GDC 2009: Stardock CEO says little games = big business

By Tor Thorsen, Marco Antonio Martinez, GameSpotPosted Mar 24, 2009 12:15 pm PT

Studio founder Brad Wardell explains how a game with a budget less than $2 million can reap a $10 million profit.

SAN FRANCISCO--Each year, the Game Developers Conference begins with the Independent Games Summit, a smaller-scale confab for indie developers to share ideas. Last night, the small-scale event got a big name in the form of Brad Wardell, founder, president, and CEO of Stardock, developer of Galactic Civilizations. The company also published the Ironclad-developed hit Sins of a Solar Empire and will do the same for Gas Powered Games' soon-to-be-released Demigod.

Why is this man smiling? A $10 million profit? Oh, OK.

Wardell hosted a lecture that bore the workmanlike title "Stardock on the PC Hardcore Scene as Indie." He discussed how creating games for this notoriously fickle sector has become more independent and less mainstream. As such, Stardock doesn't think of itself as following the standard studio model.

“I don't think of Stardock as a game developer per se, [but] as rather a bunch of guys who like to make games," explained Wardell. "We're not looking at it as art or a creative vision. We're talking about creating a freaking game, and that's basically what we do. We look at games we like to play, and what we can do make to make them better through our distribution channels without losing our shirts.”

Wardell also mentioned how bigger publishers are focused on wider audiences, releasing multiplatform games to satisfy the broadest market possible. But for indie PC studios with smaller development costs, it's a lot simpler. He held up the DRM-free spaceborne real-time strategy game Sins of a Solar Empire as an example of how a small game can make big money.

Last September, Stardock announced that Sins of a Solar Empire had sold more than 500,000 copies. If all were bought at the current purchase price of $29.95, the game would have generated around $15 million. Although that's small potatoes to an Electronic Arts or Activision Blizzard, it's a fortune for a minor operation.

"We tried to get [big] publishers, but no one was interested," explained Wardell. "Because the game's not going to make $30 million, they're not going to pay attention at all. It's still that way, but I'm willing to sacrifice for my game to only make $10 million."

What made Sins of a Solar Empire and its sibling Galactic Civilizations II even more remarkable were their low development costs. Wardell said each was made for "well under" $2 million, putting their profit ratio at a whopping "10-to-1."

In closing, Wardell declared that such earnings margins prove that indie games made for hardcore markets can produce solid revenues--revenues that are further enhanced by digital distribution. As a result, Wardell believes core PC gaming will be around for a very, very long time to come.

42 Comments

  • Crush_Project

    Posted Aug 8, 2009 9:52 pm PT

    stardock ftw!!! screw those gready big companies!!!!

  • brian_13un

    Posted Aug 6, 2009 5:58 am PT

    Great

  • bebomania

    Posted Jul 19, 2009 3:10 am PT

    DRM free is one of the best things about this game, I would never have baught this game if my friend hadnt first showed it to me and let me install this game on my pc and have a little play around on it first. I loved the game baught my own copy and also downloaded Entrenchment through impulse. In contrast i have always loved Dawn of War and when DoW2 came out i baught it on release, but because of having to constantly log onto steam and windows live even to play single player ive gotten quite fed up with the game and it has made my quite angry that a game company that ive supported for years financially has decided to act with such suspicion towards its customers.

  • hbkrug

    Posted May 10, 2009 7:55 am PT

    Glad to hear your business is lucrative and, if that encourages Stardock to continue to put out top quality products such as Sins and Galactic Civilizations I and II that sell so well, so much the better for Stardock. If the big publishers aren't interested in stepping in and "improving " the process so much the better for the players. As for myself, I have thoroughly enjoyed both Sins of a Solar Empire and Galactic Civilizations in all it's manifestations. I even enjoy reading the manuals as they do a fine job of explaining the "how-to" while keeping the tone light and humorous. Bottom line: You keep making 'em and I'll keep buying 'em.

  • umbrae

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 4:32 pm PT

    Sins is fantastic. I really wish the big guys would get this.

  • chikahiro94

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 10:53 am PT

    @ Franko_3
    Got the $1-2 mil it took to get things started?

    And, of course, are you ready to be in the poorhouse if the game flops?

    Plus, remember to say "goodbye" to your family during crunch time!

  • Franko_3

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 8:41 am PT

    10 million profit?!? I want to be a game dev ^^

  • PredatorPR

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 8:21 am PT

    Love Entrechment but those mines!! those mines!! hate them.

  • thepyrethatburn

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 8:21 am PT

    It is always good to hear that Stardock is doing well. I am a fan of Galactic Civilizations so, when Galactic Civilizations 2 came out, I was going to buy it anyway. However, their little dustup with Starforce which resulted in Stardock continuing to stand for "No DRM" on their games actually got me to buy Galactic Civilizations 2 and it's expansions the week they came out. This way, I could do my part to help support a company that is willing to treat me as a customer rather than a potential thief.

  • Hellequin85

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 5:56 am PT

    Stardock have got the right idea, not a case of "bleed the gamer for as much as possible" but being happy with any profit and seeing it as that... profit. I get so annoye dwith companies saying "we only made £30mill profit this year"... it's still profit! that's after all the expenses have been taken out, even share holders with a 1% stake are takign home enough to buy a house! So long as it's profit who cares, the focus should always be on making what people want, not bleeding them dry (finger pointing at EA here lol) Sins is an awesome lil game and GalCiv is a lot of fun, long reign the indies!!

  • MasterofZar

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 5:48 am PT

    im a big fan of stardock and no DRM. theres no DRM on GalCiv2 or on sins and they are barley pirated, over the top DRM on games like spore and its one of the most pirated games ever. the games industry should learn from the same mistakes that the music industry made

  • 01_855403

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 5:03 am PT

    Great they should keep it up and not be affected by the economic crisis then they'll be as great as EA or Activision Blizzard

  • MrFinalFantasy

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 4:59 am PT

    @chikahiro94

    err. sorry what i meant by that is something like a Start-up company. heh.

  • wahyudil

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 3:37 am PT

    Hail stardock!

  • visceron

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 1:46 am PT

    Stardock is awesome

  • Megaship

    Posted Mar 24, 2009 11:53 pm PT

    I like Stardock's style

  • Tebbit

    Posted Mar 24, 2009 11:17 pm PT

    Stardock is great!

  • chikahiro94

    Posted Mar 24, 2009 10:19 pm PT

    @MrFinalFantasy
    Stardock isn't a fledgling company, actually. And they do more than just games

  • onequarter

    Posted Mar 24, 2009 8:09 pm PT

    This doesn't work for all games it seems though. World of goo tried similar, and got pirated to hell.

  • TurambarGS

    Posted Mar 24, 2009 7:33 pm PT

    Big fan of the "no-DRM, let's just make a good game" model of business. Big fan of Sins too - great game! Only wish my processor was slightly faster so it could handle everything on screen without hitching!

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