Only 20 percent of games make a profit

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 25th November 2008

According to analyst research only 20 percent of released games will ever turn a significant profit.

Granted, this bit of rather shocking news only caught our attention thanks to Forbes magazine making a mistake, but it's still worth reporting that apparently only 20 percent of games ever turn a significant profit.

The information, which is based on data gathered by the Electronic Entertainment Design and Research analyst firm (EEDAR, originally showed that only 4 percent of games ever make a profit but EEDAR has now issued a correction to those figures.

According to the correction as posted on Kotaku the research actually shows that a full 20 percent of released games are able to turn a significant profit. The confusion stems from the fact that only 4 percent of all games that enter into production ever make a profit; but most games that begin production are never released.

According to EEDAR, a major problem for game developers and publishers is that often more than 60 percent of a games allotted budget will be spent on redesigning fundamental aspects of a game.

It has to be said of course that 20 percent would still seem to be a shockingly low figure, but given the amount of awful games out there and the endless Wii cash-ins that flood the market we'd say that only 20 percent of games ever really deserve to make a profit.

What were the last five games you bought? Were they worth the cost? Let us know your thoughts in the forums.