Where does the profit from such Telegram bots come from?

Question

Fintech

The other day I wrote a bot for telegrams, and while searching for a solution to my problem, I came across this:
@EverlastingSummerBot - a visual novel from Russian developers.
This is a text quest in telegram. You read, then when you are offered answers, you make a choice, further development depends on your choice.
I have always liked this kind of games, but a question arose, the answer to which I could not find, and now it torments me. So, where does the profit come from?
How is this:

1. Bot writing.
   
2. Writing a story (rather long) with many different endings.
   
3. Payment for the server on which the bot is.
   

It is very difficult to believe that all this is just a hobby, and income is not the main thing here. But there is not a single clue why this bot, like other similar bots, is brought to the developers for candy.

p.s. I didn't see any ads.
pss I'm asking just out of curiosity :)

Answer 1

Most likely, a fan really wrote, because if you like it, you will write 10 times more without thinking about paying. In paragraph 1-2 there are no particularly strong costs that need to be recouped, if there is a hobby that you really like, you will understand what I mean.
But the server, it costs a penny, if it costs a penny to the owner at all, there are many free hostings, telegram bots can generally be launched at home without any ports and white IP, and even if you rent a server for this, well, a maximum of 200 rubles a month will cost this , and the telegram bot itself practically does not load the server in any way, because the most primitive calculations are performed there, that is, the server can be used in parallel for other things.

Answer 2

If you look closely, they earned money from the game in the app store and google play, and the one who came up with the bot is more of a fan, because. there is no mention of the bot on the site.

Answer 3

Gain a user base → Sell ads → Make a mailing list.
Haven't arrived yet? Will come.