"The first episode paid off on the day of release," said the developer of the visual novel Zavod about the launch

Last Friday marked the release of the first episode of the visual novel Zavod. Within the first day, its sales reached a thousand copies. The App2Top editorial team spoke with the game's developer, known as Gendocik, about the project.

Alexander Semenov, App2Top: The first question is introductory. Could you tell us a bit about how the development process went?

Gendocik: First of all, it should be noted that the novel was created with the participation of several people, but the main workload fell on the shoulders of one developer. Other project participants made significant contributions, but their work was done under contract.

Is a thousand sales at launch a lot or a little for a visual novel today?

Gendocik: The results achieved are impressive, as I initially only expected 500 sales. It is a lot for such a visual novel on the first day.

By the way, which platform had the majority of your sales?

Gendocik: In terms of platform, of course, Steam.

How many copies need to be sold today to cover the development costs of a visual novel of your level?

Gendocik: The creation of the novel took a full five years, which is a significant period. Before prices went up. So, it varies for everyone.

An interesting point is that the first episode broke even on the very day of its release, which is truly delightful, although I didn't expect such quick success.

If the development took five years but broke even, does this mean that you only included contract work in the budget?

Gendocik: Yes.

Which expense categories were the largest in developing the visual novel?

Gendocik: The main expenses during the development process were related to the script and backgrounds—these were indeed significant cost items.

What are your expectations, and how often do you plan to release new chapters?

Gendocik: Regarding future plans, as already mentioned on the Steam page, we aim to release one episode per year. However, no one can guarantee precise timelines since all project participants have their own commitments and main jobs that also require attention.