Since launching on PC and PS4 Psyonix's Rocket League has made more than $50 million after costing less than $2 million to develop over two years, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Studio founder and boss Dave Hagewood said Rocket League was developed while accepting contract work from big developers.
"We paid the bills by working on some of the biggest games in the industry;" these games included EA's Mass Effect 3 and Microsoft's Gears of War.
Hagewood's plan has always been to get as many people as possible to play the game and Rocket League was free for a month for PlayStation Plus subscribers. Strong word of mouth helped spread the news and boost the player base.
There's now more than eight million players and the studio has even partnered with Universal Studios for Back to the Future DLC to be introduced to the game in future.
"It didn’t really sink in until they told me they had to get Steven Spielberg’s approval," Hagewood commented.
New DLC was released earlier this month.