Dear Esther recoups backing in six hours

Indie Fund says they warned Dear Esther’s developer Dan Pinchbeck that Steam might not be a good market for his game.

"We are happy to have been wrong," said the funding group, which specializes in independent games.

The game, originally released as a Steam mod in 2008, recieved $55,000 in funding to make the transition to a stand-alone format.

It took five hours and thirty minutes after release on Steam for the game to recoup the investment.

All day long the game sat at the top of the charts on Steam, beating out AAA shooters, and hack-and slash RPGs, proving the Steam customer base is as appreciative of the artsy, meditative, story-driven game as they are blockbuster shoot-’em-ups. The game has sold over 16,000 copies.

Dear Esther was developed by The Chinese Room, an indie studio based in the Uk and founded by Dan Pinchbeck in 2007.

Now that the game has returned the investment, they will claim 75% of the profit until Indie Fund has doubled their investment, after which all profits will go to the developers.