[pydave]

It's not $10k/year:

> A “middle game” should only take 1 to 9 months to create and can be profitable (or at least not a money sink) because it is expected to earn in the range of $10,000 to $40,000.

$53k/year isn't a great salary, but $120k/year is common outside of big tech and especially in games.

It's also a lot better than working unpaid for 4 years on a game that fails to capture any attention (or sales).

The point is releasing games as a stepping stone from new studio to large projects. How much would a founder earn at a self-funded startup in the first year anyway? $0?

However, very true that it would be foolish to live in the Bay area when not earning a Bay salary.