The developer behind the new '90s-inspired platformer Windswept is celebrating small wins after the game's launch garnered almost 300 largely positive reviews, although the reality of the dev's financial situation could be a little daunting to would-be indie developers. Windswept is an exceedingly charming-looking platformer starring a duck named Marbles and a tortoise named Checkers, billed as a "buddy" adventure where you can play in either single-player or local split-screen co-op mode. It launched on November 11 and has since attracted a modest 287 Steam reviews, 97% of which are classified as positive and earning the game a coveted 'Very Positive' rating on the platform overall. And while it's hard to see that as a negative for small independent developer Weatherfell, the profit earned by lead developer PeekingBoo has been barely enough to make ends meet. In a tweet sent out a week after the game's launch, PeekingBoo said it took just one week for sales to help pay for his wedding, repairs for a bathroom that flooded more than a year ago, a new dryer, and his dog Nugget's allergy meds. At the time, he said the next step was just to break even. Game dev hard mode discovered as solo indie releases Metroidvania-inspired roguelike right between Silksong and Hades 2: "I had zero awareness that they were dropping" Solo dev spends 6 weeks making a short free game, accidentally wins the Steam algorithm and makes $4,200 in 5 days, then rushes to prepare a big update: "Seems the people liked my honesty and that I don't have any hidden costs" "Steam rejected the build" at the finish line, the "last 3 months were intense crunch," and the story was finished 3 days before launch: How one dev scraped together a horror hit that "accidentally" sold 150,000 copies It's no surprise that a developer's debut game with less than 300 reviews isn't making anyone rich, but PeekingBoo's candid insight into the financial struggle indie developers have to deal with is a reality check for me, as someone who's long dreamt of making my own game some day. It's also worth noting that Windswept is available on Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox, in addition to Steam and the Epic Games Store, which further underscores just how difficult it is to turn a profit as a small game dev. On the bright side, PeekingBoo did provide an update as recently as November 30, 19 days after Windswept's launch, that he's since "broke even," which essentially means he's made as much money as he spent to make the game. From there, it's all profit, baby, although it's a massive question whether it'll be enough to sustain not only his personal needs and the needs of his family, but also future game development efforts. Here are all of the upcoming indie games we can't wait to play.