing and the time needed to secure replacement financing.
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Salary comparisons are meaningful only when the role, seniority, geography, employment type and date match. Broad self-employed income patterns in the IGDA survey are not a current job-by-job salary table and should not be used to price a programmer, artist or producer in a particular city.
For each role, obtain current local compensation information and document:
- Whether the figure is gross employee pay, contractor billing or founder compensation.
- Annual, monthly, hourly or milestone basis and the expected number of paid hours.
- Seniority, specialization and responsibility for shipped work.
- Location and currency, including exchange-rate assumptions for cross-border work.
- Employer-paid taxes, benefits, leave, insurance, equipment and recruiting costs.
- The date of the benchmark and the source’s sample or methodology.
If comparable local data cannot be verified, label the figure as an internal planning assumption and test a range rather than presenting it as a market fact. Update it when the hiring location or worker status changes.
Build the workbook in a repeatable sequence
- Create an assumptions sheet. List the plan dates, milestones, release scope, currencies, working allocations, reserve rule and definitions of “committed” and “uncertain” funding.
- Create a people sheet. Add one row per contributor with role, seniority, location, status, allocation, start and end dates, compensation treatment and payment timing.
- Create a monthly compensation sheet. Calculate cash paid and economic value separately for every person, including founder deferrals and employer obligations applicable to that jurisdiction.
- Add non-payroll costs. Place each recurring or milestone-driven cost in the month it is paid. Link the row to the assumption that creates it.
- Add funding rows. Enter each source, receipt date, certainty level, restrictions and repayment or sharing terms. Exclude uncertain money from the base-case closing cash.
- Calculate cash. Use opening cash, inflows, outflows and closing cash rows, then flag the first reserve breach or negative balance.
- Duplicate the forecast for stress cases. Change only the selected variables so the effect of each decision remains visible.
- Save a dated version. Keep the prior forecast and note what changed in scope, staffing, milestone dates or funding.
A spreadsheet is sufficient when assumptions, dates and formulas are visible and maintained. The important control is not a particular software product; it is the ability for another founder or adviser to trace every cash movement to a documented assumption.
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Update the plan whenever scope, staffing, milestone dates or funding changes rather than waiting for a monthly ritual. At each review, compare the prior forecast with actual cash, actual hours and actual receipts. Replace estimates with known invoices and payroll, then move remaining work to the current schedule.
- Highlight variances that change the first reserve breach.
- Separate a one-time variance from a recurring monthly increase.
- Recheck deferred founder compensation and contractor liabilities.
- Confirm that a delayed milestone has not moved a funding receipt or created extra localization, testing or marketing work.
- Record the decision owner and deadline for each corrective action.
Common budgeting failures and their fixes
Using one project total
Failure: A single number hides payroll dates and milestone-driven bills.
Fix: Convert the total into monthly rows with opening and closing cash.
Counting hoped-for money as cash
Failure: An unapproved grant or optimistic launch sales figure funds early work on paper.
Fix: Keep it in a clearly labeled scenario until the receipt is dependable.
Calling founder labor free
Failure: The game appears profitable while founders accumulate an unrecorded liability and personal financial stress.
Fix: Show cash draw, economic value, deferral trigger and maximum accrual separately.
Mixing employees and contractors
Failure: A blended rate omits benefits, taxes, invoice timing or classification obligations.
Fix: Use separate rows and verify local treatment before engagement.
Applying a generic “overhead” percentage
Failure: A universal multiplier misstates costs across countries and worker types.
Fix: List actual payroll, benefit, insurance and administration obligations by location.
Ignoring a late release
Failure: A one-month slip adds labor and services while launch receipts remain fixed in the model.
Fix: Run a schedule-delay stress case and define the scope or staffing decision that prevents a cash crisis.
What to show when pitching
Present a concise view backed by the detailed workbook:
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- Headcount or role plan, allocation and compensation treatment.
- Monthly cash need, not only the cumulative total.
- Committed funding, its receipt conditions and the remaining gap.
- Base and stress runway, including the first reserve breach.
- Founder-pay policy and any deferred amount or trigger.
- Specific decisions that the requested money unlocks, such as retaining a role through a milestone or funding localization before certification.
This format lets a reader distinguish a well-managed cash requirement from an unsupported request for a universal project price. It also gives the studio an operating plan that can be revised when reality changes.
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