If you’ve spent any time on Steam lately, you’ve probably seen it. A gritty, low-poly world where you’re basically building a criminal empire from the ground up. It’s called Schedule 1, and honestly, it came out of nowhere. No massive marketing budget. No celebrity voice actors. Just a rando developer named TVGS and a $20 price tag.
But then the numbers started rolling in.
People love to talk about the "overnight success" of indie games, but the financial reality of this one is actually kind of staggering. We aren't just talking about a few thousand copies sold to some dedicated fans. We're talking about a title that, at its peak, was outperforming AAA giants like Grand Theft Auto V and Monster Hunter Wilds in concurrent player counts. When a $20 game starts beating the industry's $200 million heavy hitters, you have to ask: how much did Schedule 1 make, and where did that money actually go?
Breaking Down the Revenue Reality
Let's get into the weeds. By early 2026, the data indicates that Schedule 1 has moved over 8 million copies. At a base price of $19.99, the math seems simple, right? 8 million times 20 is $160 million.
Not so fast.
Steam takes a 30% cut right off the top. Then you have to account for regional pricing—it’s not 20 bucks everywhere in the world. After those deductions, the estimated gross revenue sits somewhere between $60 million and $125 million. It’s a huge range, but in the world of independent publishing, that’s the difference between a "successful project" and "generational wealth."
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Most of this happened within just a few months of its March 24, 2025, early access release. Think about that for a second. A team that was supposedly ready to "pivot to a farming game" if Steam rejected them ended up with a hundred-million-dollar hit.
The Sales Curve and the "Viral" Effect
Indie games usually have a "long tail," meaning they sell slowly over years. Schedule 1 did the opposite. It exploded.
- Launch Weekend: It hit over 414,000 concurrent players almost immediately.
- The All-Time Peak: It eventually topped out at 459,075 players.
- SteamDB Ratings: It holds a 96.85% rating, which is basically "god-tier" for a game about crime and logistics.
The sheer volume of players meant that by the time the Cartel Update dropped in September 2025, the game wasn't just a trend—it was an institution. It’s rare to see a game maintain over 20,000 daily active players nearly a year after launch, but that's exactly what’s happening.
Why the "Budget" Conversation is a Lie
When we look at how much did Schedule 1 make, we also have to look at what it didn't spend.
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In the AAA world, if a game makes $125 million, it might still be a failure. Why? Because the marketing budget alone was probably $100 million. They have offices in five countries and 400 developers on payroll.
TVGS—the studio behind Schedule 1—didn't have any of that. They didn't run Super Bowl ads. They didn't pay for billboards in Times Square. Their "marketing" was just being fun enough that every major streamer on Twitch decided to play it. This is why the profit margins for this game are so much higher than your average blockbuster. When your development cost is essentially "time and coffee," $100 million goes a long way.
What Really Happened With the Copyright Drama?
It wasn't all smooth sailing and counting cash. Around April 2025, right when the money started pouring in, "Movie Games" launched an investigation into potential copyright infringement regarding the title and some mechanics.
You see this a lot when a small project makes it big. Larger entities start looking for a piece of the pie. While the legal specifics were kept fairly quiet, it didn't slow the game's momentum. In fact, the controversy probably helped. It kept the game in the news cycle while the developers kept pushing updates like the Cartel expansion.
The Schedule Performance Index (SPI) Connection
In business terms, people often confuse the game with the "Schedule Performance Index" or SPI. It’s a bit of a niche joke in the community, but if you look at the game's development through a project management lens, their SPI was over 1.0 for most of 2025.
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In plain English? They were getting more work done than they originally planned for.
Usually, early access games fall into a "delay trap." The dev gets rich, gets lazy, and the updates stop. TVGS did the opposite. They used the massive influx of cash to actually build the "actual game studio" they joked about on Reddit.
The Future of the "Schedule 1" Gold Mine
So, where is that money going now?
As of early 2026, the game is still sitting in the top sellers. They’ve managed to turn a viral moment into a sustainable business model. They aren't just selling a game; they’re managing a community.
- Infrastructure: The devs invested heavily in server stability and anti-cheat measures.
- Content: Large-scale expansions are being voted on by the community.
- Porting: There is constant chatter about console versions, which would likely double that $125 million figure.
Honestly, the most impressive part isn't the total dollar amount. It’s the fact that they did it without "battle passes" or aggressive microtransactions. They just sold a game for twenty dollars and let the quality do the talking.
Actionable Insights for the Future
If you're looking at the success of Schedule 1 as a blueprint, here is what you should actually take away from it:
- Quality Over Polish: Players clearly cared more about the depth of the "minigame crafting system" than they did about 4K hyper-realistic textures.
- Community Trust: By avoiding the "cash grab" feel of modern AAA titles, they built a player base that actually wants to support them.
- Early Access Done Right: They used the money to improve the game immediately, rather than disappearing with the profit.
If you haven't checked the Steam charts today, do it. You'll likely see Schedule 1 still sitting there, quietly making more money than most movies do in a lifetime. It’s a reminder that in the current market, a good idea—and a $20 price point—is still the most powerful thing in gaming.