How Do Indie Games Fare in the Current Gaming Market?

Indie games are now more popular than ever, but what exactly are they, and which hit titles are worth checking out before any others? Let’s dive straight in to find out. 

What are Indie games?

The term ‘Indie games’ is given to video games that weren’t created by major game development studios and publishers, such as Activision, Nintendo, Ubisoft, EA, Tencent, Microsoft Gaming, and Sony Interactive Entertainment, for example. 

Instead, they were developed by individuals or small teams working for much smaller independent studios. Indie studios typically don’t have the huge budgets that the major studios have to build games, but they have more creative control of their games. 

Today’s most notable market-leading Indie game development studios are usually categorised by their artistic expression, unique titles, and innovative approaches to designing and developing their games. 

The iGaming industry is also filled by much smaller game development studios like AreaVegas, Reel Kingdom, Rarestone Gaming, Ban Bang Games, and countless others, who have partnered with much more prominent, well-established studios like Games Global, Pragmatic Play, Playtech, and Yggdrasil Gaming to get their games on famous sites like the official 10bet.co.za online sports betting and casino website. 

Who are the most well-known Indie game studios, and what famous games have they made?

There are countless Indie game studios out there today, and they have crafted hundreds of thousands of unique video games that work well across multiple platforms and devices. Some of the most famous companies that you may or may not already be familiar with by now are the following:

• Supergiant Games
• Larian Studios
• Hello Games
• Wildboy Studios
• Thunder Lotus
• Extremely OK Games Ltd.
• 99Games
• Team Cherry
• Night School Studio

Others include Blendo Games, Studio MDHR, Yacht Club Games, Playdead, Oddworld Inhabitants, Drinkbox Studios, ConcernedApe, and Platonic. Some of the most famous Indie games made by companies like this are Stardew Valley, Hades, Palworld, Undertale, Celeste, and Vampire Survivors. 

That’s not forgetting Rocket League, Cuphead, Dead Cells, Rust, Fez, Subnautica, INSIDE, Animal Well, UFO 50, Hades II, Hotline Miami, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and Cave Story. The list goes on. 

A more detailed explanation of Indie games and a closer look at why they are currently faring well in the gaming market

Indie games have a broad range of genres/categories/styles that appeal to broad audiences of gaming enthusiasts. In other words, there are plenty of Indie games to suit all types of players and their individual gaming preferences. 

Examples include simulation games, role-playing games (RPGs), massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), first-person shooters, casual games, puzzlers, action & adventure games, and others. 

As mentioned, most Indie game development studios and their creative teams of skilled individuals are often limited when it comes to how much money they can spend to develop each game, so although they typically have more expressive freedom, they are often restricted in what they can do because they can’t spend millions like the major studios. 

Indie games are often distributed via well-established platforms rather than traditional retail outlets, some of which include the Epic Games Store, Itch.io, and Steam. 

Indie games have always been popular and have notably impacted the gaming industry, helping fuel its growth and offering players a unique gaming option. Indie games have also been said to push the boundaries of what is possible in the digital entertainment sector and have even inspired mainstream studios in their video game development process. 

Top video games to try in 2025

If you are currently looking for something to play in 2025 and aren’t too bothered about playing Indie games, then you might like to try some of these other hit titles instead. 

Examples include Grand Theft Auto V, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Fortnite, Minecraft, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2), Cyberpunk 2077, Forza Horizon 5, and Call of Duty. 

If that’s not enough to keep you going, there’s also The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Dota 2, Rocket League, EA FC 25, World of Warcraft, League of Legends, and Elden Ring. 

Final thoughts

Before deciding which Indie games to try in 2025, remember to read the descriptions and check the age ratings. Some games are better on PCs, whereas others are much better on Xbox or PlayStation consoles, smartphones, or handheld gaming devices/consoles. 

You may also want to watch some walkthrough videos on sites like YouTube just to get a better feel for the game you are about to buy and determine if you think you will enjoy playing it. 

Finally, when purchasing video games online, stick to getting them from trusted online merchants, and consider shopping around to try and find the best deals, especially if you’re looking to save a bit of money and only have a tight spending budget.