Rookie Developer Earns Over £280,000 from Simple Petting Games on PlayStation

TJ Gardner's 'Stroke' collection, involving minimalistic gameplay of petting virtual animals, has seen remarkable success despite its simplicity.

A rookie game developer, TJ Gardner, has earned approximately £280,000 ($353,000) from a series of simple games called the “Stroke” collection, where players pet virtual animals.
The games, described as 'shovelware' by Gardner, were developed in his spare bedroom and have been downloaded over 120,000 times since their launch in September 2022.
Despite the minimalistic design, involving pressing a single button to pet animals, the games have appealed to trophy collectors on the PlayStation Store.
Gardner, a self-taught programmer, created these games with the primary goal of providing for his young family, and has faced minimal criticism for the simplistic nature of his titles.
Sony has reportedly made over $101,000 from hosting the games on the PlayStation Store, despite plans to crack down on shovelware and trophy hunter games.