Tipping for a game like Elden Ring? In this economy?

I think the concept of “Pay what you want.” is a very friendly approach to this.

Very “friendly” but not even a little profitable.

You would have to at least have a base minimum purchase price and then accept tips on top.

And to be honest, I’d be all for that. But there’s no way any distribution platform would allow that. They want their cut of every dollar.

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The dorf fort devs made like $3k-6k per month throughout the 2010s. They did end up going commercial to get more. But it was hardly “not even a little profitable.” I mean, I’d take that deal to do what I love too.

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I’m aware of that and also see the problem, but argue that that’s partially because most people just aren’t used to this. People’s actions depend a lot on what they consider the norm. Take waiters or other service people as an example - in some cultures it’s usual to tip them, in others it’s unusual or even frowned upon.

You would have to at least have a base minimum purchase price and then accept tips on top.

That’s also fine. If the initial price were lower than other comparable games then I assume that more people could be convinced to tip. Or even just if a company is very open about their work / income and dedicated to communicating to their players. I think there’s already some companies like that, though perhaps not necessarily the big ones.

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