Hello GOATMMAKER Players!
This is the first post I’ve made directly to the audience, because up until a few days ago, there hardly was one to address. I launched the site back in early August, and as you might expect from an independent website with no marketing budget, the traffic was quite low.
In the last two weeks, we’ve gotten a decent uptick in users. Rather than a handful of site visitors per day, I’m starting to see hundreds, and we’re trending in the right direction. So for everyone that’s played so far, thank you!
I figured now is a good time to offer a few updates and thoughts, starting with an honest look at my revenue, or total lack thereof.
At the moment, GOATMMAKER has basically no budget and has generated exactly $0 (no donations yet either 🥲). I’m an independent hobbyist developer, and I work on it in my spare time when I’m not too burnt out from my day job. For now, I’m hoping to monetize through unobtrusive and genuinely relevant affiliate links so that they improve the experience, rather than cluttering it up with banners and pop-ups. (FYI: Several links can be found in this blog post.)
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
To make it possible for me to continue working on the site—and hopefully devote even more time to building out all the features and improvements we can imagine—I’ll have to start making some money at some point. As much as I love both MMA and game dev projects, if I never make a dime from this site, I’d eventually have to deactivate it if I don’t have the time or means to maintain it.
Unfortunate, I know, but that’s capitalism for ya.
ON A COMPLETELY UNRELATED NOTE: did you know that if you click to an Amazon product, e.g. this awesome UFC Glove cologne, via this link, I’d get credit? And then most other products you buy in that session (not just one I linked, but anything else you need to order instead) would earn me a small commission? Fascinating stuff.
Moving on.
I want to shout out our GOATs on the leaderboard so far, including those of you who have an all-time highest GOAT score above my own (despite the fact I’ve been playing much more often and have the unfair advantage of knowing the exact fighter stats!) At the time I’m writing this, there’s four of you, and a special shout out to luquita for hitting a score of 95.7, which is 0.1 points higher than the current best fighter in the database right now. You’re the first player to make a fighter who would be the objective GOAT. Let’s see if anyone can top that.
Quick reminder that your nickname is publicly displayed on the leaderboard and daily results—so don’t share any information you want to keep private, and please don’t cross the line with offensive language. Offensive nicknames may be changed or removed. You can update yours anytime under Settings → User Profile → Edit.
Another pro tip: If you've only played on mobile so far, give the desktop version a try! The extra screen space lets you see the full fighter builder and tournament bracket, which makes for a better experience.
Other than that, I want to remind everyone that if you have questions or feedback about the game, you can reach me at my email or on X (@SMHGames99). I may set up a community space on Discord or something in the near future if there’s interest.
Once again, thank you all so much for playing. Whether this is your first round or your 100th, I appreciate you giving it a go.