For years, indie games were the underdogs. The scrappy, low-budget passion projects sitting in the shadow of billion-dollar AAA franchises. If you played indie games, it was either because you were really into niche experimental stuff or because you had a Steam backlog full of weird pixel-art games you got on sale for two bucks.
Now? Indie games aren’t just competing with AAA—they’re eating their lunch.
While the biggest studios are tripping over themselves chasing live service money and firing their own developers, indie studios are quietly making some of the best games on the market. And the more AAA gaming falls apart, the more people are turning to indie devs for the kind of games they actually want to play.
Because indie games are doing something AAA has completely forgotten how to do.
They respect players.
Why Are Indie Games Blowing Up Right Now?
It’s not just that indie games are thriving—it’s that they’re thriving at the exact moment AAA gaming is imploding.
Look at what’s been happening over the last few years:
- AAA games keep launching broken (Cyberpunk 2077, Battlefield 2042, Redfall).
- AAA games keep forcing in live service (Suicide Squad, Assassin’s Creed Infinity, GTA Online).
- AAA studios keep gutting their own talent (Microsoft, Sony, EA, Ubisoft, Epic—take your pick).
- And prices? $70 for a game, plus battle passes, plus microtransactions, plus deluxe editions.
Meanwhile, indie devs are doing the opposite. They’re releasing complete games. They’re not shoving in FOMO-driven nonsense. They’re focusing on actual, creative ideas instead of boardroom-approved market trends.
And surprise—people love that.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Was The Industry’s Wake-Up Call
The moment I knew something had shifted was Baldur’s Gate 3.
Here’s a game made by Larian Studios—a relatively small, independent developer. No battle passes. No live service. No predatory monetization. Just a full RPG, made with love and insane attention to detail.
It dominated 2023. Won Game of the Year. Sold over 10 million copies.
And the most telling part? AAA publishers were pissed.
Remember when a Ubisoft exec tried to claim that Baldur’s Gate 3 shouldn’t be considered the “new standard” for RPGs? That it was an “outlier”? That nobody should expect other companies to make games that good?
What they were really saying was:
“Please don’t expect us to actually finish our games before releasing them.”
Because if one indie studio could do it, what’s AAA’s excuse?
Indie Devs Are Making the Best Games—Because They Actually Care
That’s the real difference. AAA studios are chasing money. Indie studios are chasing ideas.
Look at some of the best games from the last few years:
- Hollow Knight – Two people made one of the best Metroidvanias ever.
- Hades – An indie roguelike with better storytelling than most AAA games.
- Dave the Diver – A weird, wonderful game about fishing and sushi that somehow blew up.
- Lies of P – A soulslike based on Pinocchio that somehow turned out better than 90% of the genre.
These games didn’t succeed because they had massive marketing budgets. They succeeded because they were made by people who actually give a shit.
Meanwhile, AAA keeps chasing the next big trend, and every time they do, it blows up in their face.
The Future of Gaming Isn’t AAA—It’s Indie
We’re at a tipping point.
AAA studios are too bloated, too corporate, too slow to keep up with what players actually want. They’re spending hundreds of millions making games that nobody asked for, while indie devs are making actual passion projects that people connect with.
This isn’t a phase. This isn’t just some little indie moment before AAA “figures it out.”
AAA is bleeding talent. Indie studios are thriving. And as long as big publishers keep treating gaming like a cash grab, indie games are only going to take more and more of their audience.
Honestly? I’m fine with that.
Because I’d rather play a weird, creative, unique game made by 10 people who actually care than some half-baked, broken live service disaster designed by a boardroom.
And if AAA keeps screwing this up?
They won’t be the future of gaming.
Indies will.