Solo developer Michael Major briefly appeared to have a massive hit on his hands when 6,717 people bought This Game Costs $200 on Steam. The sales total passed $1.3 million, but 6,707 purchases were later refunded, leaving the 18-year-old with just over $2,000.
How the $200 idea started
Major put the game on Steam in January after wondering whether anyone would pay the highest price tag available for a deliberately strange project. The result was a meme-filled asset flip that describes itself on its store page as a “psychological ‘comedic’ experience.”
The game initially attracted little attention. Activity picked up in recent months, bringing in thousands of buyers and pushing its potential return above $1.3 million. It followed an earlier digital joke called This Game Costs $10, which used the same basic idea of turning an absurd price into the main event.
In a WMUR-TV report, Major said, “I think I almost died.” That moment did not last long. Steam’s refund policy came into play, and nearly every buyer sent the game back. Only 10 purchases remained after the refunds.
Sales data showed that most of the buyers were from China, while many people refunded the game without opening it. The available information does not establish whether that pattern came from an organized effort or simple coincidence.
For Major, the result is a strange gap between a huge sales figure and the money that actually stayed in his account. The project began as a joke built around its price, and its final numbers turned that premise into a punchline of their own: more than $1.3 million in potential sales, followed by a little over $2,000 in hand.
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