A few days ago, a study conducted by EEDAR revealed that only 4% of games ever make a profit.

If you were skeptical of that number, then you are somewhat justified. Because of widespread misinterpretation of that 4% figure, EEDAR gave a follow-up explanation.

Geoffrey Zatkin, EEDAR's president and COO, clarifies on some matters. He explains (follow closely now):

Only 20% of games that begin production will ever finish. Of those 20% that are finished and released to the market, only 20% of them will ever realize a significant profit. That equals 4% of games that start production return a significant profit.

It certainly clarifies a few things. This corrects assumptions that the 4% figure applied only to games that were released in the market. As Zatkin clarifies though, 20% of games released in the market make a profit. But that still means that 96% of all games that start production either fail to hit the market, or fail to make a profit.

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