Developer's Journal 4:2 (Patreon)

Hey everybody.  I'm making the journal entry public this week because I want to report on the Steam launch, and there were a lot of people who aren't Patreon/SS Supporters who nonetheless helped make it a success.

In the first 24 hours after Leaving DNA launched on Steam it sold 982 copies.  In the 35 hours since then it's sold an additional 671 copies (minus a 5% refund rate).  Those numbers will fall off substantially after the launch weekend, but I think that's a pretty strong start.  It's true that there are a lot of adult games that dwarf those numbers, but Leaving DNA is a very niche AVN that was never meant or expected to appeal to the broader adult gaming crowd.  It's a plot-driven character drama, not a dating sim, and the sex scenes it does have are buried under complex character interactions that the player may or may not unlock.  So if I can sell 1600 copies of Leaving DNA in the adult gaming market in the first 59 hours of being on Steam and get only one negative review, then I'm feeling pretty good about things.  If you bought a copy of the game on Steam, thank you!

For those of you who helped publicize the game through reviews/commentary/postings, etc. you guys helped me squeeze out some last minute wishlists that unquestionably contributed to the launch.  Thank you for taking the time!

A lot of you left Steam reviews and I really, really appreciate that.  I did get hit with a troll bad review within minutes of launching, but a few of you were right there to counterbalance it with some positive reviews so I don't think it did any damage.  Those early reviews absolutely made a difference for the launch and helped put the game in front of more eyes, and reviews will continue to have an impact going forward, so I will always be grateful when you're able to leave one.

With much less fanfare, Leaving DNA also launched on Itch a week earlier and has sold 35 copies there; once again, given the much smaller market, I consider that a success.  I even had some people who paid me extra for the game!  If you bought a copy on Itch, thank you!

To my Supporters on Patreon/SS, you guys continue to be awesome.  Some of you in particular have been very generous in your financial support of me, and some of you have been with me since the demo launched in summer of 2022.  I really, really appreciate all of you.

Although I honestly haven't sat down to crunch the year-over-year total, my estimate is including hardware, music rights, energy bills, the animator, and 3D assets I've probably spent about $30K making this game.  Some of that I've gotten back in tax refunds, but it's still a sizeable chunk of cash.  My Patreon/SS supporters up to this point have been awesome, but especially pre-Episode Three I was getting deeper in the red every month.  So now with Patreon/SS support more than doubled, and Itch and Steam both in play, I'm sure I'll have broken even by the time I launch Episode Four, and I'll have the confidence to continue investing as much as I need to make Leaving DNA the best game it can be.

Alright guys.  That's the financial report.  I'm glad both the Episode Three release and the Steam launch are out of the way because I can really clear my head and focus on the creating part.

Last week I told you I was working on a rewrite of Episode Four.  That's still ongoing and I've done some significant restructuring of both Episode Four and Five.  But as I was getting antsy with Daz sitting idle, I've started working on posing/rendering the prologue.

The prologue for Episode One was a mother being murdered in front of her child.  The prologue for Episode Three was a father being murdered in front of his child.  The prologue for Episode Two was a boy being turned out by his foster family.  The prologue for Episode Four is probably the worst of them all.  As always, I try to be sensitive in presenting these dark themes, but if this shit doesn't make you feel sick then there is probably something wrong with you.

And on that happy note, this journal has gone on way too long!  Thanks for your support everyone!

--Monk