"It was a bad publishing contract": the creators of Rise of Industry earned almost nothing from the game, despite its revenue in the millions

Alex Mochi is one of the creators of the economic strategy game Rise of Industry and the founder of Dapper Penguin Studios. Recently, he released a video on YouTube, where he talked about an unsuccessful partnership with Kalypso Media and the forced sale of the IP to avoid bankruptcy.

• According to Mochi, everything started well. In 2016, he and his team signed a contract with Kalypso Media — the publisher behind Railway Empires, several Tropico installments, and many other games. The company offered a $75,000 advance and a revenue split of 50/50 until the publisher recouped the first $100,000, after which the developers’ share would increase to 60%. The team considered this a fair deal.
• In February 2018, Rise of Industry entered early access, and by May 2019, it was officially released. The game quickly gained traction in the store, received positive reviews, and began selling actively. Mochi was incredibly pleased with the success — even a few universities reached out to him, wanting to use the game to teach economics.
• The developer claims that a few months post-release, Kalypso Media handed over the game management to its subsidiary brand, Kasedo Games. After this, the game’s promotion deteriorated significantly, and sales fell.
• By this point, Mochi says, Rise of Industry had officially generated $1.2 million for the publisher and $1.5 million for the developers. However, these figures do not account for Steam’s commission, taxes, salaries, and other expenses — in reality, the developers were working at a loss. By 2021, the game’s creators had accumulated $140,000 in debt.
• Mochi hoped that releasing patches would correct the situation, but endless crunches led him to a nervous breakdown, and the money was still not there. He was close to selling his house but eventually agreed to sell the IP with all its code and rights to the publisher for $5,000.
• Notably, Mochi observes that after the deal, the game’s sales picked up again, and Kasedo Games even released a sequel two months ago.

Representatives from Kasedo Games stated in a press release that Mochi’s account contains inaccuracies. For instance, they emphasized that the initial agreement with the creators of Rise of Industry was a licensing deal: the publisher provided an advance, but the studio was responsible for all development costs. Additionally, Mochi received another $45,000 as compensation for future game sales on top of the $5,000 for the IP.