A game’s launch is usually crucial, and now that things have calmed down a bit, I want to take a look at the first two weeks of Monster Girl Therapy—in numbers! So we’ll be talking about sales, wishlists, playtime, and how I interpret all of that.
And to get it out of the way right away: this launch was very quiet, but also quite cozy!
Numbers
Sales.
Just under 300 copies sold and around $1,500 in revenue, before Steam’s 30% cut. Most of that happened in the first two days, followed by the first week. The US and Germany are the biggest markets, although the German numbers likely include a lot of friends and people I know from here or there. Otherwise, the stats are surprisingly international!
There were 14 refunds, which makes sense and is honestly below my expectations. :D
“Not fun” is always fair—especially for a very text-heavy RPG Maker game—but I’d really love to know what “Other issues” means in this case. I suspect some people were expecting an NSFW game.
Wishlistings.
Around 4,500 wishlistings total, and 3,000 before release. What a 5% conversion rate after 2 weeks means is debatable, especially since these numbers have been declining in recent years. I’d guess we’re at the lower end of average, and I’m fairly sure this will increase significantly once more discounts happen. In the same vein, the differences by country are noticeable, but not surprising.
Play time.
You can clearly see who tried the game and then dropped it or at least put it in the backlog, which is totally fair. I’d estimate that around 40% actually finished it in some form, and I honestly think that’s pretty cool! More on achievements (and what people actually did) in a later blog post.
Assessment
I’ll make a subjective but rather important distinction here.
As a commercial indie game launch, this would be a freakish disaster. Thankfully, no jobs depended on it…!
My personal expectations right before launch were slightly higher. A 10% conversion from wishlists isn’t unusual, but I was hoping for a bit more visibility, either from people or algorithms. Maybe something like 500 sales instead of 300?
However, when it comes to my own goals, things are a lot less bleak. Here’s a quote from a related blog post—though that one refers to the first year, not just the first two weeks!
I think the second milestone of 1,000 sales in the first year (!) is definitely realistic, especially since I still have plans for a German localization, more publicity, sales, etc.
And that’s what I mean by “quiet, but cozy”: Monster Girl Therapy didn’t make any waves, but I’ll likely achieve the more realistic of my two goals. (The other one is waaaay off… let’s talk again in a year! :D) And the reception—whether through online reviews or personal feedback from friends and fans—has been absolutely wonderful, which more than makes up for any disappointment. <3
Conclusion and Takeaways
What led to these numbers?
More time would have helped. For wishlisting (the game was only “coming soon” for about months months) and for publicity. I do have a full-time job and don’t want to spend 3+ years on the same game, let alone marketing, but there’s more of a middle ground here.
A demo, and with it, more confidence? People love the game, but I was too worried that they wouldn’t. Also, I tend to get overwhelmed, which is why I missed the deadline for Next Fest… ^^
A big issue was probably clarity in presentation and marketing. For example: Is this fan-service or even a porn game? (No!) But then why does it look like one? And what is it instead? Looking back, I have to say: Marketing it as a monster girl fan service game would likely have been more successful, but also completely dishonest. Calling it a subversive “message game” (lol) from the get go wouldn’t have done justice to the subversion OR the complexity of the whole fan service topic. So overall, it was fine as it was—even if that wasn't ideal for publicity.
Maybe more social media. I did (re)activate Twitter, Bluesky, and TikTok, but that was pretty late, and it didn’t work out THAT well. Still, I say “maybe” on purpose, because I don’t see myself constantly posting random screenshots into trending topics or forced short form videos—that doesn't feel right. BUT: I do have a Zwiebelspiele Discord server now, for questions and discussions, and to stay in touch. Feel free to join!
There might also have been more potential in influencer marketing, but I’ve realized that my game doesn’t exactly scream “stream me”, at least not without prior success. Still, I’ll see what’s possible going forward!
What did I learn? Mostly for myself, I should add.
Set yourself some goals. Seriously! I’m SO glad I set concrete, numerical goals! Without them, these results might have been genuinely depressing, simply because the gap between “what’s possible” and “what’s likely” is so enormous in this industry.
Take your time. Stay calm! Avoid using deadlines whenever possible. That way, you can adjust things more easily whenever it makes sense.
And: I definitely don’t want to get TOO deep into “professionalism.” A bit of marketing here and there is nice—sometimes even a bit more!—but I have the privilege of treating this as a hobby… so I want to benefit from that. To be satisfied with the successes I have. To grow slowly, or not at all. To keep making small games. And most importantly, not to chase every possible idea or trend or industry trueism just because it might bring in a few extra wishlistings.
The blog posts will continue, at a relaxed pace—especially now that I can finally include spoilers! :D Is there anything else you’d like to know?
Thank you so much for all kinds of support! =)