Top 10 Low Budget Games That Made Millions

This smash hit mobile game was created solely by Vietnamese programmer Dong Nguyen in less than a week! With a simple objective, to keep the titular avian flapping over a series of pipes of varying heights, the gameplay loop is dead simple, endlessly repetitive, and incredibly addicting. Although “Flappy Bird” was not available for long on app stores, its sheer volume of ad revenue due to it being free, and the addictive nature; meant that Nguyen has made millions from app revenue alone, with some sources claiming he earned a cool 50 grand a day at one point. Doug eventually rereleased new versions of the game, an arcade game and an Amazon Fire TV version called “Flappy Bird Family.”

A side scrolling beat ‘em up about a group of knights trying to rescue a princess from an evil wizard, “Castle Crashers” is known for its distinctive art style and sense of humor, as well as its fast-paced gameplay. Created by The Behemoth, a game development studio that got its start with flash games, “Castle Crashers” was made by less than 10 people, yet it has sold millions of copies worldwide. A small band of heroes discovered an unexpected treasure trove while setting off for adventure…why does that sound so familiar?

Its gameplay is nothing special, given that you mostly just walk around – wee-hee – but “The Stanley Parable” distinguishes itself through its memorable narrator, and numerous reality bending moments, and 4th wall breaking story elements. Originally created as a “Half-Life 2” mod, “The Stanley Parable” was developed by developer Davey Wreden with help from William Pugh. Even without an exact budget, the fact that the game has sold over a million copies on PC alone and is due to have a console release in 2020 means that its sales have surely exceeded what two guys alone put into it. And could someone please tell me why this game always seems to hit the #8 slot?

There are a ton of procedurally generated sandbox games out there, but “Terraria” brings a certain level of polish to its 2D take on the genre, with various bosses, zones, and enemies to encounter. It’s all the more impressive for having been the creation of such a small development studio. Developer Re-Logic only has around 13 employees, as of 2019. “Terraria”’s engaging gameplay has earned it huge profits, as it’s currently one of the highest selling PC games of all time, selling over 27 million copies across all platforms, by the close of the decade. The game’s “territory” is sure to expand even further in the future.

A deceptively simple 2D platformer in the Metroidvania genre, “Cave Story” follows a robot traversing a series of mysterious caves and encountering villains threatening a race of rabbit people. The game won many over with its upgradeable weapon system, charming characters, and catchy soundtrack. Originally developed over the course of five years by one developer, Daisuke Amaya, “Cave Story” was originally released for free online. After developing a cult following, it was released in various upgraded versions across multiple platforms and earning millions. It just goes to show that sometimes giving something away can yield big returns.

This little RPG has taken the world by storm, managing to combine quirky characters, an unusual battle system, and a storyline with real consequences for the player’s moral choices. The entire game was developed almost single-handedly by creator Toby Fox over the course of nearly three years, backed by a kickstarted budget of around 50 thousand dollars. On that relatively small budget, “Undertale” went on to sell a million copies in its first year, and over 3.5 million by 2018! Even with how cheap the game goes for, that’s quite the haul!

This unforgiving platformer has players lead an animate chunk of meat through a grinder of punishingly difficult levels requiring absolute precision. “Super Meat Boy” was created with a surprising degree of precision too, especially considering its mere two developers lived on different coasts during the time they worked on it. The game has received both wide acclaim and has sold millions of copies; reaching its first six figures within the first year or so and doubtless making even more since then. While it certainly makes players want to smash their heads against something, clearly people are into that.

A platforming game that plays with time in various ways, “Braid” is one of the most beloved indie games out there. It follows a man determined to rescue a princess from a monster, but its simple set up is executed in a fascinating way. Created by developer Jonathan Blow over 3 years and using 200 thousand dollars of his own money, “Braid” has since made millions of dollars through sales across multiple platforms. While 200 grand is still a lot of money (for most of us), it pales in comparison to what it yielded.

We’re getting into the all-timers now! Yep, “Minecraft” is for definitely one of the biggest games of all time, and it’s not hard to see why. The simple concept of harvesting and mining materials to improve your harvesting/mining abilities or achieve other objectives is hardly new, but the versatility offered in the game is virtually unmatched. First created by one developer, Markus "Notch" Persson, “Minecraft” has since earned billions of dollars, including a 2.5 billion buyout of Persson himself from Microsoft. You’d have to mine a lot of diamonds to earn that kind of dough!

It can be easy to forget because it’s such a simple puzzle game, but “Tetris” is an extremely popular one too! Created by Alexey Pajitnov in Moscow during the Soviet Union, “Tetris” is the original rotating block puzzler. With 170 million copies sold and counting, “Tetris” has made billions from its addictive gameplay and endlessly catchy theme song... although Pajitnov himself couldn't tap those riches himself until 1996. Given that it has been remade and remixed countless times in the decades since its release, getting an accurate figure on its total sales is a puzzle in and of itself, but “Tetris” has found the secret to long-term success.