Indie Development

Tim Ruswick says his friends think he’s going to hell for eating pork, but the bigger takeaway for developers is that personal beliefs and creative work can still coexist. The message lands as a...

Steamworks Development says Steam’s Personal Calendar has officially graduated from Steam Labs and is now a full Steam Store feature. Valve is positioning it as a discovery surface for popular and...

Tim Ruswick says he spent five months building a level editor and physics for a game that never shipped, ending up with a tech demo instead of a playable release. It’s a familiar trap for indie...

XBox Wire details a busy October 26-30 slate on Xbox, with Game Pass and Play Anywhere support on several launches. For devs, the mix spans horror, narrative remasters, cozy cleanup sims, and co-op...

Tim Ruswick argues that the same hooks that make a game marketable also make it easy to clone, especially now that AI can ingest those selling points and spit out a close imitation. For developers,...

GamesIndustry.biz details Landfall's Rebecca Lautner saying Peak has topped 23 million sales, yet the studio is already looking beyond its breakout hit. She also says Evil Landfall will back games...

XBox Wire details how Becastled’s Traits and Some Magic DLC adds more than 40 traits to push players away from one-size-fits-all builds. The update also introduces Mages and Clerics, giving strategy...

Tim Ruswick says AI game clones are now a real launch risk, and indies need a plan before they start showing work. The three practical responses are to keep sharing, go dark until release, or move...

XBox Wire says PEAK is out today on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC with Xbox Play Anywhere, bringing its co-op climbing chaos to console and PC. The release adds crossplay, all content updates, and...

Tim Ruswick says shovelware isn’t a new problem in games; the real issue is deceptive marketing and cash-grab tactics. Fake screenshots and misleading store assets can turn any platform into a trust...

GamesIndustry.biz details a practical studio-management tactic: quarterly “rocks” that turn yearly ambitions into 90-day commitments. The idea is to keep indie teams focused, aligned, and accountable...

Tim Ruswick says a single mean comment can’t be allowed to outweigh months of game work. The message is simple: ship the thing, finish the game, and don’t hand control of your momentum to a...

GamesIndustry.biz, citing Sensor Tower data, says indies and original IP surged among 2026’s biggest PC and console launches. Games clearing 500,000 first-month units rose to 76 from 55, while indie...

Tim Ruswick says he sidesteps color-picking paralysis by borrowing palettes from art he already likes. For teams without a strong color sense, that can be a fast way to get cohesive results without...

XBox Wire says the ID@XBOX x IGN Showcase brought a fresh slate of indie reveals, Game Pass additions, and a surprise launch. Highlights include A Game About Digging a Hole Together, Magenta Down,...

XBox Wire says CRITICAL REFLEX is bringing three indie oddities to Xbox, with Arctic Eggs out today and Mouthwashing landing October 29. No, I’m Not a Human follows in 2027, alongside Game Pass...

Tim Ruswick argues the real AI threat isn’t shovelware, but a flood of genuinely good games made faster and cheaper. That raises the bar for indies and small teams, because AI-assisted competitors...

Game Developer details Innersloth co-founder Marcus Bromander's warning that some publishing and funding offers are still shockingly bad for teams. His point is simple: even in a tougher market,...

XBox Wire details a late-October Game Pass wave led by Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on October 29. The lineup also adds The Séance of Blake Manor, Mouthwashing, and several day-one indies,...

Game Developer reports that Griffin Gaming Partners and Entertainment 360 have launched Hitpoint Entertainment, a production company aimed at turning games into TV and film. The move signals more...