Indie

After an eventful March, April appears much more subdued. We will analyze the release and success of Olden Era in a separate piece. Today, we present our traditional segment featuring an analysis of the key titles' performance from the past month, complete with charts and a wealth of data from various markets and platforms

Japanese indie developer Daikichi_EMP stated that he encountered an unexpected problem when trying to release a demo of his new game, Wired Tokyo 2007, on Steam. The moderators did not approve it, citing a copyright violation. However, according to Daikichi_EMP, these rights belong to him and no one else.

In mid-April, we held a meetup on the topic of surviving as a Russian-speaking indie team under current conditions. We spoke with representatives from notable studios about how long the path to success takes, why games don't need a storyline, and where to find funding for development.

Visiting App2Top is Sergey Alarsky, the founder of Misterial Games, who has also assisted other teams as a consultant

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) stated that the indie game trailer was withdrawn from last weekend's 2026 BAFTA Games Awards due to a "compliance decision."

GamesIndustry.biz is set to hold The Games Investment Panel at Game Republic's Indie Games Summit, which will take place during MCM London Comic Con next month.

In a month and a half, on April 22, the capital of Belarus will host the "Game Industry" conference for developers and publishers. As part of the event, there will be a traditional large-scale exhibition of games from independent teams. There will also be an indie pitch.

Convergence, a showcase for indie games curated by influencers and streamers in the indie scene, is making its return today for the third time. The event will highlight 30 upcoming titles, with some world premieres included. Additionally, Fourth Floor Creative, the organizers, have announced that 28 more games will be presented during the pre-show.

The Brazilian studio Devcats, known for the Full of Cats franchise, has launched a publishing division. It will help small teams bring cat-themed projects to market.

On February 10th, a turn-based roguelike about cat breeding by the creator of The Binding of Isaac was released on Steam. Beneath the surreal idea lies deep gameplay at the intersection of several genres. In today's article, we provide a detailed analysis of Mewgenics in terms of revenue, sales, and wishlists, as well as its marketing campaign.

The horror film adaptation of the indie game Iron Lung, produced on a modest budget, garnered $21.5 million during its debut weekend. This accomplishment is largely attributed to the participation of YouTuber Mark Fischbach, popularly known as Markiplier. With a production cost reportedly at $3 million, the film's success highlights the considerable transmedia prospects for adaptations of smaller games.

The head of Hooded Horse, a publishing house best known for Manor Lords and the upcoming Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, Tim Bender, gave an interview to PC Gamer. During the conversation, he criticized the vast majority of indie publishers and essentially urged developers to self-publish their games.

The head of Hooded Horse, best known for Manor Lords and the upcoming Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, Tim Bender, gave an interview to PC Gamer. During the conversation, he criticized the majority of indie publishers and essentially encouraged developers to self-publish their games

In three weeks, on February 11-12, a business event for game developers and publishers, WN Abu Dhabi’26, will take place in Abu Dhabi. On the first day of the event, besides other activities, there will be a game showcase and an indie pitch—a presentation with project reviews by experts. Applications are currently being accepted.

Freeplay, an independent game festival that has been active in Australia since 2004, may be facing its final year of operation for the foreseeable future due to the inability to obtain government funding

In three weeks, on February 11-12, the WN Abu Dhabi'26 business event for game developers and publishers will take place in Abu Dhabi. On the first day of the event, there will be a gaming exhibition and an indie pitch—a presentation with project reviews by experts. Applications are currently being accepted

Oxalis Games, an independent developer, is altering its approach to the forthcoming cozy RPG, Moonfrost, by abandoning web3 and NFTs.

Tom Francis is the founder and head of the British studio Suspicious Developments, which created the games Gunpoint, Heat Signature, and Tactical Breach Wizards. In his blog, he gave some basic advice to indie teams.

Tom Francis is the founder and head of the British studio Suspicious Developments, which created the games Gunpoint, Heat Signature, and Tactical Breach Wizards. In his blog, he provided some basic advice for indie teams

We continue to wrap up the year 2025 with gaming (or gaming industry-related) teams. Up next is an interview with Danila Kamenev, Head of Publishing at Indie GO Fund

On November 26, the full release of the MMORPG Reign of Guilds by the St. Petersburg team Atlant Games took place. The App2Top team spoke with the developers about the journey to the release and the specifics of creating classic online projects.

This conclusion was reached by analysts from Alinea Analytics.

This conclusion was reached by analysts from Alinea Analytics.

Sean Kim, co-CEO of Neowiz, the developer behind Lies of P, stated that the South Korean government is supporting the nation's indie gaming sector.

Don't Scream Together is a cooperative version of the horror game Don't Scream, where players also have to navigate through a dark forest while keeping their composure. If even one player screams, the entire experience restarts

Vedinad, the driving force behind Megabonk, has opted to withdraw from contention for the Best Debut Indie Game category at The Game Awards next month.

Empyreal, developed by Silent Games, received the Best Indie Game Made in The North award at the Game Republic Awards last night

The game crossed this milestone in less than a month: it was released on October 15

A new post in the "Investor/Publisher Wanted" section. In it, the studio "Brezg" shares a story about their third game. It's called "The Gray Cardinal" and is a political strategist manager simulation.

By the end of 2025, quirky indie games with a focus on co-op and interaction with friends solidified their position as one of the fastest-growing niches on Steam. In our new report, we provide insights into the state of this category, which many have already dubbed "friendslop," as well as data on game revenue and other metrics

The secret to success is a popular mobile mechanic combined with roguelike meta

The Internet Development Institute (IRI) has concluded its game prototype competition among indie developers. A total of 149 projects competed for the title of winner, but only seven made it to the finals

It took Megabonk two weeks to hit the million mark.

It took Megabonk two weeks to reach the million mark.

On October 16th, the Moscow conference "Gaming Industry" will host a large-scale game exhibition along with a presentation and project analysis called the indie pitch. Currently, organizers are accepting applications from developers

A week ago, the young Korean studio Lizard Smoothie, in collaboration with publisher Neowiz, released their debut game on Steam—a mix of MOBA and roguelike titled Shape of Dreams. Seven days were enough for the title to sell 300,000 copies

We continue our series "Developer/Publisher Wanted," where indie teams talk about themselves and their projects. Up next is Children Play, who are creating the story-driven horror adventure "Temple of Children"

We are starting to share video recordings from the St. Petersburg session of the "Gaming Industry" conference, which took place in July. Today, we feature a presentation by Alexander Kompantsev from Atom Team. He spoke on the topic "From Freedom to Structure—and Back. What Indies and Enterprises Can Offer Each Other, and Why It's Worth Trying Both Worlds"

Many people learned about PlayStack after the phenomenal success of Balatro, although the company has been around for almost 10 years. Since 2019, the publisher's revenue has grown 40 times, and their unique approach to finding projects has helped them build an impressive catalog. This and more about PlayStack's business as a whole in today's article

Continuing our segment "Developer/Publisher Wanted," where indie teams share about themselves and their projects. Up next is Eternal Troops Team, which is creating an original isometric shooter set during World War I.

Parco, a prominent Japanese department store, has introduced Parco Games, a new label focused on publishing independent video games.

Spoiler: You can't do without market analysis.

We continue our series "Developer/Publisher Wanted," where indie teams share about themselves, their projects, and the funding they need. This time, the spotlight is on a cartoon platformer about a cat's adventure — "Vaska"

The publishing company is called Lyrical Games

The year 2025 will be remembered, among other things, for the sequels to dozens of successful or even cult indie games. However, many of them, for various reasons, ended up overshadowed by the original titles

Publisher Hooded Horse and studio Sad Socket are pleased with the launch of the strategy roguelike 9 Kings, where players must build a kingdom. Within a month of early access, the game sold over 400,000 copies

The success of 9 Kings has only solidified Hooded Horse's status as one of the leading indie publishers in the market. It's the perfect time to delve into the reasons behind the company's success and to understand how it selects projects, how much it spends on game marketing, and why it considers the model of full reimbursement of publishing costs to be harmful and outdated.

The editorial team at App2Top discussed what indie means, how many game developers there are in Russia, and what their main problem is with the co-founder of the marketing agency FatPony, the head of publishing at Indie GO Fund, and the author of the Telegram channel "Tired Publishing," Danila Kamenev

The creators of the Six One Indie Showcase and The Indie Game Awards have introduced their own publishing label

The amount he intends to invest over the next 12-24 months