So I'm currently saving money to start a real-life, grown ass adult, proper, game studio. I'm working on some game concepts, and intend to do some grant writing for some funding. That said, I don't want to exclusively rely on government grants and my cash savings. How did you fund your company? I don't have much in terms of assets, and I have a boatload of student loans. Aside from that I'm gainfully employed and otherwise debt free.

So, how did you fund your project?

Can't believe that this question has no answer. I'm here looking for more comments.

If you are well employed then I would suggest that you pay off your student loans, put aside about $60k, and then go to a place with a low cost of living to build your first real game. Do not hire anyone unless you have serious investors, since that is probably going to sink you before you get your first game out. If you have a simple game that you think can make you money then doing it by yourself is the absolute best thing to do. You will then not have to worry about it not working out, and then having employees that you have to fire. If you go to a place like Belgrad you can very comfortably live on 12k-20k a year, so a bank account with 60k can get you 3-5 years worth of development time to give your game a shot.

I completely agree with pomeloproductions.

The market is fierce today and you need time and money to build up your company and create your game.

This is actually the best advice you could hope to have.

Good luck!

Saving up a boat load of cash is the most straightforward path.

First I found someone else crazy enough to go all in on an indie game with me. I saved up ~$30k (not enough...) and my business partner sold his house. I managed to quit my job, but maintain my ex employer as a client for occasional freelance work. My business partner won a reality TV food show and started a small food business on the side. We provided outsourcing, work-for-hire and tech licensing services at the same time as building the game, trying to maintain some overlap with our game project (write some tech once, find clients who will pay for it - in games and other industries). Used that work to win a government grant to hire a full time programmer for a year. We then used all of that work to launch a kickstarter... that didn't reach the goal. Asked lots of companies what they can do for you and find you can get a lot of free stuff (not money, but software/hardware/etc). Applied for tax rebates to get some more money back from the govt. Have talked to lots of investors / VC types, and game publishers, but that's been somewhat of a last-resort option due to our slow development style. Currently working on blockchain technology as another income source :o

Starting any business in general takes a pile of cash, and that story is common.

Be realistic about the costs involved. Consider that these days many "bargain bin" games are still in the USD $3M-$5M range. A good VR tech demo -- not a full game -- tends to run around a half million USD dollars.

Friends, Family, and Fools are the common source of funding.

For many people, the biggest cost reduction is not paying themselves, so they work in a basement as a side project for years, just as a group of friends. Considering what their wages would have been, this can be the source of your first quarter million dollars or so.

Stashed money over the course of 10 years, and sold my services to fund my own projects.

No magic, just hard work and… time.

On the upside, working in the industry did allow me to make a bunch of mistakes on someone else's payroll, which is huge.

I did my project as a side hustle and spread development over many years.

I only paid what i could afford to spend, assuming i was spending on a hobby much like someone who might go out drinking on a Friday night or someone who might go to a football match on the weekends. I didnt create the project with any goal of seeing that money come back (although that would be nice).

In the end, nine years later, I was done, and am now starting the same adventure again... ?

Those are still the costs, you're just not paying them in cash.

If you worked for 9 years part time, as the project lead that might be your quarter million or half million dollar investment. The investment is equivalent, but e comes through sweat equity instead of financial equity.