How big is an indie team?

The main characteristic of an indie game is independent development. That means that large studios like EA, Ubisoft, or Rockstar are not in charge of the process. You can create an indie game alone, but often it is done by small teams of 5-10 people. So, “indie” means independent of major publishers.

What is the average size of an indie studio?

Typically, indie studios are made up of just a few people. Most often, their number does not exceed 10 experts. There are also indie developers who make games alone.

How many people is considered an indie game?

Indie games are computer games created by independent developers. A single person or a small team of 2 to 10 people can build such games from scratch. Sometimes indie games are referred to as “free” because game resources are either created by the developers themselves or taken from free sources.

What is an indie team?

Indie, which is short for “independent”, refers to a game made by one person or a small team, especially one without financial support from a publisher.

What is indie vs AA vs AAA?

“AAA” means budgets in the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, “AA” (although rarely used) means budgets around just several million, while the third category is generally called “indie games”, with budgets in the tens of thousands (amounts that a person can reasonably cobble together from savings accounts and ...

Why Most Indie Game Developers Don't Make Money

What category is indie?

Indie music (from independent) is any genre, scene, subculture, stylistic, and cultural attributes, characterised by perceived independence from commercial pop music and mainstream culture.

What is the difference between indie and AA?

AA games usually prioritize excellent gameplay and storytelling, or innovative mechanics. However, their graphical and technical quality is certainly high-quality, if not cutting edge. Indie games are usually smaller in scale compared to their counterparts.

How much do indie devs make?

According to ALCOR, the average junior indie game developer in the US in 2022 earned $40,500, with mid-levels earning $55,500, and seniors earning $69,000.

What is the biggest indie game?

1 Minecraft

He created the company Mojang which is probably the largest indie game success story. The success of Minecraft did so well that Notch ended up selling Mojang to Microsoft for a $2.5 billion cash deal.

What makes an indie?

Quite simply, Indie music definition is music that's produced by a DIY artist, or on an independent label, without the traditional resources of a major label. Some indie artists aren't involved with labels at all, and instead self-release their music using distributors, which we will look at later on.

How big are indie game dev teams?

Indie games are usually made by companies with less than 30 people, and some are even made by less than five people. On the other hand, AAA games are made by much bigger companies, usually with hundreds of employees.

How much does an average indie game make?

The median game earned just $1,136 lifetime; 68% of all titles released in 2019 generated less than $10,000 to date; 91.5% of all titles earned less than $250,000; 96% of all games generated less than $1,000,000.

Who is the biggest indie studio?

How big is a AAA studio?

AAA studios are usually much larger than indie developers, with hundreds or even thousands of employees. Bigger teams, typical in a AAA studio, can lead to more hierarchy and bureaucracy— which can be both good and bad.

How much does it cost to make an indie?

Indie games are typically developed by small teams on relatively small budgets. The average cost to make an indie game is about $250,000, but some small projects can cost as low as nothing + time you spend on development.

What percentage of indie games are successful?

Yes, only 3% of indie developers ever make more than $1m, but that's still over 1,500 indies who have done so. Let's see what they do that others don't.

What are most indie games coded in?

Java. The indie game industry owes a lot to Java. Because of its open-source material and beginner-friendly syntax, Java is one of the go-to's for game developers in need of a solid coding language.

What was the first successful indie game?

Better known “early indie” titles would start to be released towards the end of the decade, with games like Braid (2008), Minecraft (2009) and Super Meat Boy (2010) bringing in the indie scene into mainstream culture for the first time.

Is it profitable to make indie games?

According to Game Developer, those indie teams that “made it” receive on average $4 million in revenue per game, which makes an impressive indie game developer success salary. Obviously, not everyone gets such a goldmine.

Who is the richest indie game developers in the world?

Mojang. It's the big one. With over 200 million copies sold, Minecraft is not only the best selling indie, but the best selling game ever, at least at the time of publishing. As of the end of 2021 they had a mind-blowing net worth of 1.7 billion dollars.

How many people are in an indie dev team?

You can create an indie game alone, but often it is done by small teams of 5-10 people. So, “indie” means independent of major publishers.

Is indie considered alt?

Indie rock and alternative rock are often used interchangeably. Nevertheless, there are some differences between the genres. Initially, the term "indie" was used for British-based music, whilst "alternative" for American.

Who were the first indie bands?

REM, The Smiths, Husker Du and Sonic Youth, These bands were commonly played in the United Kingdom and the United States during the 1980's on various college radio stations. College radio stations played a huge part in the 'Indie' music scene.

What kind of people like indie music?

Fans of the indie genre registered as introverted, intellectual, and creative, but less hardworking and gentle than fans of other styles. Passivity, anxiousness, and low self-esteem were other notable personality characteristics.