The Indie Game Renaissance
It's kinda already here
Let’s get right to the meat of the sandwich today. I’d like to make the argument that the current indie game scene might just save the entire industry from destruction.
Hear me out:
What Indies Do That AAA Can’t
Work with small budgets, sometimes very small.
Free from shareholder pressure.
Driven by passion, not market research.
Freedom to experiment with tone, style, and subjects AAA studios might avoid.
Faster production cycles mean more iteration and innovation.
Low overhead keeps weird, niche genres alive.
Indie devs listen to players directly, not focus groups.
No pressure for microtransactions or predatory monetization.
Fewer “live service” traps.
Stronger mod and community support.
Artistic freedom over trend-chasing or photo-realism.
Digital distribution makes small games globally discoverable.
Crowdfunding and early access connect devs to fans early.
Engines like Godot, Unreal, Unity, and others have democratized pro-level tools.
Willingness to explore social, emotional, and personal stories.
Less risk-averse, both financially and creatively.
Nostalgia-driven aesthetics keep gaming’s roots alive.
A landing pad for ex-AAA devs escaping the corporate culture mess.
Proof that creativity can outweigh cost and build a true renaissance in this medium.
Imagine a World Without Them
No Stardew Valley. No Slay the Spire. No Balatro, Vampire Survivors, Deep Rock Galactic, Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, No Man’s Sky, Among Us, Hades, Undertale, Celeste…
What a boring world that would be.
These games have reshaped what we expect from the medium, and reminded us why we fell in love with it in the damn first place.
I often say on the show that I see my PS, Xbox, or Steam library like an arcade, calling me in to figure out what I’m in the mood for. That sense of variety and creative energy exists because of indie games. (And despite AAA titles.)
While We Wait…
Sure, I still get excited for big, once-a-year AAA releases. But knowing how rich the indie scene is while we wait makes that wait infinitely better.
So the next time you feel burned out on “another little roguelike” or “yet another tower defense,” remember: the real innovation is happening in the small teams.
And I’m sooooo here for it.
Now if only the movie business would follow suit. (Credit where it’s due to A24, Neon, and a few others.)
See you next time!
Reminder: we’ll have a live show this Thursday at 1 PM MT. Hope to see a bunch of you there! - Scott
The tooling democratization point really hits. Unity's accessibility for small teams has been crucial to this indie boom, even with the pricing controversies. What strikes me most is how these tight budget constraints force indies to innovate on mechanics and narrative rather than just throwing money at graphics. The AAA sector could learn somethng from that discipline instead of chasing the next billion dollar franchise that plays it safe.
This is an ongoing story - not any less relevant, just still unfolding. For many years, games were made by single programmers or small, scrappy teams. The shift to massive AAA titles is actually pretty recent… and maybe, just maybe, a mistake.
It’s a pattern we’ve seen before. The music industry did it first. Remember the mega-stars of the ’90s? (Michael Jackson literally built giant statues of himself!) Then it all crashed: record sales tanked, the system imploded, and out of the rubble came a new wave of artists recording albums in their bedrooms on cheap gear, and taking over the world.
It’s a cycle, really. Something gets popular - music, games, movies, whatever - and the money guys move in to “optimize,” squeezing out the soul in the process. Then comes the rebellion: indie games, punk rock, lo-fi bedroom pop; the creative backlash. And, of course, the money guys come crawling back again, trying to monetize the rebellion. Which, depressingly, they often succeed at because, well… they’re the money guys.