The History and Rise of Independent Video Games

For years, making a video game seemed like a job for big studios with hundreds of people and movie-sized budgets. Today some of the world’s most beloved games were made by a single person or by teams that fit around one table. This is the story of independent, or “indie”, games.

The beginnings

In the early days of personal computing, almost every game was independent: hobbyists made them at home and sold them by mail. Over time the industry grew, games became more expensive to produce, and big publishers ended up deciding what got released.

The big shift: digital distribution

In the late 2000s everything changed. Digital stores like Steam, Xbox Live Arcade and later itch.io made it possible to sell a game without manufacturing boxes or asking a publisher for permission. Games like Braid (2008) and Minecraft, which began as one person’s project, proved an original idea could win over millions. The documentary Indie Game: The Movie (2012) showed the world the effort behind those projects.

A golden decade

Then came gems that are now classics: Undertale (2015), made almost entirely by Toby Fox; Stardew Valley (2016), which Eric Barone developed alone over about four years; Hollow Knight (2017), from a three-person studio partly funded on Kickstarter; Celeste (2018) and Hades (2020). More recently, Balatro (2024) proved once again that a single developer can create a global phenomenon.

Why indies matter

Independent games dare to do what big studios won’t: strange mechanics, personal stories, unique art styles. They often set the trends that the rest of the industry later copies.

What they teach all of us

The indie story is also a lesson for any digital creator: with good tools, persistence and a voice of your own, one person can compete with giants. What matters most isn’t the size of the team but the originality of the idea.