The game was funded through Kickstarter, achieving a funding level of $24,320 and surpassing the developer's goal of $20,000, with funding ending in August 2011.
As of February 2015, the game has sold over 460,000 copies and made US$4.9 million of revenue.
The original Octodad was developed by a team of DePaul University game design students as an extracurricular activity. Following their graduation in 2011, eight of the original team of eighteen decided to pursue a sequel as a commercial project, and together with a new external member, formed the company Young Horses. Members of the original student team who did not join Young Horses signed over the rights to Octodad in return for company stock and a share of the sequel's royalties.