I feel like most people don't understand the realities of indie development. You work on a project for months or even years, not earning a cent from it, as you spend your savings if you have them or wrack up debt. Once it comes out, you're waiting anywhere from 1 month to 4.5 months before you actually get paid from any of the storefronts, depending on when you released & the payment schedule of the storefront you're working with. And though games are usually front-loaded with sales, successful games frequently make a lot of their money over time (discount sales, ports, etc.). And of course, there's no guarantee that when the game comes out, people actually buy it and you get money that's worth the amount of time & effort you put into the game. For a new developer, it's like....
0.001% chance of having a big indie success (the kind where even non-indie game fans have heard of the game & it sells a bunch)
0.1% chance of having a success (the kind of game that most people haven't heard of, but it sold well enough to cover your costs & put some money in savings)
1-5% chance of breaking even (no one's heard of this outside hardcore fans, but it's a living)
95%+ chance of losing money (even people on hardcore gaming forums probably haven't heard of this)
And as you gain experience, build a fanbase, and make smart decisions, those positive chances go up to the point where if you've been doing it for a while, keep your costs low, and don't do anything too stupid, each new game you release will probably at least break even for you. But it's still an incredibly stressful line of work.
Any indie developer who takes a good exclusivity deal is just looking out for their own (and their family's) mental, emotional, and physical well being.
