Starter Story · 2026-09-13

This app replaced my 9-5 ($155K/year)

Ken Law, ex-Meta engineering manager and ex-Amazon engineer, built Harpagia, a solo-made text-based idle RPG for iOS and Android (free-to-play, in-app purchases). After a practice card game (Big 2 Wild, 6 weeks) he forced a launch at 6 months. Revenue sat near $1K/month until a heavily criticized Reddit post took it to ~$10K/month almost overnight; he quit Meta that month. Periodic Reddit update posts pushed it to an ~$18K/month peak. ~$13K/month average, >$150K last year, ~6% payer conversion, $0 ad spend, 3.5-4K MAU.

Play the episode

7 tactics

Harpagia · B2C · idle RPG game

Post screenshots of your rough game on Reddit and stress it's free to play

Revenue jumped from ~$1K to ~$10K a month almost overnight, despite harsh comments

“The very first post that I made just showed some screenshots of the game and kind of just explaining a little bit about what the game is and a few metrics about, you know, how the free-to-play it is”

Workedcommunityorganic-social

Starter Story · 2026-09-13

Harpagia · B2C · idle RPG game

Share big game updates on Reddit every few months, within subreddit promo rules

Each post brought a jump in new players; revenue rose from $10K to a ~$18K/month peak

“Almost every single time that I've posted on there, I'd receive a significant jump in new players. While the results weren't consistent, Reddit has been my number one marketing tactic.”

Workedcommunityorganic-social

Starter Story · 2026-09-13

Harpagia · B2C · idle RPG game

Price in-game purchases between $4.99 and $9.99

Players buy readily in that band; above $9.99 converts worse. No test numbers given

“What I've learned through a lot of monetization experimentation is anything around $4.99 to $9.99, players will generally be okay to spend. Anything that's above $9.99, it's a little bit harder to convert.”

Workedpricing

Starter Story · 2026-09-13

Harpagia · B2C · idle RPG game

Make the game free and sell optional extras that speed up progress

~6% of downloads pay (games typically 2-5%); over $3 per active user a year

“Harpagia is a free-to-play mobile game on iOS and Android. The game generates revenue through optional in-app purchases that unlock premium features or speed up progression.”

Workedpricingpaywall

Starter Story · 2026-09-13

Harpagia · B2C · idle RPG game

Launch after 6 months no matter what, and let real players shape the game

First $10 sale within days; ~$150 in month one, ~$1,500 total by month two

“One of the best decisions I made was forcing myself to launch the game after 6 months, no matter what.”

Workedvalidationfeature-development

Starter Story · 2026-09-13

Big 2 Wild · B2C · Big 2 card game

Build a tiny practice app in 6 weeks to learn launching before the real one

Taught AI-assisted building and app store approval; lessons fed the main game

“I also wanted to make sure that the scope was small enough for me to complete in a short amount of time, to gain experience of actually shipping something.”

Workedvalidation

Starter Story · 2026-09-13

Harpagia · B2C · idle RPG game

Focus on keeping players coming back before worrying about making money

Founder credits it; no separate numbers

“I also didn't worry much about monetization in the beginning. My focus was retention first and building a game that people wanted to keep playing.”

Unknownretentionfeature-development

Starter Story · 2026-09-13

Numbers mentioned

Subject	Metric	Value	Quote
Harpagia	revenue Average monthly revenue over the past year	USD 13K/month approximate	“The average monthly revenue has been around 13,000 a month, which totaled over 150,000 in the past year.”
Harpagia	revenue 'Over 150,000' in the past year	USD 150K/year approximate	“The average monthly revenue has been around 13,000 a month, which totaled over 150,000 in the past year.”
Harpagia	revenue Title/description figure	USD 155K/year approximate	“The average monthly revenue has been around 13,000 a month, which totaled over 150,000 in the past year.”
Harpagia	arpu 'Over $3' revenue per active user over the past year	USD 3per active user /year approximate	“Over the past year, the game averages over $3 in revenue per active user.”
Harpagia	users Monthly active users	3,500–4,000 users/month approximate	“The monthly active users ranges anywhere from 3,500 to 4,000, with daily active users around 5 to 600.”
Harpagia	users Daily active users	500–600 users/day approximate	“The monthly active users ranges anywhere from 3,500 to 4,000, with daily active users around 5 to 600.”
Harpagia	downloads 'Over 50,000' combined iOS + Android	50K downloads approximate	“The game has reached over 50,000 downloads combined with both iOS and Android”
Harpagia	conversion rate Share of downloads who made a purchase (download -> payer)	6% approximate	“with roughly a 6% conversion rate, which I would consider pretty decent considering the typical conversion rate for games is anywhere from 2 to 5%.”
benchmarkTypical download-to-payer conversion for mobile games	conversion rate	2–5% approximate	“the typical conversion rate for games is anywhere from 2 to 5%.”
Harpagia	price Range of in-app purchase prices	USD 2–10/one-time approximate	“A lot of the pricing ranges anywhere from the $2 to $10 range.”
Harpagia	price In-app purchase price band players will generally pay; above $9.99 converts worse	USD 4.99–9.99/one-time approximate	“What I've learned through a lot of monetization experimentation is anything around $4.99 to $9.99, players will generally be okay to spend.”
Harpagia	cost Operating expenses: purchased assets, freelance art, subscriptions	USD 500/month approximate	“My ongoing operating expenses, such as purchasing assets, freelancing art, subscriptions, and so on, is roughly $500 a month.”
Harpagia	ad spend No paid ads	USD 0	“And I did not spend anything on ads, so my ad spend was zero.”
Harpagia	revenue Sales in first month after launch	USD 150/month approximate	“By the end of my first month, I made about $150 in sales.”
Harpagia	revenue Total sales by end of second month	USD 1,500 approximate	“By the end of my second month, I made about 1,500 in total sales.”
Harpagia	revenue Monthly revenue just before the first Reddit post (~6 months after launch)	USD 1,000/month approximate	“My revenue jumped from roughly 1,000 a month to 10,000 a month almost overnight from that one single post, and I hit my goal.”
Harpagia	revenue Monthly revenue right after the first Reddit post	USD 10K/month approximate	“My revenue jumped from roughly 1,000 a month to 10,000 a month almost overnight from that one single post, and I hit my goal.”
Harpagia	revenue Peak monthly revenue	USD 18K/month approximate	“Over time, revenue grew from around 10,000 a month to a peak of roughly 18,000 a month just posting on Reddit.”
Harpagia	revenue Organic revenue threshold set for quitting his job (reached)	USD 10K/month goal	“I decided that if my game could reach 10,000 a month organically, I'd leave my job and go all in.”
Big 2 Wild	time to milestone Time to build the first app with AI assistants	6 weeks approximate	“I built my first app, which was a simple card game called Big 2 Wild, in about 6 weeks.”
Harpagia	time to milestone Building time before forced launch	6 months approximate	“One of the best decisions I made was forcing myself to launch the game after 6 months, no matter what.”
marketGlobal gaming industry	market size	USD 100,000M approximate	“The gaming industry is a $100 billion industry”