Sektori recoups developer salary

Kimmo Lahtinen said on May 18 that the Nintendo Switch 2 release of his twin-stick shooter Sektori had “pretty much recouped a living salary” for him, after what he previously described as 4.5 years without taking pay. Nintendo Life reported the update on May 19, citing a Bluesky post from the Finnish solo developer. Lahtinen said total sales were “about 30000” and that the Switch 2 version had been “very well received.” The comments offered a rare public look at how a late platform release can change the economics of a small independent game. ### What exactly did the developer say? Kimmo Lahtinen wrote on May 18 that “with the Sektori Switch 2 launch, I’ve pretty much recouped a living salary for myself too.” In the same post, he said total sales were “about 30000” and thanked players who had bought the game on Nintendo’s new platform. Nintendo Life reproduced the post in its May 19 report. (nintendolife.com) The phrase matters because Lahtinen had already been unusually direct about the game’s finances. In an earlier post quoted by Nintendo Life, he said Sektori was “just nearing recoup” on indirect costs and overheads, but that still left him with “zero salary for 4.5 years.” (nintendolife.com) ### Why was the Switch 2 version so important to Sektori’s finances? Nintendo Life said the Switch 2 port “has essentially granted Lahtinen a living wage,” based on his latest sales update and the earlier disclosure about unpaid labor over the project’s development. The game had already launched on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox before arriving on Switch 2. (nintendolife.com) Hanafuda Report said Lahtinen began work on Sektori in April 2021 and spent four and a half years building it into the version now on sale. In an interview published May 14, Lahtinen said he had “fully expected to be out of the indie business after the original launch,” and added that the game’s reception was what made the eventual Switch 2 version possible. (nintendolife.com) ### Who is Kimmo Lahtinen? Kimmo Lahtinen told Nintendo Insider on May 14 that he is a Finnish developer who makes games by himself, with music often handled by his brother. In the same interview, he said he had spent 13 years at Housemarque before going independent. Hanafuda Report identified Housemarque as the studio behind games including Super Stardust HD, Resogun, Returnal and Saros, and said Lahtinen had worked there for more than a decade before starting his solo career. (hanafuda.report) That background helps explain why Sektori has drawn comparisons to arcade shooters associated with Housemarque’s style. (nintendo-insider.com) ### When did Sektori reach Switch 2? Hanafuda Report and Nintendo Insider both published interviews on May 14 tied to Sektori’s Switch 2 debut that week. Nintendo Life’s follow-up report on May 19 said the port had already become a “big success” within days of release. (hanafuda.report) Nintendo Life also said it had awarded Sektori a 9 out of 10 review score, while its review page lists the game for Nintendo Switch 2 under publisher Kimmo Factor and developer Kimmo Lahtinen. ### What comes next for the game? May 19 is the clearest next marker in the story because Nintendo Life’s report put Lahtinen’s sales update in front of a broader Switch audience the day after his post. (nintendolife.com) Sektori is already available on Nintendo Switch 2, and Lahtinen told Nintendo Insider that he was still considering a mobile version, while Hanafuda Report said the Nintendo release came after an original Switch version proved too difficult for performance reasons. (nintendolife.com)