>>275032234
>can't work on his passion project if he can't eat, so the game has to make at least enough profit to support the salaries
Alternatives to the current way of financing it maybe could've been:

Working on it purely as a hobby while having a regular 9-to-5 job.
Working on it part-time, while having a part-time job.
Saving up money while working full-time for a long time, then working on it full-time with the savings.
Staying in Patreon for longer.
Finding investors.
Going into debt, selling your mortgage, etc.

None of these are pleasant and I'm sure there are problems for all of these for them or they might not want it, but game development is expensive, especially if you pay other people, and you need to finance it somehow.