🌙 Moonwell

What is Moonwell?

Moonwell is an online idle game you share with other players. Your character keeps working while you're away, and when you come back you can trade, team up, and progress alongside everyone else in the world.

Play for five minutes a day or five hours. Either way, you're on the same footing as every other player.

Why I made Moonwell

As a game developer, I want to simulate a fantasy world economy where real players shape the city. I've always had a great passion for economics, and I feel like this is a great way to learn.

My end goal is to quit my job and work on Moonwell full-time.

My promises to you

"Your status and wealth in real life is not supposed to affect status and wealth in the game. Everyone starts out equal."

These are commitments I make to every player, in plain words:

1. Moonwell is free, forever. No purchase to play, no subscription, no premium tier.
2. No pay-to-win. You can't buy power, levels, items, or progress. Not now, not later.
3. No paid mechanics at all. No in-game shop, no loot boxes, no premium currency, no paid skips or boosts.
4. Donations get you nothing in-game. A donor and a non-donor are exactly equal in the game.
5. No ads. I won't put ads in the game.
6. Open books. I publish what Moonwell costs to run and how much has been donated, every month, right on this page.
7. I'll be honest with you. If anything about how Moonwell is funded ever needs to change, I'll tell players openly and in advance — and it will never break the promises above.

Where the money goes

Moonwell runs only on voluntary donations. I want you to see exactly what it costs to run, how much has come in, and what happens to every donation.

This month's goal

…

Monthly running costs

All income

Donations are Moonwell's only income. If that ever changes, it will show up in this table.

If donations go over the goal

Extra donations are used in this order:

1. Keep the servers running longer. Anything above the monthly goal goes into a reserve that pays for future months.
2. Put money back into the game. Once the reserve covers a full year of running costs, extra donations go into Moonwell itself — like paying artists to replace the AI art with art made by real people.
3. Work on Moonwell full-time. I really hope that one day the game can pay my rent so I can quit my job and work on it full-time. Right now I take nothing from donations for myself. If that ever changes, it will be shown here.

No matter what, Moonwell stays fully free, forever.

If donations fall short

I cover the difference myself for as long as I can. The game won't shut down without plenty of warning, and it won't start selling things to make up the gap.

Past months

Donating is completely optional and doesn't unlock anything. If you can't donate, that's okay — playing and telling your friends helps just as much.

Questions

Is it really free?

Yes. Everything in Moonwell is available to every player for free.

How do you make money then?

Moonwell's only income is voluntary donations from players who want to support the game — you can see every number above. I also work a full-time job, so for now I can cover all the costs myself and still get by. Donations help Moonwell grow, but the game doesn't depend on them to stay online.

Do donors get a badge, cosmetic, or bonus?

No. Donations give nothing in-game, so the game stays equal for everyone.

Do you get paid from donations?

Not right now. Donations go to running costs first, then the reserve, then the game. My long-term hope is to earn enough to pay rent and work on Moonwell full-time — if that ever happens, it will be shown openly on this page, and the game will still be free.

Do I need to keep the game open?

No. Moonwell is an idle game — your progress continues while you're away.

When Steam release?

I've already paid the Steam fee and could release Moonwell on Steam today, but I'd rather wait for the 1.0 update. I can assure you it will be on Steam eventually with achievements, and having Steam items would be also very cool to have but not sure of the requirements right now.

Are the images AI?

Yes. I'm a software developer, not an artist, and at current rates I would go bankrupt trying to get art done for this game. I want to support human artists to the best of my abilities, so if you're an artist and want to work on this game, send me a message on X and we can discuss the future of Moonwell!