An industry transformed by turmoil

In the aftermath of unprecedented turmoil, the indie game scene of 2025 stands at a crossroads. The past two years have seen record-breaking layoffs across the games industry – over 10,000 jobs lost in 2023 alone, with 2024’s total soaring 40% higher. Major studios shuttered and thousands of developers were cast adrift. For many of those developers, going indie was not just a dream but a necessity. Yet as they struck out on their own, they found themselves struggling to secure funding amid the downturn.

Picture a veteran game designer, freshly laid off from a AAA studio, poring over a project pitch in a dimly lit home office. She has a bold idea for an indie game, a passion project she’s nurtured for years. But with publishers tightening their belts and investors skittish, the question looms: how to fund this dream? The landscape of indie game financing has been utterly reshaped by recent events. Developers are adapting in creative ways – from turning to loyal players for crowdfunding support, to seeking out emerging microfunds and government grants, to forging new partnerships with indie-friendly publishers. The journey is perilous, but not without hope.

“The whole indie scene is facing a sudden drying up of publishing and investment opportunities,” one small studio warned in late 2024. Some have called it a “death cycle” of layoffs and closures. And yet, amid the anxiety, new opportunities and funding models are taking root. Indie creators are learning to navigate Kickstarter and its competitors with renewed savvy, forming alliances with niche venture funds, and even becoming publishers themselves to support one another. In this epic narrative of resilience and reinvention, we explore how indie developers worldwide are funding their creations in 2025 – and how the money behind the magic is evolving.

Crowdfunding: A phoenix rises from the ashes

For much of the 2010s, crowdfunding was the wild frontier of indie game finance – a place where dreams either soared or crashed spectacularly. After a mid-decade lull, 2024 marked a dramatic resurgence in this arena. Kickstarter, the genre’s bellwether platform, reported that successful video game projects raised $26.1 million in 2024 – the highest total since 2015. In fact, initial funding for video games on Kickstarter jumped by 28% in 2024, even as board game funding on the platform continued to cool off. Crucially, creators seem to be growing wiser about how to run campaigns: 83% of game-related campaigns succeeded in 2024, the highest success rate in Kickstarter’s 15-year history. These numbers suggest that despite economic headwinds, player communities are still eager to open their wallets for promising indie ideas – especially when developers set realistic goals and build grassroots hype.

Take the recent case of Crescent County, a stylish indie RPG with a quirky “witch motorbroom racing” twist. Its small team spent months pitching to publishers in vain – over 50 publishers rejected them outright. Instead of giving up, the developers went directly to fans. They launched a Kickstarter campaign with a humble target of $60,000. In what they described as a “defiant shout” to the industry, Crescent County smashed that goal in under 24 hours. The rapid success validated not only the game’s concept but the power of crowdfunding as an alternative when traditional gatekeepers slam doors shut. Stories like this have become more common: when a unique game struggles to find a corporate backer, an engaged player community can sometimes fill that gap overnight.

Crowdfunding itself is evolving. New platforms have emerged to challenge Kickstarter’s throne, each carving out a niche. For tabletop and board game projects – a category that dominates crowdfunding – Poland-based Gamefound has quickly risen as a major player. 2024 was Gamefound’s third full year competing with Kickstarter, and it closed the year with $85 million in pledges – a 52% jump over 2023. Gamefound even hosted six of the top ten highest-funded tabletop campaigns of the year, indicating it has become the go-to for certain communities. (Kickstarter still leads overall with about $220M in tabletop funding for 2024, buoyed by one record-smashing $15M campaign, but Gamefound’s momentum is undeniable.) Meanwhile, crowdfunding service Backerkit also launched its own platform to support late pledges and specialty campaigns, further diversifying creators’ options.

Even for video games, crowdfunding avenues now extend beyond the old Kickstarter/IndieGoGo model. Equity crowdfunding has gained traction, letting fans invest for a share of future profits. The platform Fig (now part of Republic.co) pioneered this model – in past years it helped bankroll titles like Psychonauts 2 – and it continues to offer developers a way to raise capital from players who believe in their vision. And there are hybrid approaches: in mid-2024, the indie megahit studio InnerSloth (creators of Among Us) launched OuterSloth, an indie fund that is part investment, part mentorship. OuterSloth isn’t a public crowdfunding platform, but it was born from the same spirit of community-driven support. Revealed at Summer Game Fest 2024, InnerSloth’s fund aimed to “give back to the community” that made Among Us a success. By mid-2024 they had already quietly funded six indie games in development, ranging from a whimsical logistics sim (Mars First Logistics) to narrative experiments. This illustrates a broader trend: successful indie teams paying it forward, essentially crowdfunding other indies with the spoils of their own success.

Not every crowdfunding story is triumphant, of course. The flip side of the Crescent County saga is that many projects still fail to find their audience, and even successful campaigns face the challenge of delivery (backers have long memories for projects that vanished after funding). Nonetheless, the overall trend in 2025 is clear: crowdfunding has reasserted itself as a vital pillar of indie game financing. It thrives on authenticity and direct connection; indie developers are learning that bringing players into their journey early – via Discord communities, playable demos during Steam festivals, and personal developer vlogs – can translate into crowdfunding gold. And with Kickstarter itself introducing features like built-in “late pledges” in 2024 (so fans can keep backing a project after the campaign ends), the tools for harnessing community support are only becoming more powerful.

Microfunds and new players enter the arena

Crowdfunding may be the most visible hustle, but it’s not the only game in town. As traditional venture capital pulled back from risky game projects in recent years, a new class of microfunds and game-focused investors has emerged to fill the gap. These are smaller, nimble funding sources often started by game industry veterans – and they are specifically targeting indie developers who might otherwise fall through the cracks of big funding. In 2025, these micro-investors are becoming a crucial part of the ecosystem.

One of the most buzzed-about newcomers is Blue Ocean Games, a venture fund launched in early 2025 with a very explicit mission: to back early-stage indie projects that traditional investors overlook. Armed with $30 million (backed entirely by PUBG-publisher Krafton), Blue Ocean intends to support about 100 small studios over three years. Founder Damian Lee – Krafton’s former head of investments – has spoken passionately about the “structural problem in the indie game industry”: a widening gap between what investors want, what developers dream of, and what players actually crave. Blue Ocean’s approach to closing that gap is novel. They’ve introduced a funding model called SAIL (Structured Agreement for Indie Launch), which offers concept-stage teams around $100,000 each (up to $300K for slightly larger teams), distributed over two years. The funding comes with a hybrid arrangement – part equity, part revenue share – but notably lets developers keep their IP ownership. Perhaps most interesting is how Blue Ocean plans to find talent: through an ongoing “Rising Tide” challenge, essentially a series of online game jams and pitch competitions open to developers worldwide. Winners gain validation (and fast-track interviews for funding), even if they don’t have a playable build yet. It’s an attempt to align community validation with investor backing, as Lee puts it, so that truly fresh ideas get a chance to shine. In short, Blue Ocean is bringing a Silicon Valley-style incubator mentality to indie games – small checks, mentorship, cohorts of creators learning together – hoping to discover the next Stardew Valley or Hollow Knight at its earliest stages.

Blue Ocean isn’t alone. Across the globe, regional microfunds and grant programs are also stepping up. In Canada, for example, the federal Canada Media Fund (CMF) has long been a lifeline for studios, and it significantly boosted its support in 2024. The CMF’s Commercial Projects program invested nearly $7.8 million CAD into just six indie game projects in 2024, focusing on those with strong commercial potential. That works out to well over $1 million per project – a substantial boost that can turn a stalled project into a shipping game. Meanwhile, on the provincial level, organizations like Creative BC teamed up with CMF to launch a new $1M fund specifically for British Columbia-based indies, and innovative impact funds like Weird Ghosts have appeared, targeting studios led by underrepresented founders. These microfunds often combine modest funding with business mentorship, recognizing that many indie founders are first-timers who need guidance as much as dollars.

Even successful indie developers themselves are transforming into micro-investors. We mentioned InnerSloth’s OuterSloth fund earlier – a clear example of an indie studio using its windfall to seed others. Another striking example comes from across the Pacific: Tokyo-based Pocketpair, the small team behind the 2024 surprise hit Palworld (an open-world monster-catching survival game that went viral as “Pokémon with guns”). Palworld’s success was so massive that Pocketpair suddenly found itself flush with resources – and an inbox full of pleas from fellow devs. “No one has money at the moment,” Pocketpair’s publishing director John Buckley observed of the current climate. “Minutes after Palworld released... people were sending us pitches even though we weren’t a publisher.” The studio was stunned to receive over 150 game pitches in a week, including from some “really big names... AAA, AA, premium indies” desperate for support. Pocketpair hadn’t even planned to be a publisher, but they couldn’t ignore that signal of need. They scrambled to set up a publishing arm, and by GDC 2025 Buckley announced Pocketpair Publishing was officially formed to “help cool indies get made”. Their first signed project is by a tiny team (Surgent Studios), but Pocketpair is open to all kinds of pitches now. This phenomenon – an indie hitmaker becoming an indie benefactor – underscores how new money is being recycled back into the indie scene. Success stories are actively fueling the next generation, whether out of altruism, community spirit, or simply savvy business (after all, a hit indie publisher can profit from others’ games too).

From micro-VCs like Blue Ocean to studio-driven funds and regional grants, the funding ecosystem for indies is diversifying in 2025. These sources don’t replace the need for traditional publishing or big investment, but they certainly provide more stepping stones for developers. An indie team might, for instance, win a small grant or microfund contest to build a slick prototype, then leverage that into a larger deal down the road. Or a studio might sustain itself on a patchwork of smaller funds and early access revenue, instead of betting the farm on a single publisher advance. The key is that indie funding is no longer one-size-fits-all – developers are piecing together solutions that suit their unique situations, and a vibrant network of new players is there to help them do it.

Venture Capital and the hunt for the next big hit

What about venture capital – the big money investors who fueled so much of the game industry’s growth in years past? In truth, many VCs pulled back from gaming in the early 2020s, especially after some high-profile disappointments and the cooling of the VR/crypto hype cycles. However, 2024–2025 has not seen a complete VC retreat; rather, VC interest has narrowed to specific bets in the indie space. Traditional VC firms might not be throwing money at every two-person game startup with a dream (as they briefly did during the mobile and VR booms), but they are still actively funding studios that show strong pedigree or a unique angle.

One of the largest game-focused VCs, Griffin Gaming Partners, made headlines in May 2025 by leading a $7 million investment round into Fuse Games, a small independent studio based in Turkey. Fuse’s team, while indie, includes veterans who worked on globally popular franchises – a key factor that attracted Griffin’s backing. “We look for studios that don’t just have talent – they have a clear, enduring vision,” said a partner at Griffin, explaining the Fuse investment. In other words, VCs are still willing to bet on indie teams, but usually those that can demonstrate experience and a plan for long-term success. Fuse Games is using the funding to expand their team and develop a new original IP – precisely the kind of ambitious new project that traditional publishers might shy away from, but VCs might support in hopes of a high payoff down the line. Similarly, we’ve seen substantial VC or corporate funding go to studios like Build A Rocket Boy (the new venture by former GTA lead Leslie Benzies, which reportedly raised over $100M) and Second Dinner (the indie studio behind Marvel Snap, which secured major funding to scale up). These aren’t your typical garage indies – they’re often helmed by industry rockstars or attached to known IP – but they illustrate that venture capital is still in the game, only more selectively.

At the same time, the boundaries between VC, publisher, and platform are blurring. Tech giants and publishers themselves have venture arms or are taking stakes in indie studios. For instance, in early 2024 Sony invested in Devolver Digital, one of the premier indie publishers, to strengthen its indie pipeline (after Devolver’s own stock dipped in 2023). And Epic Games, flush with Fortnite cash, has been known to invest in indie projects or provide Unreal Engine grants that function as quasi-VC funding with no strings attached. Even platform holders like Microsoft continue to sign promising indies for programs like Game Pass deals – which, while technically content licensing, often feel like VC injections since they give developers upfront capital to finish their games.

However, the relationship between indies and big money can be fraught. Many veteran investors are cautious after seeing how unpredictable the market can be. Rising development costs and longer production timelines make pure-play game investments risky – a fact industry analyst Matthew Ball highlighted when examining 2024’s struggles. Indie teams that do strike VC deals often face pressure to eventually deliver outsized returns, which isn’t always aligned with the artistic, modest-scale nature of indie games. The year 2024 saw numerous examples of indie studios that scaled up with big funding only to hit hard times when a project underperformed. One poignant story was Immortals of Aveum: a “AAA indie” (sometimes called “Triple-I”) made by Ascendant Studios under EA’s publishing. Despite a hefty budget and EA’s label, the game flopped in mid-2023, leading to layoffs at the studio – a sobering reminder that more money doesn’t guarantee success or stability.

The bottom line for venture capital in 2025 is that it’s still part of the picture, but usually as a later-stage boost or reserved for teams with a proven track record. Indies are wise not to rely solely on chasing VC as a strategy – it’s akin to searching for a unicorn. Yet, when aligned with the right project, VC funding can catapult an indie studio’s capabilities overnight. The key is making sure expectations are clear. As one developer wryly noted, “Why would VC funding be a good fit for 99.9% of gamedev projects? The VC model typically requires... a meaningful exit.” Many indie game projects are labors of love, not startup rockets aiming for acquisition or IPO. Thus, developers are learning to pick their battles: seek venture capital when you truly have a breakout hit in your hands or a scalable technology, but otherwise leverage the more sustainable funding routes available.

The evolving role of indie publishers

While new funding models rise, the classic route of an indie publisher deal remains as important as ever – though it too has evolved in the wake of industry shake-ups. Indie-focused publishers (think Devolver Digital, Annapurna Interactive, Team17, Raw Fury, Humble Games, and many more) act as both financiers and facilitators: they typically provide an advance on royalties to fund development, along with marketing and distribution support, in exchange for a cut of the game’s revenue. In 2025, these deals are both coveted and competitive; with so many indies on the market, publishers can pick and choose, and developers often pitch to dozens of publishers before finding a match (if they find one at all).

We saw earlier how one team endured 50+ publisher rejections before turning to Kickstarter – a scenario that’s more common than one might think. Publishers have become risk-averse in the current climate, often looking for projects that either have a proven audience or align with a current trend in the market. In the “indie publisher league,” there’s been a bit of belt-tightening too. For instance, Devolver Digital – renowned for its edgy indie catalog – experienced a financial rollercoaster recently. After a meteoric rise, Devolver hit turbulence in 2023 with delays and an overstuffed slate, causing its revenue to dip. The company met its financial goals in 2023 and even grew revenue 13% in 2024, returning to profitability, yet it still had to cut staff to stay lean. This paradox (growth alongside layoffs) underscores the pressure publishers face to manage costs and not overextend, even as they succeed. Devolver’s strategy in 2024–25 has been to slow down and “rebuild”, focusing on a smaller number of high-quality releases rather than a shotgun approach. Other publishers have taken similar tacks – we’ve seen consolidation and more selective greenlighting across the board.

What does this mean for indie devs? For one, publisher deals may be harder to land, but those that do happen are arguably more solid. The terms of deals have been inching in developers’ favor in some cases, with publishers recognizing they need to be attractive partners in a crowded field. Some indies report publishers offering slightly more favorable revenue splits post-recoup or funding marketing budgets more generously – a response to the fact that top-tier indie teams now have many options (they could self-publish with crowdfunding, for example, or go with a rival publisher). At the same time, publishers increasingly want to see a proof of concept or community interest before they commit. It’s not uncommon for a publisher to ask if a developer has a following on Discord, or a successful demo from a Steam Next Fest, or even a small crowdfunding run as evidence that the game will sell. Essentially, publishers are behaving a bit more like venture investors, doing diligence on market viability rather than purely acting on gut feeling.

There are also new faces in the publishing arena. We discussed how Pocketpair became an impromptu publisher after Palworld. In a similar vein, 2025 has seen entities like Netflix Games publish indie titles (leveraging Netflix’s platform to distribute games like Oxenfree II to subscribers) and companies like Kepler Interactive continue to refine their unique co-op publishing model, where indie studios under the Kepler umbrella all share in each other’s success. Another emerging trend is platform-exclusive deals that function as publishing: Epic’s Game Store, for instance, paying for PC exclusivity on an indie game, or Xbox funding a day-one Game Pass release. These deals inject cash upfront (sometimes as much as a traditional publisher advance would) and can thus finance a project to completion. The difference is that the platform holder’s goal is to draw users to their ecosystem, rather than directly profit from the game’s sales. For developers, such deals can be a double-edged sword – they secure funding and a guaranteed audience slice, but also limit reach in the short term. The calculus of whether to take an exclusivity deal is now part of the funding strategy discussion for many indies.

A heartening development in 2025 is the willingness of some publishers to experiment with funding models that ease the burden on developers. In one noteworthy quote, the publisher of the breakout card game Balatro remarked that more indie devs need funding “that isn’t based on making a ridiculous amount of money back”. In other words, not every game needs to be a mega-hit to be worthwhile, and publishers (or funds) that expect every investment to 10x might miss out on smaller gems. This mindset is giving rise to deals where publishers might accept a slower return or lower profit margin in exchange for getting a unique title into the world. We see this approach especially from boutique publishers who have a curatorial ethos – labels that are okay if one game only breaks even as long as it enriches their catalog and player community.

In summary, indie publisher deals in 2025 remain a cornerstone of funding, but developers have to work harder to secure them and must often show progress or traction upfront. The good news is that publishers and developers seem more aware than ever that they need each other. When a partnership clicks, it can be hugely beneficial: the developer gets funding stability and expertise, and the publisher gets a quality title to bolster their lineup. The key for developers is to cast a wide net, refine their pitches (often with playable demos), and not lose hope if the first dozen “no’s” come in – it might be the 13th publisher that sees the vision. And if not? Well, as we’ve seen, the indie can always take matters into their own hands via other channels.

Grants and regional support: A lifeline (If you can get it)

With private money fickle and market forces volatile, one source of funding has been a steady, if unsung, hero for many indies: government and regional grants. Around the world, various public institutions and cultural funds recognize video games as a legitimate creative industry – and in some countries, they are stepping in to help prop up that industry during hard times. In the wake of widespread layoffs, such support can be literally game-saving for small studios.

Europe in particular has long offered creative grants for games, and 2024 was no exception. The European Union’s Creative Europe Media program significantly increased its game funding budget. In 2024 alone, 41 European video game projects received a total of €7.7 million in EU grants. These grants (often capped around €150-200k per project) are competitive – teams must apply with detailed proposals and are judged on cultural and innovative merit – but for those who win, it’s essentially free money (non-recoupable) to advance their development. Countries like France, Germany, and Poland also have national funds that co-finance games with cultural significance or technological innovation. For example, Germany has a well-funded game subsidy program that has doled out millions of euros to both indie and AA studios, spurring a mini-boom in the German dev scene. Such programs aren’t just altruistic; governments see them as investments in local industry and jobs, especially important after layoffs threatened to send talent fleeing to other sectors.

Canada, as mentioned earlier, is another beacon of support. The Canada Media Fund (CMF) has multiple streams for game funding, from early prototype grants to marketing support. Its nearly $8M investment in six games in 2024 through the Commercial Projects Program was a big boost, but even smaller CMF programs continuously feed the pipeline. Canadian studios also benefit from tax credits (in Quebec, for instance, labor tax credits effectively reimburse almost 40% of a game’s development salaries – a huge incentive to create jobs there). In 2025, as some big foreign-owned studios downsized Canadian branches, the importance of these domestic funding mechanisms grew. They help indie teams hire some of the talent coming out of the AAA layoffs, keeping skilled creators in the game (literally and figuratively).

Not all regions are as fortunate. In places without government funding, indie devs sometimes band together to demand it. In late 2024, a group of over 25 indie studios in Brazil penned an open letter urging their government for more support and recognition of the game industry’s potential. Brazil, despite a thriving gamer population, has little in the way of grants or tax relief for game creators – a fact those indies aimed to change. This highlights a global disparity: while a studio in Finland or Montreal might survive thanks to a grant or two, a similarly talented studio in, say, Mexico or India might have no such safety net and must rely purely on private investment or crowdfunding. There are some bright spots – e.g. Singapore and South Korea offer grants for innovative games, and in the US a few state-level programs (like in Georgia) give tax breaks or tiny grants for game dev. But by and large, public funding is a patchwork. Developers lucky enough to be in grant-rich regions have learned to master the application process (which can be an art in itself, navigating paperwork and grant committees), while those elsewhere look on with envy or seek international partnerships to qualify for certain funds.

One creative approach to leveraging grants is forming international co-productions. Similar to how film producers from different countries collaborate to tap each nation’s film funds, game studios are beginning to do the same. For instance, a studio in Country A might partner with a studio or subsidiary in Canada to access the CMF, sharing the work and grant benefits. We may see more of this cross-border collaboration in the indie space as funding grows more globalized.

In essence, government and cultural grants have become a crucial pillar for funding, particularly for experimental or culturally unique indie games that might scare off purely profit-driven funders. They encourage innovation and diversity in game content – after all, many grants explicitly reward games with local cultural themes, educational value, or technological R&D – and help teams stay afloat without incurring debt or giving up equity. The trade-off is that grants rarely cover a full budget; they are supplementary, meaning a studio might still need to find additional funding to fully realize a project. Still, in a climate as rough as 2025, every bit helps. As one indie founder put it, “It’s like patching together a boat while already at sea – a grant plugs one hole, a Kickstarter pledge plugs another, and you hope the vessel stays afloat to reach the shore of release.”

Adapting strategies for an uncertain future

The indie game funding landscape in 2025 is a study in contrasts. On one hand, developers face brutal challenges: an industry shaken by layoffs, an audience with finite attention (and money) in a crowded market, and investors who have become choosier than ever. Many studios have had to downsize or close – even critically acclaimed games can struggle to break even, and the “indie apocalypse” (an oversaturated market where sales per game are low) is an ever-looming specter. As one GamesRadar report distilled bluntly from developer interviews, “the game industry is f*ed”** in the eyes of many creators struggling to survive. Yet, on the other hand, we see hope and resilience. Developers are not giving up – they are pivoting and innovating in how they fund games, just as creatively as they design them.

Perhaps the new normal is that no single funding source can carry a project from conception to launch. Instead, indie devs act as entrepreneurs and even entertainers, mixing and matching funding models. A team might start by building a prototype on their savings or a small arts grant, then run a Kickstarter to validate community interest, then negotiate a publishing deal using the Kickstarter success as leverage (or alternatively, use Early Access revenues to finish the game). Some might take on work-for-hire contracts in between passion projects, essentially using client work to fund their original game – a time-honored but exhausting strategy. Others minimize costs by utilizing off-the-shelf engines and remote collaboration, stretching every dollar. In 2025 we even see laid-off AAA developers forming cooperatives and collectives, sharing resources to reduce overhead while jointly pitching multiple projects – increasing the odds that at least one secures funding.

The landscape is also global now in a way it wasn’t a decade ago. A small indie team in Indonesia can get noticed by a UK publisher; a Brazilian studio can crowdfund from a worldwide fanbase; a solo developer in rural America can receive mentorship and funding from a program in Japan (as happened with Kodansha’s indie game maker initiative in 2024). This global interconnection means more opportunities, but also more competition. The developers who thrive are those who turn these funding hurdles into creative fuel. They build narratives around their journey, bringing players in as part of the story – so funding becomes not just a transaction but part of the game’s identity (for example, when a game’s credits roll and thousands of Kickstarter backers see their names, it’s a collective victory).

One cannot help but feel that this era, for all its hardships, is forging a new kind of indie developer: equal parts artist, entrepreneur, community-builder, and pragmatist. These developers swap tips on Reddit about pitching and funding as much as about coding or art. They celebrate each other’s crowdfunding milestones and commiserate over each other’s studio closures. The indie community has in some ways become its own support network, filling gaps left by industry giants. Even the layoffs that have scarred the industry have a bittersweet silver lining – a wave of new indie studios founded by veterans who, set free (or set adrift) from the corporate world, are bringing their experience to the indie scene.

In the epic narrative of indie games, 2025 might be remembered as a challenging chapter – “the long dark before the dawn,” perhaps. But from what we’ve seen, indie creators are nothing if not adaptive protagonists. They are finding ways to fund their dreams, whether by the kindness of backers, the savvy of new funds, the partnerships of publishers, or the support of public institutions. Each successful game that emerges – be it a crowdfunded pixel-art platformer that hits it big, or a microfund-backed experimental VR piece that wows at festivals – is a testament to the new pathways forged in this landscape.

The journey is far from over. The market will continue to shift; new platforms (hello, possible VR resurgences or the rise of AI-driven games) will demand new funding approaches; and the lessons learned in 2024–2025 will inform how indies tackle whatever comes next. But armed with the hard-earned knowledge of these years, the indie developers of 2025 move forward like seasoned adventurers. They know the terrain, they have their party of supporters, and they carry the scars and wisdom from battles past. Whatever dragons lie ahead – be it a fickle market or a funding drought – one has the sense they’ll find a way to slay them, writing the next chapter of indie gaming’s saga with grit and heart.