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Solo dev monthly report
One month as a solo game dev: 15,000 won earned, 345,000 won spent
As of October 14, 2026, we earned 15,000 won and spent 345,000 won. AdMob revenue on October 15 was an estimated 62,181 won for the day, but that was the day a Taiwanese outlet ran one article, so it is not a normal day. Everything below is copied from our ledger, and it is an interim count, not a month-end result.
How we count
Every number here is in our ledger (the money log) or our metrics records. The ledger writes money that has settled as "income" and the figures shown in a console as "estimate," in separate places. This post keeps that split.
October is not over. So this is not a "month-end result." It is an interim count of what we confirmed between October 14 and 17. We will fill in this table again in next month's post.
The numbers in one table
Money earned and money spent come from the count we made on October 14. The rest are values from the date written next to each row.
| Item | Number | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Money earned | 15,000 won | Count as of October 14 |
| Money spent | 345,000 won | Same count |
| AdMob revenue for one day | 62,181 won | October 15 estimate. About 53,000 won Android + about 9,000 won iOS, mostly Taiwan |
| Press release | 1 article out of 143 sent | Through October 15. The article ran on Bahamut GNN |
| New Android installs | 7 to 124 | The day of the article. 98 in Taiwan, 20 in Hong Kong |
| New iOS installs | 89 | Same day |
| Apps in Toss launch day | 0 users, 0 ad impressions | Launched October 15, Jjimjilbang Tycoon |
| YouTube Korean channel | 29,594 total views, 38 videos | Count as of October 13 |
| TikTok Korean account | 5,283 total views, 22 videos | Count as of October 13 |
| YouTube English channel | 1,076 total views, 16 videos | Count as of October 13 |
| TikTok English account | 127 total views, 15 videos | Count as of October 13 |
The 60,000 won day came from one article
At 1:23 a.m. on October 15 we sent a press release to Bahamut GNN, a Taiwanese gaming outlet, and the article went up at 11:59 a.m. the same day. New Android installs rose from 7 to 124: 98 in Taiwan and 20 in Hong Kong. New iOS installs were 89, and estimated AdMob revenue that day was 62,181 won.
We had sent 143 press releases before that, and this was the only outlet that ran a story. We have since sent to 33 more places, but as of a search on October 16 the only article is still GNN. The 60,000 won day is not the result of a well-built ad setup. It is the result of one article that landed.
What did not take off
Short video is much bigger on the Korean side than the English side. The Korean YouTube channel has 29,594 total views across 38 videos, and the English channel has 1,076 across 16. On TikTok it is 5,283 for Korean and 127 for English. The English accounts have hardly gathered any views yet.
We submitted Jjimjilbang Tycoon to Apps in Toss at 2:11 a.m. on October 15. From review request to approval to launch took under two hours, yet on launch day there were 0 users and 0 ad impressions. Natural exposure inside the Toss app was close to nil, so a 10,000 won budget for a 5-won promotion was approved, but it can only be registered after settlement information is approved.
Where these numbers are weak
First, the 15,000 won earned is settled money, while 62,000 won a day is an estimate. Do not add them together or compare them. A full month of settlement has not come in yet.
Second, because the day's revenue came from one article, we have no number for after the buzz fades. The values for several days after the article are not confirmed yet, so we did not write them.
Third, we did not break down the 345,000 won spent in this post. Splitting out items such as individual subscription fees is homework for the next record.
What we watch over the next 2 weeks
For press releases we set a rule: if 20 more go out with no article, we stop. The count starts from the third batch on October 16.
In PC Cafe Tycoon we added a card that asks for notification permission right after the first day's settlement. In the version before this fix (2.0.9), 33 of 195 users allowed notifications. We will judge the next-day return rate on October 24.
In the next record we will fill in the same cells of this table again and write only the ones that changed.
FAQ
How much does a solo-developed game make in a month?
We cannot give an average, only our own case. As of October 14, 2026, we earned 15,000 won and spent 345,000 won.
Is AdMob revenue paid out right away?
No. The value shown in the AdMob report is an estimate and differs from settled money. Our ledger records the two separately.
Can one press release increase installs?
Once, yes. Out of 143, one Taiwanese outlet ran an article, and on that day new Android installs rose from 7 to 124. The rest of the batches have no article yet.
Do users come right away if you launch a game on Apps in Toss?
Not for us. Jjimjilbang Tycoon had 0 users and 0 ad impressions on its launch day, October 15.
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