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making a living from HTML5?


TheRealCutterSlade
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I would like to exchange some experiences about if it is possible to make a living from HTML5 games. 

 

Recently I found this article: 

http://www.photonstorm.com/html5/the-reality-of-html5-game-development-and-making-money-from-it

 

It's written (correct me if I'm wrong) by the admin of this forum and gives a nice non-biased overview over the topic above. Also interesting is the discussion following the article. It is worth reading. 

The article is 2.5 years old by now and I feel nothing has really changed since. HTML5 isn't a mainstream technology. I feel no one but a few techies and lots of absolute beginners to game development use it, there is no market and almost no commercial revenue. 

Technically there have been some improvements, but even if Google and Mozilla propagate HTML5, there is no money in it. 

Almost all HTML5 engines that were commercial once are free now. 

 

What is your experience or opinion about this?

 

 

 

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No one else wants to have a conversation with you?

Ok, I'll try :)

 

> HTML5 isn't a mainstream technology. I feel no one but a few techies and lots of absolute beginners to game development use it.

 

That's because HTML5 a *new* technology.

Beginners use it because they're not entrenched in older technologies.

​Techies use it because they like playing with new things.

Many established developers don't want to use it because they like the technologies they're already using.

​Hypercard developers didn't want to move to Director, Director developers didn't want to move to Flash, Flash developers didn't want to move to Unity or HTML5.

 

there is no market and almost no commercial revenue...  Technically there have been some improvements, but even if Google and Mozilla propagate HTML5, there is no money in it.

 

It's just a tool like, like any other tool used to make games.

The successful commercialization of games made with HTML5 is dependent on the skill and business acumen of the artist, it's not a property of the tool itself.

 

Almost all HTML5 engines that were commercial once are free now. 

 

- Yay, that's money in the pockets of game developers  :)

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The article is 2.5 years old by now and I feel nothing has really changed since. HTML5 isn't a mainstream technology. I feel no one but a few techies and lots of absolute beginners to game development use it, there is no market and almost no commercial revenue. 

 

As someone who came from a background of 'Native' game development (C++, C#, Java) I find that people who are already making a living from game/app development are happy where they are, as there is huge bias against HTML5 as a 'serious' game platform.

 

Go back 2.5 years and most of the frameworks were either garbage, propriety (which no-one would buy because if your not sure on the foundations your not gonna buy and build a house on it) or just too new. This attitude did make HTML5 game development look bad, but now (2.5 years on),we have amazing frameworks, better online discussion and education and mobile adoption. (I have recently started to develop small games for messaging apps in China which HAVE to run on HTML5). 

 

I should add that I monazite my HTML5 games via ad-revenue the same way any android or iOS app would.

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hey nice, this is the type of discussion I hoped for!

So there are some people out there making a living from it, good news. 

 

@True Valhalla: 

Congrats for your business. Just a few questions:

- Do you work in a team alike 'normal' game development, where everyone is a specialist, e.g. Coder, Artist... or do you do everything by your own?

- You don't seem to use PhoneGap or another service for bringing your games to mobiles. Is there really anyone using their mobiles to browse to your games?

 

Sorry for asking so much, just keep the discussion rolling!

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I agree with d13 on why HTML5 seems to attract a lot of beginners and techies - and would also add that tools like game maker and construct have allowed a lot of younger non-coders to jump on board relatively easily which has been great for the initial proliferation of mobile web games.

 

This 'industry' is going through some interesting stages of evolution as sites/brands with a mobile web audience try to find the best way to make money with these shiny new mobile web games - whether it's compiling them in apps, advertising on site or in game, adding social hooks, IAP, white-labelling, game rental and all sorts of other weird and wonderful combinations.

 

The companies involved in this scramble cover a wide range of interests and audiences including education, games, telecoms, advertising and even adult oriented sites...

 

From the developers point of view this means there are many potential ways to get income from your games - exclusive and non exclusive licenses, rental, ad revenue, reskins, native apps, bespoke builds etc.

 

As a solo venture, currently HTML5 is paying the bills just fine for me.  I've no idea what will happen in the future but I'm really enjoying it and long may it continue!

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There are many opportunities out there, specially in contract work.

 

Last year i was able to pass the 6 figure salary mark working solely in contract and commissioned projects. Licensing on the other hand is a bit more challenging as there are fewer monetizing options and as licensing fees are lowered due to growing competition. Even though the market is maturing, many companies and start-ups are still trying to find new ways to monetize html5 games other than shared ad-revenue models.

 

My recommendation is to hone your coding skills, adapt to the ever changing html5 landscape and more importantly is to make yourself marketable, @True Valhalla is a great example of this as well as many colleagues, including @rich who runs this forum.

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This recent episode of Lostcast includes a long discussion on the current business environment of HTML5 games:

 

http://www.lostdecadegames.com/lostcast-81/

 

Hey, we were mentioned in that podcast, woohoo.

 

If anyone has specific pointers or insights to this topic I'd love to hear them as well.  If you've done contract work I'd really love to hear from you if you're willing to share any sales data.  I'll be presenting on where to make money in HTML5 game development at Casual Connect and the only space I feel I am not very familiar with is the contract space.  But I'd love any data you'd like to share (even outside of contracts... and I would give you credit if I use it).

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No one else wants to have a conversation with you?

Ok, I'll try :)

 

> HTML5 isn't a mainstream technology. I feel no one but a few techies and lots of absolute beginners to game development use it.

 

That's because HTML5 a *new* technology.

Beginners use it because they're not entrenched in older technologies.

​Techies use it because they like playing with new things.

Many established developers don't want to use it because they like the technologies they're already using.

​Hypercard developers didn't want to move to Director, Director developers didn't want to move to Flash, Flash developers didn't want to move to Unity or HTML5.

 

there is no market and almost no commercial revenue...  Technically there have been some improvements, but even if Google and Mozilla propagate HTML5, there is no money in it.

 

It's just a tool like, like any other tool used to make games.

The successful commercialization of games made with HTML5 is dependent on the skill and business acumen of the artist, it's not a property of the tool itself.

 

Almost all HTML5 engines that were commercial once are free now. 

 

- Yay, that's money in the pockets of game developers   :)

 

Very well said! I agree with you. :)

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Well, I disagree that HTML5 is not a mainstream technology. Clearly you can not only make a living, but you can make some pretty advanced games. More and more platforms are opening up to HTML5. I see a bright future for it.

 

I see an incredibly bright future for it as well. Just a little something I read today that supports that it may indeed have that bright future: http://www.ghacks.net/2014/07/17/google-enforces-html5-youtube-firefox-33-newer/

 

..."Google will enforce the use of HTML5 video on YouTube for all Firefox users who use Firefox 33 or newer on their system to do so..."

 

:)

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There are many opportunities out there, specially in contract work.

 

Last year i was able to pass the 6 figure salary mark working solely in contract and commissioned projects. Licensing on the other hand is a bit more challenging as there are fewer monetizing options and as licensing fees are lowered due to growing competition. Even though the market is maturing, many companies and start-ups are still trying to find new ways to monetize html5 games other than shared ad-revenue models.

 

My recommendation is to hone your coding skills, adapt to the ever changing html5 landscape and more importantly is to make yourself marketable, @True Valhalla is a great example of this as well as many colleagues, including @rich who runs this forum.

 

Just curious, mainly because you say to hone your coding skills, as to which platforms, if any, do you use in your main applications and for your contract work? I've been using GMS for quite a while and have recently started playing with pixi.js. Only recently decided to start looking into the contracting side of the industry, so I can hopefully do this full time at some point. Do you mainly do contract work through HTML5/Javascript games or just web apps and front-end developement (the later is how I manage to get by, but it's definitely not game design/dev). Just curious.

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I've been making a living from HTML5 for over 2 years now. In that time I've made over $100,000 in profit directly from HTML5 games. Last month I made $20,000 from HTML5 as shown in my online income report for May 2014.

 

I know at least a few other developers who have been making a living from HTML5 for as long as me, including Rich who wrote the article you listed, and many more who have been using it to supplement their existing income.

 

I want this guys income!

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