Can a 13-Year-Old Make and Sell Video Games? Yes—With Parental Partnership

Yes, absolutely. Many successful indie devs started in early teens. However, legal and practical hurdles require parental partnership.

Legal & Business (Parents Required)

• Contracts/Store Agreements: Steamworks, Apple Developer, Google Play Console, itch.io require legal adult (18+) to sign. Parent creates account; adds you as admin/member.
• Taxes/Income: Parent handles 1099-K, business license (if needed), banking.
• COPPA/GDPR-K: If your game collects *any* data from users <13, strict compliance needed. Easiest: **Collect zero personal data.**

Technical Path (Start Now)

1. Learn: Unity Learn (C#), Godot (GDScript/C#), GameMaker (GML/Visual). Free engines.
2. Tiny Scope: Clone Pong → Breakout → Platformer. Finish 1-week projects.
3. Game Jams: itch.io jams, Ludum Dare. Deadlines force completion.
4. Publish Free First: itch.io (no fee, no age gate for free games), Game Jolt, Web (itch.io HTML5 export). Build portfolio.

Monetization (Later)

• Paid on itch.io (parent account).
• Steam Direct ($100 fee, parent LLC/sole prop).
• Mobile (Apple $99/yr, Google $25 one-time — parent account).
• Revenue share / Sponsorships (parent negotiates).

Balance

School, sleep, health, friends > Game Dev. Treat it as a serious hobby, not a job. Parents: guide business, don't micromanage code.