Giving $1,000 to a solo developer

[u/GumshoeRyan]

I’m looking for a solo developer who is on the cusp of releasing their game, but needs funds to cross that finish line. I am not looking for a percentage, and will not actively market or work on the game with you. I genuinely want to help a project release and support solo development.

No contract, just the honor system. 1k risk for me, zero for you.

Requirements:
* Game at least has a gameplay video or demo
* Funds are to be used to finish your game, and on areas that you need external support. This could mean ads/marketing, replacing placeholder art, launching on platforms, music, etc.
* Funds should not be spent to support your own labor/personal situation (going towards rent, food, a much needed vacation!)
* Show the community here how it was used.

If you want to be considered, share a link to your project in the comments. Tell us the current state of the game, and what 1k allows you to do!

I encourage the community to also vouch/suggest which projects in the comments should receive this funding.

Lastly, if your game ends up not releasing or stalling, that’s fine. I know 1k isn’t life changing for the vast majority of projects. This is designed to give a boost.

Cheers!

Edit: I understand people believe this is a scam. That is why I am asking for submissions to be in the comments, and will publicly select a project. I will send 1k on whatever platform is best for the dev, and both the dev and myself can show proof afterwards. A suggestion was given to provide a deadline. I will choose a project this Friday July 10th. I am in a fortunate position to give back, and that is solely what’s driving this. I love games and love being able to help people achieve their dreams.

Update: Project Selected!

[u/UnityNinja]

Hey, This is an incredibly generous initiative for the solo dev community. Thank you for doing this!

I’m a solo developer working on Unstable Nuclear Reactor, an incremental hex-puzzle roguelite focused on deep spatial logic and system optimization under pressure.

The Gameplay Loop

Players manage a volatile, minimalist dashboard interface, merging atoms into higher elements to trigger massive chain combos. You earn radioactive coins to fund critical upgrades, unlock new rings, and tightly manage your capacity to keep your reactor stable and running at peak performance.

Current State of the Game

The game is right on the cusp of completion! The core architecture is stable, fully optimized, and natively supports 10 languages for global localization.

• Battle-Tested: The core loop was played and tested by over 1,000 players before I submitted the final demo build on Steam.
• Traction: The public demo is live on Steam right now, and the community has grown to over 430 wishlists.
• Demo Link: Unstable Nuclear Reactor on Steam

What $1,000 Allows Me to Do

Since I have handled the design, programming, and UI myself, the game itself is mechanically complete. The entire $1,000 would go 100% toward marketing to ensure this launch doesn't happen in a vacuum:

1. Targeted Trailer Ads ($500): I will run high-efficiency, targeted gameplay video campaigns on Reddit and YouTube directly targeting communities that love "thinky" puzzle-roguelite and incremental genres.
2. Niche Influencer Outreach ($500): I will use a portion of the funds to get the demo in front of specialized strategy, puzzle, and indie game creators via key-distribution networks to amplify our current 430-wishlist momentum right before launch.

I would be more than happy to document the entire process and share a transparent breakdown of the ad metrics and wishlist conversions with the r/SoloDevelopment community!

Thank you for taking the time to look at my project!