A practitioner in their 50s, after resigning from a high-tech industry job, considered using their spare time to try game development and posted on Reddit asking if it was too late to enter the industry. The post attracted many developers to share their experiences, including the creators of "Naval Power: Missile Age" and "Endless Empire 2".
The poster, ExcitingSleep, believed that returning to the industry at their age would not be easy, so they planned to first find a less demanding job and then attempt to make games in their spare time. Respondent -Xaron- was originally a software engineer who started developing games at 38. After ten unsuccessful mobile game releases, they transitioned to full-time game development at 46 and made a living from it by age 50.
-Xaron-, aged 52, is the developer of the naval combat simulation game "Naval Power: Missile Age." The game entered Early Access on Steam in November 2024 and currently has over 6,000 user reviews with a 90% positive rating, earning an "Overwhelmingly Positive" overall evaluation. Initially developed by a team of three over four years, the team has now grown to approximately 12 members.
Derek Paxton, director of "Endless Empire 2," also joined the discussion. He stated that he began game development at age 39 and is now 54, serving as director for the recently released "Endless Empire 2." Paxton previously gained attention for his "Fall from Heaven" mod for "Civilization IV." He created mods while working at a large IT company before securing an opportunity to enter the game industry. He mentioned that he has since released several games and has never regretted his decision.
Other respondents included House13Games, who is about to complete their first game at age 49, and Dev_Goldentail, who is developing the open-world action RPG "Order of Shadows: Age of Whispers" part-time. Many users shared their experiences of attempting game development at an older age in the thread.