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Indie game

Screenshots from several indie games. In reading order (in mobile view, top to bottom): Flotilla, Broforce,
Celeste, Kentucky Route Zero, Tacoma, and Alto's Adventure.

An indie video game or indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game
created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of
a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. Because of their independence
and freedom to develop, indie games often focus on innovation, experimental gameplay, and
taking risks not usually afforded in AAA games. Indie games tend to be sold through digital
distribution channels rather than at retail due to a lack of publisher support. The term is analogous
to independent music or independent film in those respective mediums.

Indie game development bore out from the same concepts of amateur and hobbyist programming
that grew with the introduction of the personal computer and the simple BASIC computer
language in the 1970s and 1980s. So-called bedroom coders, particularly in the United Kingdom
and other parts of Europe, made their own games and used mail order to distribute their products,
although they later shifted to other software distribution methods with the onset of the Internet in
the 1990s, such as shareware and other file sharing distribution methods. However, by this time,
interest in hobbyist programming had waned due to rising costs of development and competition
from video game publishers and home consoles.

The modern take on the indie game scene resulted from a combination of numerous factors in the
early 2000s, including technical, economic, and social concepts that made indie games less
expensive to make and distribute but more visible to larger audiences and offered non-traditional
gameplay from the current mainstream games. A number of indie games at that time became
success stories that drove more interest in the area. New industry opportunities have arisen since
then, including new digital storefronts, crowdfunding, and other indie funding mechanisms to help
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new teams get their games off the ground. There are also low-cost and open-source development
tools available for smaller teams across all gaming platforms, boutique indie game publishers that
leave creative freedom to the developers, and industry recognition of indie games alongside
mainstream ones at major game award events.

Around 2015, the increasing number of indie games being published led to fears of an
"indiepocalypse", referring to an oversupply of games that would make the entire market
unprofitable. Although the market did not collapse, discoverability remains an issue for most indie
developers, with many games not being financially profitable. Examples of successful indie games
include Cave Story, Braid, Super Meat Boy, Terraria, Minecraft, Fez, Hotline Miami, Shovel
Knight, the Five Nights at Freddy's series, Undertale, Cuphead, and Among Us.

Definition
The term "indie game" itself is based on similar terms like independent film and independent
music, where the concept is often related to self-publishing and independence from major studios
or distributors.[1] However, as with both indie films and music, there is no exact, widely accepted
definition of what constitutes an "indie game" besides falling well outside the bounds of triple-A
video game development by large publishers and development studios.[2][3][4][5] One simple
definition, described by Laura Parker for GameSpot, says "independent video game development is
the business of making games without the support of publishers", but this does not cover all
situations.[6] Dan Pearce of IGN stated that the only consensus for what constitutes an indie game
is a "I know it when I see it"-type assessment, since no single definition can capture what games
are broadly considered indie.[7]

Indie games generally share certain common characteristics. One method to define an indie game
is the nature of independence, which can either be:[8]

Financial independence: In such situations, the developers have paid for the development
and/or publication of the game themselves or from other funding sources such as crowd
funding, and specifically without financial support of a large publisher.
Independence of thought: In this case, the developers crafted their game without any oversight
or directional influence by a third party such as a publisher.
Another means to evaluate a game as indie is to examine its development team, with indie games
being developed by individuals, small teams, or small independent companies that are often
specifically formed for the development of one specific game.[3][9][10] Typically, indie games are
smaller than mainstream titles.[10] Indie game developers are generally not financially backed by
video game publishers, who are risk-averse and prefer "big-budget games".[11] Instead, indie game
developers usually have smaller budgets, usually sourcing from personal funds or via
crowdfunding.[2][3][5][12][13] Being independent, developers do not have controlling interests[4] or
creative limitations,[3][14][5] and do not require the approval of a publisher,[2] as mainstream game
developers usually do.[15] Design decisions are thus also not limited by an allocated budget.[14]
Furthermore, smaller team sizes increase individual involvement.[16]

However, this view is not all-encompassing, as there are numerous cases of games where
development is not independent of a major publisher but still considered indie.[1] Some notable
instances of games include:

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Journey was created by thatgamecompany, but had financial backing of Sony as well as
publishing support. Kellee Santiago of thatgamecompany believes that they are an
independent studio because they were able to innovate on their game without Sony's
involvement.[1]
Bastion, similarly, was developed by Supergiant Games, but with publishing by Warner Bros.
Entertainment, primarily to avoid difficulties with the certification process on Xbox Live.[17] Greg
Kasavin of Supergiant notes they consider their studio indie as they lack any parent
company.[1][18]
The Witness was developed by Jonathan Blow and his studio Thekla, Inc. Though self-funded
and published, the game's development cost around $6 million and was priced at $40, in
contrast to most indie games typically priced up to $20. Blow believed this type of game
represented something between indie and AAA publishing.[19]
No Man's Sky was developed by Hello Games, though with publishing but non-financial
support from Sony; the game on release had a price equal to a typical AAA title. Sean Murray
of Hello Games believes that because they are still a small team and the game is highly
experimental that they consider themselves indie.[20]
Dave the Diver was developed by Mintrocket, a thirty-person studio owned by Nexon. Despite
this corporate ownership, and the studio itself stating they do not consider themselves as an
indie studio, the game's approach was considered less traditional as to be considered an indie
game by the industry, including being nominated for Best Indie Game at The Game Awards
2023.[21][22][23][24][25]
Yet another angle to evaluate a game as indie is from its
innovation, creativity, and artistic experimentation, factors
enabled by small teams free of financial and creative oversight.
This definition is reflective of an "indie spirit" that is
diametrically opposite of the corporate culture of AAA
development, and makes a game "indie", where the factors of
financial and creative independence make a game
"independent".[26][2][10][16][27][28][29][30] Developers with Nidhogg is an example of an indie
limited ability to create graphics can rely on gameplay game that relies on a retro pixel-
[31] based 1980s style for its
innovation. This often leads to indie games having a retro
presentation.
style of the 8-bit and 16-bit generations, with simpler graphics
atop the more complex mechanics.[26] Indie games may fall
into classic game genres, but new gameplay innovations have been seen.[28] However, being
"indie" does not imply that the game focuses on innovation.[10][32] In fact, many games with the
"indie" label can be of poor quality and may not be made for profit.[5]

Jesper Juul, an associate professor at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts that has studied the
video game market, wrote in his book Handmade Pixels that the definition of an indie game is
vague, and depends on different subjective considerations. Juul classified three ways games can be
considered indie: those that are financially independent of large publishers, those that are
aesthetically independent of and significantly different from the mainstream art and visual styles
used in AAA games, and those that present cultural ideas that are independent from mainstream
games. Juul however wrote that ultimately the labeling of a game as "indie" still can be highly
subjective and no single rule helps delineate indie games from non-indie ones.[33]

Games that are not as large as most triple-A games, but are developed by larger independent
studios with or without publisher backing and that can apply triple-A design principles and polish
due to the experience of the team, have sometimes been called "triple-I" games, reflecting the
middle ground between these extremes. Ninja Theory's Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice is considered
a prime example of a triple-I game.[34][35] A further distinction from indie games are those
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considered double-A ("AA"), tending to be from mid to large-size studios ranging from 50 to 100
team members and larger than typically associated with indie games, that often work under similar
practices as triple-A studios but still retain creative control of their titles from a publisher.[7][36]

Indie games are distinct from open source games. The latter are games which are developed with
the intent to release the source code and other assets under an open source license. While many of
the same principles used to develop open source games are the same as for indie games, open
source games are not developed for commercial gain and instead as a hobbyist pursuit.[37]
However, commercial sales are not a requirement for an indie game and such games can be offered
as freeware, most notably with Spelunky on its original release and Dwarf Fortress, with the
exception of its enhanced visual front-end version while its base version remains free.[38]

History
The onset of indie game development is difficult to track due to the broadness of what defines an
indie game, and the term was not really in use until the early 2000s.[39] Until the 2000s, other
terms like amateur, enthusiast, and hobbyist software or games were used to describe such
software.[40] Today, terms like amateur and hobbyist development are more reflective of those that
create mods for existing games,[41] or work with specific technologies or game parts rather than the
development of full games.[4] Such hobbyists usually produce non-commercial products and may
range from novices to industry veterans.[4]

Before home computers

There is some debate as to whether independent game development started prior to the 1977 home
computer revolution with games developed for mainframe computers at universities and other
large institutions. 1962's Spacewar! was not commercially financed and was made by a small team,
but there was no commercial sector of the video game industry at that time to distinguish from
independent works.[42]

Joyce Weisbecker, who considers herself the first indie designer, created several games for the RCA
Studio II home console in 1976 as an independent contractor for RCA.[43]

Home computers (late 1970s-1980s)

When the first personal computers were released in 1977, they each included a pre-installed
version of the BASIC computer language along with example programs, including games, to show
what users could do with these systems. The availability of BASIC led to people trying to make
their own programs. Sales of the 1978 rerelease of the book BASIC Computer Games by David H.
Ahl that included the source code for over one hundred games, eventually surpassed over one
million copies.[44] The availability of BASIC inspired a number of people to start writing their own
games.[3][30]

Many personal computer games written by individuals or two person teams were self-distributed
in stores or sold through mail order.[39] Atari, Inc. launched the Atari Program Exchange in 1981 to
publish user-written software, including games, for Atari 8-bit computers.[45] Print magazines
such as SoftSide, Compute!, and Antic solicited games from hobbyists, written in BASIC or
assembly language, to publish as type-in listings.

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In the United Kingdom, early microcomputers such as the ZX

Spectrum were popular, launching a range of "bedroom coders"
which initiated the UK's video game industry.[46][47] During
this period, the idea that indie games could provide
experimental gameplay concepts or demonstrate niche
arthouse appeal had been established.[42] Many games from
the bedroom coders of the United Kingdom, such as Manic
Miner (1983), incorporated the quirkiness of British humour
and made them highly experimental games.[48][49] Other The 1982 ZX Spectrum was popular
games like Alien Garden (1982) showed highly-experimental with hobbyist programmers in the
gameplay.[42] Infocom itself advertised its text-based UK.
interactive fiction games by emphasizing their lack of graphics
in lieu of the players' imagination, at a time that graphics-heavy
action games were commonplace.[42]

Shareware and chasing the console (1990s)

By the mid-1990s, the recognition of the personal computer as a viable gaming option, and
advances in technology that led to 3D gaming created many commercial opportunities for video
games. During the last part of the 1990s, visibility of games from these single or small team studios
scene waned, since a small team could not readily compete in costs, speed and distribution as a
commercial entity could. The industry had started to coalesce around video game publishers that
could pay larger developers to make games and handle all the marketing and publication costs as
well as opportunities to franchise game series.[47] Publishers tended to be risk averse due to high
costs of production, and they would reject all small-size and too innovative concepts of small game
developers.[50] The market also became fractured due to the prevalence of video game consoles,
which required expensive or difficult-to-acquire game development kits typically reserved for
larger developers and publishers.[30][51][42]

There were still significant developments from smaller teams that laid the basis of indie games
going forward. Shareware games became a popular means to distribute demos or partially
complete games in the 1980s and into the 1990s, where players could purchase the full game from
the vendor after trying it. As such demos were generally free to distribute, shareware demo
compilations would frequently be included in gaming magazines at that time, providing an easy
means for amateur and hobbyist developers to be recognized. The ability to produce numerous
copies of games, even if just shareware/demo versions, at a low cost helped to propel the idea as
the PC as a gaming platform.[30][39] At the time, shareware was generally associated with hobbyist
programmers, but the releases of Wolfenstein 3D in 1992 and Doom in 1993 showed the shareware
route to be a viable platform for titles from mainstream developers.[42]

Rise of indie games from digital distribution (2000−2005)

The current, common understanding of indie games on personal computer took shape in the early
2000s from several factors. Key was the availability of online distribution over the Internet,
allowing game developers to sell directly to players and bypassing limitations of retail distribution
and the need for a publisher.[52][39] Software technologies used to drive the growth of the World
Wide Web, like Adobe Flash, were available at low cost to developers, and provided another means
for indie games to grow.[31][39][53] The new interest in indie games led to middleware and game
engine developers to offer their products at low or no cost for indie development,[39] in addition to
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open source libraries and engines.[54]

Dedicated software like
GameMaker Studio and tools for unified game engines like
Unity and Unreal Engine removed much of the programming
barriers needed for a prospective indie developer to create
these games.[39] The commercial possibilities for indie games
at this point helped to distinguish these games from any prior
amateur game.[40]

There were other shifts in the commercial environment that

were seen as drivers for the rise of indie games in the 2000s. N is a 2004 browser game that later
Many of the games to be indie games of this period were was developed into a commercial
indie game, N++ in 2015.
considered to be the antithesis of mainstream games and which
highlighted the independence of how these games were made
compared to the collective of mainstream titles. Many of them took a retro-style approach to their
design, art, or other factors in development, such as Cave Story in 2004, which proved popular
with players.[40][55] Social and political changes also led to the use of indie games not only for
entertainment purposes but to also tell a message related to these factors, something that could not
be done in mainstream titles.[40] In comparing indie games to independent film and the state of
their respective industries, the indie game's rise was occurring approximately at the same relative
time as its market was starting to grow exponentially and be seen as a supporting offshoot of the
mainstream works.[40]

Shifting industry and increased visibility (2005−2014)

Indie games saw a large boost in visibility within the video
game industry and the rest of the world starting around 2005.
A key driver was the transition into new digital distribution
methods with storefronts like Steam that offered indie games
alongside traditional AAA titles, as well as specialized
storefronts for indie games. While direct online distribution
helped indie games to reach players, these storefronts allowed Fez was one of several indie games
developers to publish, update, and advertise their games highlighted in Indie Game: The
directly, and players to download the games anywhere, with the Movie as indie games entered
storefront otherwise handling the distribution and sales mainstream coverage.
factors. [41][31][3][28][30] While Steam itself initially began heavy
curation, it eventually allowed for indie publishing with its
Steam Greenlight and Steam Direct programs, vastly increasing the number of games available.[39]

Further indie game growth in this period came from the departure of large publishers like
Electronic Arts and Activision from their smaller, one-off titles to focus on their larger, more
successful properties, leaving the indie game space to provide shorter and more experimental titles
as alternatives.[56] Costs of developing AAA games had risen greatly, to an average cost of tens of
millions of dollars in 2007–2008 per title, and there was little room for risks in gameplay
experimentation.[57] Another driver came from discussions related to whether video games could
be seen as an art form; movie critic Roger Ebert postulated in open debates that video games could
not be art in 2005 and 2006, leading to developers creating indie games to specifically challenge
that notion.[58]

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Indie video game development saw a further boost by the use of crowdfunding as a means for indie
developers to raise funds to produce a game and to determine the desire for a game, rather than
risk time and investment into a game that does not sell well. While video games had used
crowdfunding prior to 2012, several large indie game-related projects successfully raised millions
of dollars through Kickstarter, and since then, several other similar crowdfunding options for game
developers have become available. Crowdfunding eliminated some of the cost risk associated with
indie game development, and created more opportunities for indie developers to take chances on
new titles.[39] With more indie titles emerging during this period, larger publishers and the
industry as a whole started taking notice of indie games as a significant movement within the field.
One of the first examples of this was World of Goo (2008), whose developers 2D Boy had tried but
failed to gain any publisher support prior to release. On release, the game was recognized at
various award events including the Independent Games Festival, leading to publishers that had
previously rejected World of Goo to offer to publish it.[59] The success of indie video games on
crowdfunding platforms also inspired a wave of indie tabletop role-playing game developers to
follow the same business model.[60][61]

Console manufacturers also helped increase recognition of indie games in this period. By the
seventh generation of consoles in 2005, each platform provided online services for players–namely
Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection–which included digital game
distribution. Following the increased popularity of indie games on computers, these services
started publishing them alongside larger releases.[3][29] The Xbox 360 had launched in 2005 with
Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA), a service that included some indie games, though these drew little
attention in the first few years. In 2008, Microsoft ran its "XBLA Summer of Arcade" promotion,
which included the releases of indie games Braid, Castle Crashers, and Geometry Wars: Retro
Evolved 2 alongside two AAA games. While all three indie games had a high number of downloads,
Braid received critical acclaim and drew mainstream media recognition for being a game
developed by two people.[62][63] Microsoft continued to follow up on this promotion in the
following years, bringing in more games onto XBLA such as Super Meat Boy, Limbo, and
Fez.[64][65] Sony and Nintendo followed suit, encouraging indie developers to bring games onto
their platforms.[62] By 2013, all three console manufacturers had established programs that
allowed indie developers to apply for low-cost development toolkits and licenses to publish directly
onto the console's respective storefronts following approval processes.[62] A number of "boutique"
indie game publishers were founded in this period to support funding, technical support, and
publishing of indie games across various digital and retail platforms.[66][67] In 2012, Journey
became the first Indie game to win the Game Developers Choice Award for Game of the Year and
D.I.C.E. Award for Game of the Year.[68][69]

Several other indie games were released during this period to critical and/or commercial
success.[70] Minecraft (2011), the best-selling video game of all time as of 2024,[71] was originally
released as an indie game[72] before its developer Mojang Studios was acquired by Microsoft in
2014 and brought into Xbox Game Studios.[73] Another indie game, Terraria, was released that
same year and has become the eighth best selling video game of all time,[74] as well the highest
rated game on Steam as of 2022.[75] Other successful indie games released during this time include
Hotline Miami (2012),[76] Shovel Knight (2014),[77] and Five Nights at Freddy's (2014).[78]
Hotline Miami inspired many to begin developing games[79] and contributed to the rise in indie
game released during this time period,[80] while Shovel Knight and Five Nights at Freddy's
spawned successful media franchises, with the latter becoming a cultural phenomenon.[78][81]
Mobile games also became popular with indie developers, with inexpensive development tools and

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low-barrier storefronts with the App Store and Google Play opening in the late 2000s.[82] In 2012,
a documentary, Indie Game: The Movie, was created that covers several successful games from
this period.[70]

Fears regarding saturation and discoverability (2015−present)

The number of games, by year, published on Steam, estimated by Steam Spy in

January 2020.[83][84][85] The years 2004 and 2005—with seven and six games,
respectively—are not visible on this chart.

Leading into 2015, there was concern that the rise of easy-to-use tools to create and distribute
video games could lead to an oversupply of video games, which was termed the
"indiepocalypse".[86] This perception of an indiepocalypse is not unanimous; Jeff Vogel stated in a
talk at GDC 2016 that any downturn was just part of the standard business cycle. The size of the
indie game market was estimated in March 2016 to be at least $1 billion per year for just those
games offered through Steam.[87] Mike Wilson, Graeme Struthers and Harry Miller, the co-
founders of indie publisher Devolver Digital, stated in April 2016 that the market in indie games is
more competitive than ever but continues to appear healthy with no signs of faltering.[88]
Gamasutra said that by the end of 2016, while there had not be any type of catastrophic collapse of
the indie game market, there were signs that the growth of the market had significantly slowed and
that it has entered a "post-indiepocalypse" phase as business models related to indie games adjust
to these new market conditions.[89]

While there has not been any type of collapse of the indie game field since 2015, there are concerns
that the market is far too large for many developers to get noticed. Very few selected indie titles get
wide coverage in the media, and are typically referred to as "indie darlings". In some cases, indie
darlings are identified through consumer reactions that praise the game rather than direct industry
influence, leading to further coverage; examples of such games include Celeste and Untitled Goose
Game.[90] However, there are also times where the video game media may see a future title as a
success and position it as an indie darling before its release, only to have the game fail to make a
strong impression on players, such as in the case of No Man's Sky and Where the Water Tastes
Like Wine.[90][91]

Discoverability has become an issue for indie developers as well. With the Steam distribution
service allowing any developer to offer their game with minimal cost to them, there are thousands
of games being added each year, and developers have come to rely heavily on Steam's discovery
tools – methods to tailor catalog pages to customers based on past purchases – to help sell their
titles.[92] Mobile app stores have had similar problems with large volumes of offers but poor means

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for discovery by consumers in the late 2010s.[82]

Several indie developers have found it critical to
have a good public relations campaign across social media and to interact with the press to make
sure a game is noticed early on in its development cycle to get interest and maintain that interest
through release, which adds to costs of development.[93][94]

Several games during this time have still seen success, including games that were referred to as
"indie darlings."[90] Some of the most popular indie games from this time were primarily
popularized over social media and spawned cultural phenomena, such as Undertale (2015) and
Among Us (2018),[95][9] with the latter being one of the most popular games during the COVID-19
pandemic in 2020 and 2021 with half a billion players.[9] A similar example is Lethal Company,
which released in 2023 and was popularized through internet culture, becoming one of the most
played games of 2023.[8] More commercially successful games from this time include Stardew
Valley,[6] Hollow Knight,[96] and Cuphead.[97]

Other regions
Indie games are generally associated with Western regions, specifically with North American,
European, and Oceanic areas. However, other countries have had similar expansions of indie
games that have intersected with the global industry.

Japanese doujin soft

In Japan, the doujin soft community has generally been treated as a hobbyist activity up through
the 2010s. Computers and bedroom coding had taken off similarly in the late 1970s and early
1980s, but the computer market was quickly overwhelmed by consoles. Still, hobbyist
programmers continued to develop games. One area that Japan had focused on were game
development kits, specialized software that would allow users to create their own games. A key line
of these were produced by ASCII Corporation, which published ASCII, a hobbyist programming
magazine that users could share their programs with. Over time, ASCII saw the opportunity to
publish game development kits, and by 1992, released the first commercial version of the RPG
Maker software. While the software cost money to obtain, users could release completed games
with it as freeware or commercial products, which established the potential for a commercial
independent games market by the early 2000s, aligning with the popularity of indie games in the
West.[98]

Like other Japanese fan-created works in other media, doujin games were often built from existing
assets and did not receive much respect or interest from consumers, and instead were generally
made to be played and shared with other interested players and at conventions. Around 2013,
market forces began to shift with the popularity of indie games in the Western regions, bringing
more interest to doujin games as legitimate titles. The Tokyo Game Show first offered a special
area for doujin games in 2013 with support from Sony Interactive Entertainment who had been a
promoter of Western indie games in prior years, and has expanded that since.[99] The distinction
between Japanese-developed doujin games and indie games is ambiguous - the use of the term
usually refers to if their popularity formed in Western or Eastern markets before the mid-2010s,
and if they are made with the aim of selling large copies or just as a passion project; the long-
running bullet hell Touhou Project series, developed entirely by one-man independent developer
ZUN since 1995, has been called both indie and doujinshi.[100][101] Meanwhile, despite being
Japanese-developed, Cave Story is primarily referred to as an "indie game" because of its success
in the Western market. It is one of the most influential indie games, also contributing to the

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resurgence of the Metroidvania genre.[99][102][103]

Doujin games also got a strong interest in
Western markets after some English-speaking groups translated various titles with permission for
English release, most notably with Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale, the first such doujin to be
published on Steam in 2010.[104][105]

Mikhail Fiadotau, a lecturer in video game studies at Tallinn University, identified three primary
distinctions between the established doujin culture and the Western idea of indie games. From a
conceptual view, indie games generally promote independence and novelty in thought, while
doujin games tend to be ideas shared by a common group of people and tend to not veer from
established concepts (such as strong favoritism towards the well-established RPG genre). From a
genealogical standpoint, the nature of doujin dates back as far as the 19th century, while the indie
phenomena is relatively new. Finally, only until recently, doujin games tended to only be talked
about in the same circles as other doujin culture (fan artwork and writing) and rarely mixed with
commercial productions, whereas indie games have shared the same stage with AAA
games.[106][107]

Development
Many of the same basic concepts behind video game development for mainstream titles also apply
to indie game development, particularly around the software development aspects. Key differences
lie in how the development of the game ties in with the publisher or lack thereof.

Development teams
There is no definitive size for how big an independent game
development studio might be. Several successful indie games,
such as the Touhou Project series, Axiom Verge, Cave Story,
Papers, Please, and Spelunky, were developed by a single
person, though often with support of artists and musicians for
those assets.[108] More common are small teams of developers,
from two to a few dozen, with additional support from external
artists. While it is possible for development teams to be larger, And Yet It Moves is an example of a
with this comes a higher cost overhead of running the studio, student-developed game expanded
to a commercial title following the
which may be risky if the game does not perform well.[109]
team's graduation.

Indie teams can arise from many different directions. One

common path recently includes student projects, developed as prototypes as part of their
coursework, which the students then take into a commercial opportunity after graduating from
school. Examples of such games are And Yet It Moves,[110] Octodad: Dadliest Catch,[111] Risk of
Rain,[112] and Outer Wilds.[113] In some cases, students may drop out of school to pursue the
commercial opportunity or for other reasons; Vlambeer's founders, for example, had started to
develop a commercial game while still in school and dropped out when the school demanded rights
to the game.[114]

Another route for indie development teams comes from experienced developers in the industry
who either voluntarily leave to pursue indie projects, typically due to creative burnout from the
corporate process, or resulting from termination from the company. Examples of games from such

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groups include FTL: Faster Than Light,[115] Papers, Please,[116] Darkest Dungeon,[117] and Gone
Home.[118]

Yet another route is simply those with little to no experience in the games industry, although they
may have computer-programming skills and experience, and they may come in with ideas and
fresh perspectives for games, with ideas that are generally more personable and close to their
hearts. These developers are usually self-taught and thus may not have certain disciplines of typical
programmers, thereby allowing for more creative freedom and new ideas.[119] However, some may
see amateur work less favorably than those that have had experience, whether from school or from
the industry, relying on game development toolkits rather than programming languages, and they
may associate such titles as amateur or hobbyist.[120] Some such amateur-developed games have
found great success. Examples of these include Braid,[121] Super Meat Boy,[122] Dwarf
Fortress,[123] and Undertale.[124]

Typically, a starting indie-game studio will be primarily programmers and developers. Art assets
including artwork and music may be outsourced to work-for-hire artists and composers.[125]

Development tools
For development of personal computer games, indie games typically rely on existing game engines,
middleware and game development kits to build their titles, lacking the resources to build custom
engines.[26] Common game engines include Unreal Engine and Unity, but there are numerous
others as well. Small studios that do not anticipate large sales are generally afforded reduced prices
for mainstream game engines and middleware. These products may be offered free, or be offered at
a substantial royalty discount that only increases if their sales exceed certain numbers.[126] Indie
developers may also use open source software (such as Godot) or by taking advantage of homebrew
libraries, which are freely available but may lack technically-advanced features compared to
equivalent commercial engines.[127][128][129]

Prior to 2010, development of indie games on consoles was highly restrictive due to costly access to
software development kits (SDKs), typically a version of the console with added debugging features
that would cost several thousands of dollars and come with numerous restrictions on its use to
prevent trade secrets related to the console from being leaked. Console manufacturers may have
also restricted sales of SDKs to only certain developers that met specific criteria, leaving potential
indie developers unable to acquire them.[130] When indie games became more popular by 2010,
the console manufacturers as well as mobile device operating system providers released special
software-based SDKs to build and test games first on personal computers and then on these
consoles or mobile devices. These SDKs were still offered at commercial rates to larger developers,
but reduced pricing was provided to those who would generally self-publish via digital distribution
on the console or mobile device's storefront, such as with the ID@Xbox program or the iOS SDK.

Publishers
While most indie games lack a publisher with the developer serving in that role, a number of
publishers geared towards indie games have been established since 2010, also known as boutique
game publishers; these include Raw Fury, Devolver Digital, Annapurna Interactive, Finji, and
Adult Swim Games. There also have been a number of indie developers that have grown large
enough on their own to also support publishing for smaller developers, such as Chucklefish, Coffee
Stain Studios, and Team17. These boutique publishers, having experience in making indie games

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themselves, typically will provide necessary financial support and marketing but have little to no
creative control on developers' product as to maintain the "indie" nature of the game. In some
cases, the publisher may be more selective of the type of games it supports; Annapurna Interactive
sought games that were "personal, emotional and original".[66][131]

Funding
The lack of a publisher requires an indie developer to find means to fund the game themselves.
Existing studios may be able to rely on past funds and incoming revenue, but new studios may
need to use their own personal funds ("bootstrapping"), personal or bank loans, or investments to
cover development costs,[13][131][132] or building community support while in
development.[133][134]

More recently, crowd-funding campaigns, both reward-based and equity-based, have been used to
obtain the funds from interested consumers before development begins in earnest. While using
crowd-funding for video games took off in 2012, its practice has significantly waned as consumers
became wary of campaigns that failed to deliver on promised goods. A successful crowd-funded
campaign now typically requires significant development work and costs associated with this
before the campaign is launched, in order to demonstrate that the game will likely be completed in
a timely manner and draw in funds.[135]

Another mechanism offered through digital distribution is the early access model, in which
interested players can buy playable beta versions of the game to provide software testing and
gameplay feedback. Those consumers become entitled to the full game for free on release, while
others may have to pay a higher price for the final game. This can provide funding midway though
development, but like with crowd-funding, consumers expect a game that is near completion, so
significant development and costs will likely need to have been invested already.[136] Minecraft
was considered an indie game during its original development, and was one of the first titles to
successfully demonstrate this approach to funding.[137]

More recently, a number of dedicated investor-based indie game funds have been established such
as the Indie Fund. Indie developers can submit applications requesting grants from these funds.
The money is typically provided as a seed investment to be repaid through game royalties.[134]
Several national governments, through their public arts agencies, also have made similar grants
available to indie developers.[138]

Distribution
Prior to digital distribution, hobbyist programmers typically relied on mail order to distribute their
product. They would place ads in local papers or hobbyist computer magazines such as Creative
Computing and Byte and, once payment was received, fulfill orders by hand, making copies of
their game to cassette tape, floppy disc, or CD-ROM along with documentation. Others would
provide copies to their local computer store to sell. In the United Kingdom, where personal
computer game development took off in the early 1980s, a market developed for game distributors
that handled the copying and distribution of games for these hobbyist programmers.[48] In Japan,
doujinshi conventions like Comiket, the largest fan convention in the world, have allowed
independent developers to sell and promote their physical products since its inauguration in 1975,
allowing game series like Touhou Project and Fate to spread in popularity and dominate the
convention for years.[139][140][141]

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As the media shifted to higher-capacity formats and with the ability for users to make their own
copies of programs, the simple mail order method was threatened since one person could buy the
game and then make copies for their friends. The shareware model of distribution emerged in the
1980s accepting that users would likely make copies freely and share these around. The shareware
version of the software would be limited, and require payment to the developer to unlock the
remaining features. This approach became popular with hobbyist games in the early 1990s, notably
with the releases of Wolfenstein 3D and ZZT, "indie" games from fledgling developers id Software
and Tim Sweeney (later founder of Epic Games), respectively. Game magazines started to include
shareware games on pack-in demo discs with each issue, and as with mail-order, companies arose
that provided shareware sampler discs and served to help with shareware payment and
redemption processing. Shareware remained a popular form of distribution even with availability
of bulletin board systems and the Internet.[142] By the 2000s, indie developers relied on the
Internet as their primary distribution means as without a publisher, it was nearly impossible to
stock an indie game at retail, the mail order concept having long since died out.[41]

Continued Internet growth led to dedicated video game sites that served as repositories for
shareware and other games, indie and mainstream alike, such as GameSpy's FilePlanet.[143] A new
issue had arisen for larger mainstream games that featured multiplayer elements, in that updates
and patches could easily be distributed through these sites but making sure all users were equally
informed of the updates was difficult, and without the updates, some players would be unable to
participate in multiplayer modes. Valve built the Steam software client originally to serve these
updates automatically for their games, but over time, it became a digital storefront that users could
also purchase games through.[144] For indie games, Steam started curating third-party titles
(including some indies) onto the service by 2005, later adding Steam Greenlight in 2012 that
allowed any developer to propose their game for addition onto the service to the userbase, and
ultimately replacing Greenlight with Steam Direct in 2017 where any developer can add their game
to the service for a small fee.

While Steam remains the largest digital storefront for personal computer distribution, a number of
other storefronts have since opened. For example, Itch.io, established in 2013, has been more
focused on serving indie games over mainstream ones, providing the developers with store pages
and other tools to help with marketing. Other services act more as digital retailers, giving tools to
the indie developer to be able to accept and redeem online purchases and distribute the game, such
as Humble Bundle, but otherwise leaving the marketing to the developer.[145]

On consoles, the distribution of an indie game is handled by the console's game store, once the
developer has been approved by the console manufacturer. Similarly, for mobile games, the
distribution of the game is handled by the app store provider once the developer has been
approved to release apps on that type of device. In either case, all aspects of payment, redemption
and distribution are handled at the manufacturer/app store provider level.[146]

A recent trend for some of the more popular indies is a limited physical release, typical for console-
based versions. The distributor Limited Run Games was formed to produce limited runs of games,
most commonly successful indie titles that have a proven following that would have a market for a
physical edition. These versions are typically produced as special editions with additional physical
products like art books, stickers, and other small items in the game's case. Other such distributors
include Super Rare Games, Special Reserve Games, and Strictly Limited Games.

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In nearly all cases with digital distribution, the distribution platform takes a revenue cut of each
sale with the rest of the sale going to the developer, as a means to pay for the costs of maintaining
the digital storefront.

Industry
Most indie games do not make a significant profit, and only a handful have made large profits.[147]
Instead, indie games are generally seen as a career stepping stone rather than a commercial
opportunity.[52] The Dunning–Kruger effect has been shown to apply to indie games: some people
with little experience have been able to develop successful games from the start, but for most, it
takes upwards of ten years of experience within the industry before one regularly starts making
games with financial success. Most in the industry caution that indie games should not be seen a
financially-rewarding career for this reason.[148]

The industry perception towards indie games have also shifted, making the tactics of how to
develop and market indie games difficult in contrast to AAA games. In 2008, a developer could
earn around 17% of a game's retail price, and around 85% if sold digitally.[31] This can lead to the
appearance of more "risky" creative projects.[31] Furthermore, the expansion of social websites has
introduced gaming to casual gamers.[3] Recent years have brought the importance of drawing
social media influencers to help promote indie games as well.[149]

There is contention as to how prominent indie video game development is in the video game
industry.[27] Most games are not widely known or successful, and mainstream media attention
remains with mainstream titles.[150][3] This can be attributed to a lack of marketing for indie
games,[150] but indie games can be targeted at niche markets.[10][30]

Industry recognition of indie games through awards has grown significantly over time. The
Independent Games Festival was established in 1998 to recognize the best of indie games, and
since its first event in 1999 has been held in conjunction with the Game Developers Conference in
the first part of each year alongside the Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA).[151] However, it
was not until 2010 when indie games were seen as similar competition to major gaming awards,
with the 2010 GDCA recognizing games like Limbo, Minecraft, and Super Meat Boy among AAA
titles.[152] Since then, indie games have frequently been included in award nominations alongside
AAA games in the major awards events like the GDCA, the D.I.C.E. Awards, The Game Awards,
and the BAFTA Video Games Awards. Indie games like What Remains of Edith Finch, Outer
Wilds, Untitled Goose Game, Hades, Inscryption, and Vampire Survivors have been awarded
various Game of the Year awards.[153][154][155][156][157][158]

Community
Indie developers are generally considered a highly collaborative community with development
teams sharing knowledge between each other, providing testing, technical support, and feedback,
as generally indie developers are not in any direct competition with each other once they have
achieved funding for their project. Indie developers also tend to be open with their target player
community, using beta testing and early access to get feedback, and engaging users regularly
through storefront pages and communication channels such as Discord.[159]

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Indie game developers can be involved with various indie game

trade shows, such as Independent Games Festival, held
alongside the Game Developers Conference, and IndieCade
held prior to the annual E3 convention.[2][160] The Indie
Megabooth was established in 2012 as a large showcase at
various trade shows to allow indie developers to show off their
titles. These events act as intermediaries between indie
developers and the larger industry, as they allow for indie
The Independent Games Festival
developers to connect with larger developers and publishers for exhibition during the 2013 Game
business opportunities, as well as to get word of their games Developers Conference in San
out to the press prior to release.[161] Francisco, California, where indie
developers can showcase their
Game jams, including Ludum Dare, the Indie Game Jam, the games to attendees
Nordic Game Jam, and the Global Game Jam, are typically
annual competitions in which game developers are given a
theme, concept and/or specific requirements and given a limited amount of time, on the order of a
few days, to come up with a game prototype to submit for review and voting by judges, with the
potential to win small cash prizes.[162][163][164][165] Companies can also have internal game jams as
a means to relieve stress which may generate ideas for future games, as has notably been the case
for developer Double Fine and its Amnesia Fortnight game jams. The structure of such jams can
influence whether the end games are more experimental or serious, and whether they are to be
more playful or more expressive.[166] While many game jam prototypes go no further, some
developers have subsequently expanded the prototype into a full release after the game jam into
successful indie games, such as Superhot, Super Time Force, Gods Will Be Watching, Hollow
Knight, Surgeon Simulator, and Goat Simulator.[167]

Impact and popularity

Indie games are recognized for helping to generate or revitalize video game genres, either bringing
new ideas to stagnant gameplay concepts or creating whole new experiences. The expansion of
roguelikes from ASCII, tile-based hack-and-slash games to a wide variety of so-called "rogue-lites"
that maintain the roguelike procedural generation and permadeath features bore out directly from
indie games Strange Adventures in Infinite Space (2002) and its sequel Weird Worlds: Return to
Infinite Space (2005), Spelunky (2008), The Binding of Isaac (2011), FTL: Faster Than Light
(2012) and Rogue Legacy (2012).[168] In turn, new takes on the roguelike genre were inspired by
Slay the Spire (2019), which popularized the roguelike deck-building game,[169] and Vampire
Survivors (2022), which led to numerous "bullet heaven" or reverse bullet hell games using
roguelike mechanics.[170] Metroidvanias resurged following the releases of Cave Story (2004) and
Shadow Complex (2009).[103] Stardew Valley (2016) created a resurgence in life simulation
games.[171] Art games have gained attention through indie developers with early indie titles such as
Samorost (2003)[172] and The Endless Forest (2005).[173]

The following table lists indie games that have reported total sales over one million copies, based
on the last reported sales figures. These results exclude downloaded copies for games that had
transitioned to a free-to-play model such as Rocket League, or copies sold after acquisition by a
larger publisher and no longer being considered an indie game, such as Minecraft.

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List of indie games surpassing a million sales

Sales
Game Release Developer Publisher Notes
(millions)

By October 2014
at the time Mojang
was purchased by
Microsoft.[174]
Minecraft 60 2011 Mojang Mojang Minecraft has
since sold more
than 200 million
copies by May
2020.[175]

As of July
Terraria 58.7 2011 Re-Logic Re-Logic, 505 Games
2024[176][177]
As of December
2024.[178]
ConcernedApe, ConcernedApe
Stardew Valley 41 2016 ConcernedApe
Chucklefish ceased working
with Chucklefish in
March 2022[179]

Human: Fall No Brakes As of July

30 2016 Curve Digital
Flat Games 2021[180]

Castle As of August
20 2008 The Behemoth The Behemoth
Crashers 2019[181]

Facepunch As of September
Garry's Mod 20 2006 Valve
Studios 2021[182]

PowerWash As of April
12 2022 FuturLab Square Enix Collective
Simulator 2024[183]

As of December
2020. Includes
only sales on
personal
computers and not
consoles,[184] and
Fall Guys 11 2020 Mediatonic Devolver Digital prior to its
acquisition by Epic
Games and the
conversion of the
game to a free to
play title in June
2022.[185]
As of April 2017,
and does not
include free copies
given as part of an
early PlayStation
Plus promotion. In
Rocket League 10.5 2015 Psyonix Psyonix 2019, Psyonix was
acquired by Epic
Games and in
2020, the game
transitioned to free
to play.[186]

As of January
Lethal 2024, still in early
10+ 2023 Zeekerss Zeekerss
Company
access[187]

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Sales
Game Release Developer Publisher Notes
(millions)

As of June
Dead Cells 10 2018 Motion Twin Motion Twin
2023[188]
As of April 2022,
Iron Gate still in early
Valheim 10 2021 Coffee Stain Publishing
Studios
access[189]

Facepunch As of December
Rust 9 2018 Facepunch Studios
Studios 2019[190]
As of July
Cuphead 6 2017 Studio MDHR Studio MDHR
2020[191]
As of January
Coffee Stain 2024, still in early
Satisfactory 5.5 2019 Coffee Stain Publishing
Studios
access[192]
As of January
Unknown 2020, discounting
Unknown Worlds free copies from
Subnautica 5.2 2018 Worlds
Entertainment promotional
Entertainment
offers[193]

Includes both the

Flash-based
version (which sold
The Binding of Edmund
5 2011 Edmund McMillen/Nicalis 3 million alone as
Isaac McMillen/Nicalis
of July 2014) and
The Binding of
Isaac: Rebirth.[194]

As of August
Papers, Please 5 2013 3909 LLC 3909 LLC
2023[195]
As of January
Slime Rancher 5 2017 Monomi Park Monomi Park
2022[196]
As of February
Beat Saber 4 2019 Beat Games Beat Games
2021[197]
As of April 2023,
Dennaton only includes sales
Hotline Miami 4 2012 Devolver Digital for the Steam
Games
version.[198]
As of March 2021,
only includes sales
Risk of Rain 2 4 2020 Hopoo Games Gearbox Publishing for Steam
version.[199]
As of December
Balatro 3.5 2024 LocalThunk Playstack
2024.[200]
As of December
2022, includes
Factorio 3.5 2020 Wube Software Wube Software sales during early
access since
February 2016.[201]

Cult of the Massive As of January

3.5 2022 Devolver Digital
Lamb Monster 2024[202]
Among Us 3.2 2018 Innersloth Innersloth As of December
2020, only includes
sales for Nintendo
Switch version.
Game is sold on
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Sales
Game Release Developer Publisher Notes
(millions)
other platforms but
also available as a
free app for mobile
platforms.[203]
Warner Bros. Interactive
Supergiant As of January
Bastion 3 2011 Entertainment/Supergiant
Games
Games 2015[204]

Deep Rock Ghost Ship As of November

3 2020 Coffee Stain Publishing
Galactic Games 2021[205]

Enter the As of January

3 2016 Dodge Roll Devolver Digital
Gungeon 2020[206]
As of June
Limbo 3 2010 Playdead Playdead
2013[207]
As of April
Risk of Rain 3 2013 Hopoo Games Chucklefish
2019[208]
As of February
Hollow Knight 2.8 2017 Team Cherry Team Cherry
2019[209]

Yacht Club As of September

Shovel Knight 2.6 2014 Yacht Club Games
Games 2019[210]

Coffee Stain As of January

Goat Simulator 2.5 2014 Coffee Stain Studios
Studios 2015[211]

Darkest Red Hook As of April

2 2016 Red Hook Studios
Dungeon Studios 2020[212]
As of May 2024,
achieved within
Manor Lords 2 2024 Slavic Magic Hooded Horse three weeks of
early
access[213][214]
As of May
Superhot 2 2016 Superhot Team Superhot Team
2019[215]

Super Meat As of April

2 2010 Team Meat Team Meat
Boy 2014[216]
SgtOkiDoki, As of July
BattleBit
1.8 2023 Vilaskis, and SgtOkiDoki
Remastered
TheLiquidHorse 2023[217]

As of September
Dyson Sphere
1.7 2021 Youthcat Studio Gamera Game 2021, still in early
Program
access[218]
As of March
Slay the Spire 1.5 2017 MegaCrit Humble Bundle
2019[219]
Superbrothers: Superbrothers, As of July
Sword & 1.5 2011 Capybara Capybara Games
Sworcery EP Games 2013[220]

Amnesia: The Frictional As of September

1.4 2010 Frictional Games
Dark Descent Games 2012[221]

Arrowhead As of January
Magicka 1.3 2011 Paradox Interactive
Game Studios 2012[222]

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Sales
Game Release Developer Publisher Notes
(millions)

As of March
Teardown 1.1 2022 Tuxedo Labs Tuxedo Labs
2023[223]
As of March 2023,
which includes
Brotato 1 2023 Blobfish Blobfish sales during early
access in
2022.[224]

Buckshot As of April
1 2024 Mike Klubnika Critical Reflex
Roulette 2024[225]

Extremely OK As of March
Celeste 1 2018 Extremely OK Games
Games 2020[226]
As of April 2024,
does not include
Skog, Zorro, 6.6 million units
Content
1 2024 Wilnyl, Philip, Landfall Games claimed during the
Warning
thePetHen game's free
launch[227]
As of July
Core Keeper 1 2022 Pugstorm Fireshine Games
2022[228]

As of July
Dave the Diver 1 2023 Mintocket Nexon
2023[229]
Deep Rock As of March
Galactic: 1 2024 Funday Games Ghost Ship Publishing
Survivor 2024[230]

Black Salt As of October

Dredge 1 2023 Team17
Games 2023[231]

Dust: An As of March
1 2012 Humble Hearts Microsoft Studios
Elysian Tail 2014[232]

Polytron As of January
Fez 1 2012 Trapdoor
Corporation 2014[233]

As of January
Firewatch 1 2016 Campo Santo Panic Inc.
2017[234]
As of April
Gris 1 2018 Nomada Studio Devolver Digital
2020[235]
As of September
2020. Includes
Supergiant
Hades 1 2020 Supergiant Games 700,000 sales
Games
during an early
access period[236]

Daniel Mullins As of January

Inscryption 1 2021 Devolver Digital
Games 2022[237]
As of December
Loop Hero 1 2021 Four Quarters Devolver Digital
2021[238]
As of June
Moonlighter 1 2018 Digital Sun 11 Bit Studios
2020[239]
As of December
Omori 1 2020 Omocat Omocat
2022[240]

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Sales
Game Release Developer Publisher Notes
(millions)

As of January
Pizza Tower 1 2023 Tour De Pizza
2024.[241]
As of August
Rimworld 1 2018 Ludeon Studios Ludeon Studios
2020[242]
As of March
Sifu 1 2022 Sloclap Sloclap
2022.[243]

Thunder Lotus As of December

Spiritfarer 1 2020 Thunder Lotus Games
Games 2021[244]

Skul: The Hero SouthPAW As of January

1 2021 NEOWIZ
Slayer Games 2022[245]

Thomas Was As of April

1 2012 Mike Bithell Mike Bithell
Alone 2014[246]

As of September
Timberborn 1 2021 Mechanistry Mechanistry
2023[247]

Supergiant As of December
Transistor 1 2014 Supergiant Games
Games 2015[248]
As of October
Undertale 1 2015 Toby Fox Toby Fox
2018[249]
As of November
Unpacking 1 2021 Witch Beam Humble Games
2022[250]

Untitled Goose As of December

1 2019 House House Panic Inc.
Game 2019[251]

See also

Video games portal

List of indie game developers

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Literature
Bates, Bob (2004). Game Design (2nd ed.). Thomson Course Technology. ISBN 1-59200-493-
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Fullerton, Tracy; Swain, Christopher; Hoffman, Steven (2008). "Indie Game Jam: An outlet for
Innovation and Experimental Game Design" (https://books.google.com/books?id=OjIYWtqWxt
AC&q=%22Indie+Game+Jam%22&pg=PA405). Game design workshop: a playcentric
approach to creating innovative games. Article by Justin Hall (2nd ed.). Morgan Kaufmann.
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&q=%22Indie%20Game%20Jam%22&f=false) from the original on 2024-01-22. Retrieved
2020-10-18.
Iuppa, Nick; Borst, Terry (2009). End-to-End Game Development: Creating Independent
Serious Games and Simulations from Start to Finish (https://archive.org/details/endtoendgame
deve0000iupp). Focal Press. ISBN 978-0-240-81179-6.
McGuire, Morgan; Jenkins, Odest Chadwicke (2009). Creating Games: Mechanics, Content,
and Technology. Wellesley, Massachusetts: A K Peters. ISBN 978-1-56881-305-9.
Moore, Michael E.; Novak, Jeannie (2010). Game Industry Career Guide. Delmar: Cengage
Learning. ISBN 978-1-4283-7647-2.
Thompson, Jim; Berbank-Green, Barnaby; Cusworth, Nic (2007). Game Design: Principles,
Practice, and Techniques - The Ultimate Guide for the Aspiring Game Designer (https://books.g
oogle.com/books?id=Zyh4HXuHTPMC&q=%22Indie+Game+Jam%22&pg=PA83). Wiley.
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External links
The Creativity of Indie Video Games (http://video.pbs.org/video/2287049951) Documentary
produced by Off Book

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indie_game&oldid=1268892281"

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