Dutch Startup Founder Creates Game Using AI in 180 Minutes and Earns $87,000 in One Month

Pieter Levels, a Dutch startup founder, challenged the traditional gaming industry by creating a flight simulator in just 180 minutes that attracted 320,000 users and earned $87,000 in revenue within 30 days. His secret? The «vibe-coding» technology — a completely new approach to development where coding is replaced with text prompts to AI networks.

On February 28, 2025, Levels, who had never previously worked in game development, launched fly.pieter.com — a browser-based 3D simulator with aerial combat. Using a combination of Claude Sonnet 3.7 and the AI editor Cursor, he essentially «talked» to the algorithm: «Create a city with skyscrapers where players control airplanes». Each technical task was framed as a dialogue, bypassing traditional programming methods.

The monetization model combined three revenue streams:

By March 12, the project caught the attention of Elon Musk, who described the approach as «a prototype for the industry of the future». However, the community was divided: some criticized Levels for the «unfair» use of AI, while others praised his entrepreneurial instincts. «He's making more than entire studios», said users in industry chat groups.

Levels himself emphasizes that technology doesn't negate the need to understand code logic and possess an aesthetic sense. The algorithm is just a tool, but design decisions and final polish are still up to the human creator. According to GameDev Trends 2025, 43% of studios are already testing AI assistants. However, Levels' case is unique — he proved that it’s possible to start in the industry without years of experience, combining creativity with adaptability to new tools.