[legitster]

It's crazy how much money they were leaving on the table this whole time.

My mind is trying to wrap my head whether their lives would have been better or worse had they done this much sooner. I'm not sure I have a conclusion.

[massysett]

I’m guessing worse: they’ve had years to refine this game. To see an example of what a game without that refinement period looks like, just see any early Paradox release.

They can be satisfied that they didn’t start charging until they had a refined product.

[zhynn]

Also, they could focus entirely on their own vision for the project instead of being totally reliant on delivering for the marketplace.

They had "slack" (in the slack/moloch sense) to try out weird ideas that may not have been possible if they were relying on sales revenue instead of donations to stay afloat.

[Jolter]

It comes down to your personality, I think. Whether you prefer to finish a project and move on, or whether you want to polish a product until it’s perfect. This is conscientiousness taken to the extreme, you could say.

I’m sure their chosen way of working has made them a lot happier than launching a half-baked game as “early access” ten years ago. Even though that could have afforded them a much more comfortable lifestyle, I have a feeling the gaming public might have gotten tired of the game and moved on.