_Investor Document // Pneumatic Games
BusinessPlan
A comprehensive overview of Pneumatic Games — our market opportunity, product strategy, financial model, and investment thesis.
_00
Executive Summary
Pneumatic Games is an indie game studio built on a single thesis: in a market that rewards quality above all else, a small team with full creative autonomy and the right technical skills will consistently outperform larger, less focused teams.
The studio is developing Shiners — a 4-player cooperative first-person shooter where players forage ingredients, operate a moonshine still, and refine batches in the Appalachian mountains while under constant threat from Bigfoot.
The title combines the cooperative tension of Lethal Company with the FPS depth of Deep Rock Galactic, differentiated by a production-focused crafting system and an adaptive AI threat.
45 min
Playable vertical slice
24
Playtesters validated
88%
Cited core loop as #1
79%
Asked when full game ships
4
Founders committed full-time
_01
The Industry
The global video game industry generated $184 billion in 2025 — exceeding the combined revenues of film, music, and book publishing.
The median U.S. gamer is 31-35 years old with household income above $75,000. Over 65% of American adults play regularly. The consumer base mirrors the demographics of premium streaming, live events, and other mainstream entertainment segments.
$4.4B
Indie revenue on Steam
25% of total
21%
YoY growth
Indie segment
132M
Monthly active users
Steam platform
2025 Global Revenue by Entertainment Sector
Indie Game Revenue on Steam (2018-2027 projected)
*Projected at 14.3% CAGR (Mordor Intelligence). Source: VG Insights, Game World Observer
Indie Title Performance Benchmarks
| Title | Team | Budget | Lifetime Revenue | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stardew Valley | 1 person | ~$0 | $300M+ | N/A (self-funded) |
| Dead Cells | 8 people | ~$500K | $150M+ | 300x+ |
| Hollow Knight | 3 people | ~$50K | $100M+ | 2,000x+ |
| Hades | 20 people | ~$5M | $200M+ | 40x+ |
| Celeste | 5 people | ~$200K | $30M+ | 150x+ |
_02
The Problem
Market Saturation & Quality Concentration
Steam added over 20,000 new games in 2025. Nearly half received fewer than 10 customer reviews. The top 1.5% of indie releases captured more than 50% of all indie revenue.
The market is concentrating: high-quality titles capture disproportionate revenue while undifferentiated products fail to reach an audience.
Steam Release Quality Distribution (2025)
Of ~20,000 releases. Source: SteamDB / 80 Level
Common Failure Factors in Indie Development
Insufficient Technical Foundation
Teams lack the engineering, art, or production skills to ship polished products at the quality bar the market requires.
Undifferentiated Products
7,000+ roguelikes, 4,000+ survival crafting games on Steam. Generic products have no mechanism to stand out in a sea of similar titles.
No Marketing Strategy
Most devs treat marketing as an afterthought — launching to an empty audience after years of isolated development.
Premature Launches
Running out of money forces teams to ship before the game is ready. Mixed reviews trigger a negative feedback loop.
Market Opportunity
Demand for premium indie games continues to grow, but the supply of teams capable of shipping at the required quality level remains constrained. Pneumatic Games is structured to operate in this segment — a technically skilled team focused on a single, high-quality title.
_03
The Solution
Shiners
A Cooperative Moonshine Survival Shooter
4-player cooperative FPS set in the Appalachian mountains. Players work together to forage ingredients, operate a moonshine still, and refine batches — all while an AI-driven Bigfoot stalks the wilderness, attracted to the noise and light of their operation.
30-45 minute sessions. 8 distinct maps. 60+ moonshine recipes. An adaptive AI that learns from player behavior across sessions.
Forage ingredients, operate a functioning still with genuine role division. 60+ recipes requiring real-time coordination under pressure.
AI-driven predator attracted to noise and light. Adapts to player strategies across sessions. The tension between production and survival.
Dense forests, abandoned cabins, moonlit hollers. 8 distinct locations with unique terrain, resources, and behavior patterns.
Product Roadmap
Pre-Production
CompleteGame design document, vertical slice, art style guide, networking architecture, Bigfoot AI prototype
Production Phase 1
Months 1-6Core FPS mechanics, multiplayer networking, 4 of 8 maps, all recipes, Bigfoot AI complete, Steam page live
Production Phase 2
Months 7-10Remaining 4 maps, equipment progression, matchmaking, server infrastructure
Polish & QA
Months 11-13Balance, bug fixing, stress testing, anti-cheat, accessibility, localization (5 languages)
Early Access Launch
Month 146 of 8 maps, full crafting system, online multiplayer — $19.99
Full Release (1.0)
Month 18All 8 maps, complete content, price increase to $24.99
Copper Creek DLC
Months 22-24New region, 15 recipes, 2 new cryptid threats (Mothman, Bell Witch) — $9.99
_04
Market Opportunity
SOM
$945K
TAM
$3-4B / yr
Co-op multiplayer games across all platforms
SAM
$500-700M / yr
Premium co-op FPS / horror-survival on Steam + console
SOM (3yr)
$770K-$945K
Base case — 75,000 units. Less than 0.2% of annual genre revenue.
Comparable Titles — Estimated Lifetime Revenue
Revenue estimates via review multiplier method, cross-referenced with VG Insights and Gamalytic
_05
Business Model
Premium game sales: build a great game, sell it at a fair price, earn long-tail revenue through sustained quality and post-launch content. No free-to-play. No subscriptions. No ads.
Early Access
$19.99
Month 14 launch
Full Release (1.0)
$24.99
Month 18 launch
Copper Creek DLC
$9.99
Month 24 expansion
Unit Economics (Steam)
Key Performance Ratios
>3x considered healthy
Zero per-unit manufacturing cost
Below bottom quartile of comparable set
Break-Even vs. Comparable Title Lifetime Sales (log scale)
Cumulative Net Revenue Over 42 Months (Base Case)
_06
Competitive Landscape
Shiners occupies a distinct and underserved position: the upper-right quadrant where deep FPS combat meets complex cooperative objectives. No current title fills this space.
Competitive Positioning — Combat Depth vs. Co-op Complexity
Lethal Company
$100M+Strength
Viral co-op tension loop, massive streaming appeal
Gap Shiners Fills
No combat, minimal crafting depth, solo dev bottleneck
Deep Rock Galactic
$200M+Strength
Best-in-class 4-player co-op FPS, fiercely loyal community
Gap Shiners Fills
No horror tension, simple mining objectives
Phasmophobia
$80M+Strength
First-mover co-op ghost horror, strong streaming presence
Gap Shiners Fills
No FPS combat, slower pacing, investigation vs. survival
_07
Go-To-Market Strategy
Quality-driven marketing with a $25,000 pre-launch budget. Co-op titles benefit from an inherent acquisition multiplier: each buyer drives up to 3 additional purchases to fill their 4-player group, reducing effective CAC.
The Indie Game Marketing Funnel
Awareness
Trailer, streams, social posts
Interest
Clicks through, watches gameplay
Wishlist
Adds to Steam wishlist
Purchase
Buys on launch or sale
Retention
Keeps playing, engages community
Evangelism
Reviews, recruits friends, shares clips
Months 1-4
Foundation
2K-3K wishlists
▸ Steam page live
▸ Discord launched
▸ Weekly devlogs
▸ Reddit presence
Months 5-9
Demo & Amplification
5K-8K wishlists
▸ Polished co-op demo
▸ Steam Next Fest
▸ 100 creator outreach
▸ 50 press outlets
Months 10-14
Launch Acceleration
10K-15K wishlists
▸ Full gameplay trailer
▸ Creator preview builds
▸ Review copies
▸ Paid social ($3K)
Marketing Budget Allocation — $25,000
_08
The Team
Four founding members with equal equity and professional technical backgrounds in software engineering, distributed systems, 3D art, and audio production. The team's execution capability is demonstrated by a functional vertical slice — a complete 45-minute co-op session with networked multiplayer, AI systems, and original assets.
Brennen O'Neil
Producer / Business Lead
Project management and operations — organized the studio from the ground up
Production, business ops, investor relations, marketing, community management
Gavin Walters
Tech Lead / Lead Programmer
Professional networking and distributed systems — built the prototype's multiplayer layer
Networking, multiplayer, engine work, technical direction
Ian Houston
Gameplay Programmer
Built the Bigfoot AI behavior system — solid engineering fundamentals
AI systems, gameplay code, tools development, networking support
Ryan Jones
Art Director / Composer
Rare multi-disciplinary versatility — replaces 3 specialist hires in one role
All 3D art, animation, music, sound design, marketing assets
$22,425/mo
Fully loaded payroll
4 founders + 15% benefits
4yr / 1yr cliff
Vesting schedule
Standard startup terms
Quarterly
Profit sharing
Pro-rata to equity
_09
Financial Model
Built from explicit, verifiable assumptions. Runway from the $350K raise is 18 months. Break-even on a monthly cash-flow basis occurs Month 19 (base case).
Profit & Loss Summary (Base Case)
| Line Item | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Revenue | $234,895 | $493,957 | $373,714 |
| Platform Fees (30%) | ($70,469) | ($148,187) | ($112,114) |
| Gross Profit | $164,427 | $345,770 | $261,600 |
| Operating Expenses | ($466,650) | ($347,100) | ($311,100) |
| EBITDA | ($302,223) | ($1,330) | ($49,500) |
Year 3 loss reflects reinvestment into Title 2 pre-production. Title 1 alone is profitable (gross profit $772K exceeds $280K development cost).
Scenario Analysis — Net Revenue by Year
Single-Title Profitability
Title 1 gross profit of $772K exceeds its $280K development cost. The 3-year cumulative loss reflects planned reinvestment into Title 2 pre-production, not an unprofitable product.
Bear (50%)
$386K
3yr net revenue
Base Case
$772K
3yr net revenue
Bull (150%)
$1.19M
3yr net revenue
Cash Position Over Time (Adjusted for Salary Deferrals & Reserves)
$27K/mo
Avg Burn (Pre-Rev)
~$4.5K
Min Cash (Month 13)
Month 18
Cash-Flow Positive
Month 26
Investment Recovered
_10
The Ask
Instrument
Post-money SAFE (YC Standard)
Amount Raising
$350,000
Valuation Cap
$3,500,000
Investor Ownership
10.0% at conversion
Minimum Check
$25,000
Target Close
Q2 2026
Ownership at $3.5M Cap
Use of Funds
60% of funds go directly to product development — aligned with the 40-60% benchmark for pre-revenue content companies.
Angel Return Scenarios — $100K invested at $3.5M cap
| Scenario | Valuation | Stake Value | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear — Acqui-hire | $2M | $40K | 0.4x |
| Base — Seed Round | $8M | $184K | 1.8x |
| Bull — Strong Exit | $25M | $400K | 4.0x |
| Outlier — Breakout | $50M+ | $700K+ | 7.0x+ |
_11
Risk Factors
Every early-stage investment carries risk. We present the material risks openly, with honest assessments and specific mitigation strategies for each.
Development Delay
Disciplined sprints, modular scope (launch with 5-6 maps if needed), 18-month funded runway, no technical unknowns remaining
Genre Saturation
Differentiated mechanics (moonshine + Bigfoot), genre resilience proven by $100M+ titles, flexible positioning beyond horror
Key Team Departure
25% equity + career opportunity, no-crunch policy, full documentation, cross-training, community hiring network
Core Mechanic Misfire
Early Access validation, Steam Next Fest demo, modular crafting architecture allows 4-6 week redesign if needed
Revenue Underperformance
Conservative base case, low break-even (~18.5K units), multiple revenue streams, 30% salary reduction contingency
First Commercial Title
Prototype validated, transferable pro skills, EA as learning runway, historic precedent (Lethal Company, Stardew Valley)
_Investment Timing
Team Assembled.Prototype Complete.Production-Ready.
The $3.5M post-money cap reflects pre-revenue pricing. Upon Early Access launch with reviews and sales data, a subsequent raise would be priced at $8M-$15M based on comparable studio valuations — a 2-4x step-up from the current cap.
The indie game market is growing at 21% annually, and co-op horror is the fastest-growing subgenre. The team is in place and production begins upon funding.