The first-quarter royalty report has arrived. It’s always a joy.

Not primarily because it means money coming in, but because this is when I truly see how much the audience loves each game. With new games, it’s pure excitement. With older ones, it’s more like curiosity: do people still enjoy them?

The game of mine shown in the picture—released in 2024—was a huge hit, to my great delight. In just six months, it reached numbers that usually take a whole year for other games. But I was just as happy about my second-best-selling game, which came out in 2020 and is still this popular.

Looking at the bigger picture, what made me truly happy was crossing the magical milestone of 50,000 units sold—if I count all my games’ total sales so far. I never would’ve believed it.

Meanwhile, my first—and possibly only—release of the year is already in production. At the same time, I’ve received two new commissions. I’ll be submitting one game rule set by the end of April, designing another one throughout May and June, developing a new game during a summer camp, and then I’ve got another deadline lined up for October.

How I’ll have the energy for my own personal game ideas amidst all this, I don’t know—but there are periods like this.