Omer Develioğlu, co-founder of Northend Games, published a breakdown of five years of Steam sales for two titles, Northend Tower Defense and Deepstone Rift. The games brought in $560,000 across 135,000 units, but after every deduction his personal take was $73,000 — roughly $15,000 per year.
Refunds consumed $134,000, with a 22% refund rate that Develioğlu attributes largely to China, where 53.3% of sales originated. Steam then took its standard 30% cut ($127,000), followed by 5% U.S. withholding tax, a $115,000 publisher fee for Asian-market work, and 15% Thai local tax. The remaining $146,000 was split evenly between the two co-founders.
Develioğlu notes that the income still exceeds Thailand's average wage, allowing him to develop games full-time, but it is hardly the windfall that a half-million-dollar gross might suggest. He still drives a 2012 Mazda.