Developer’s Surprise: Four Years of Hard Work on Steam Game Pays Off!

Game launches can be a rollercoaster for developers, filled with anxiety and uncertainty. There’s always the risk of critical bugs ruining the experience, poor reviews, or even worse—complete indifference from players.

This month, indie developer Cakez released his tower defense game, Tangy TD, on Steam. In this game, players step into the shoes of a witch tasked with fending off waves of monsters. The anticipation surrounding Tangy TD was palpable, especially since Cakez had poured four years into crafting this vibrant, sprite-art roguelike. During that time, he also got married and welcomed a child, raising the stakes even higher.

For indie devs on Steam, the odds can feel daunting. Nearly half of the games released on the platform fail to earn a single dollar, and some don’t even recoup the $100 listing fee. Less than 10% of games hit six-figure sales. In 2025 alone, around 20,000 new titles launched on Steam, but only about 600 managed to gather 1,000 or more reviews.

With such slim chances of success, Cakez faced a tough journey to launch. He learned programming from the ground up, spending his first year creating smaller games to build his skills, though not all were successful. “The only solution that I saw was to start over again,” he reflected in a 2020 YouTube video about a project that didn’t go as planned. “I was very arrogant to think I could start and finish a project. It didn’t cross my mind that I could fail.”

Despite the setbacks, Cakez persevered. He shared his development journey on Twitch and YouTube, often dedicating 50 hours to create a single video for just a dollar. Then, disaster struck again when his computer broke down, followed by a graphics card failure. With limited funds, Cakez was fortunate to have built a small community that rallied to support him with PC parts and cash.

Finally, on March 9, 2026, Tangy TD launched on Steam. The day after, Cakez went live on Twitch, and as his viewers cheered in the chat, he nervously checked his sales stats. To his astonishment, Tangy TD had generated $31,942 in just 30 hours. After Valve’s cut, that translated to nearly $26,000 in profit. His reaction, filled with joy alongside his wife, quickly went viral for its heartwarming authenticity. But for Cakez, this was merely the beginning.

That viral moment propelled Tangy TD into the spotlight. Shortly after, Cakez checked his Steam page again and was stunned to see gross sales of $245,123. Overwhelmed, he broke down in tears, with his toddler’s coos and his wife’s excitement echoing in the background. He spent several minutes speechless, soaking in the moment.

As of now, Tangy TD boasts a “very positive” rating on Steam, with many reviews highlighting that players bought the game to support Cakez directly.

“My wife is one of the biggest reasons the game is where it is right now,” Cakez shared during a stream, attributing his success to a mix of luck and unexpected virality. Despite reaching out to various YouTubers who overlooked him, Tangy TD has since become a popular topic for many content creators.

“I was struggling,” Cakez admitted. Even with the recognition, he feels he hasn’t fully earned the attention but is grateful nonetheless.

Once he regained his composure during that emotional stream, it was back to business. “The first thing I’m gonna do now is go to the leaderboards and delete this fucking cheater,” Cakez exclaimed. “You think you can cheat in my game?”