An 18-year-old developer from New Hampshire created a viral Steam joke that generated $1.3 million in revenue but netted him only $2,000 after refunds decimated his earnings.
Michael Major released "This Game Costs $200" earlier this year as a deliberate provocation. He set the price at Steam's maximum listing of $200 per copy, expecting minimal sales. Instead, thousands of players bought the title out of curiosity, shock value, or the novelty of owning a game with such an absurd price tag.
The money came in fast. Players purchased copies across the globe, generating over $1.3 million in gross sales. But Major's actual payout tells a completely different story. After Steam's 30 percent cut and the avalanche of refunds that followed, he walked away with approximately $2,000.
The refund flood happened once players realized what they'd actually purchased. Steam allows refunds within two hours of play time and fourteen days of purchase, a policy that created an escape hatch for impulse buyers who'd treated the game as a joke or test of their own wallets. When the novelty wore off and players understood the punchline had no substance, they requested their money back en masse.
Major told WMUR he hadn't anticipated the viral response. The disconnect between headline-grabbing gross revenue and actual take-home pay highlights a brutal reality for indie developers on Steam. A developer's cut gets sliced before refunds factor in, and a title that seems financially successful on paper can evaporate into near-nothing when players exercise their return options.
This case serves as a cautionary tale about Steam's economics and consumer behavior around meme-tier products. For Major, the experience provided notoriety and a modest payday. For the industry, it reinforces that virality without substance doesn't translate to sustainable