Indie games have notably been gaining popularity, with more gamers citing that they prefer them over AAA games as the years go by.
This year, Megabonk and Dispatch both sold over a million copies, and The Game Awards 2025 includes both Hades 2 and Hollow Knight: Silksong as nominees for Game of the Year, the first time two indie games have been present in the category.
It’s not just singleplayer indie titles which have made it big. During the pandemic the online gaming market saw a massive boom as users rushed to find alternatives to outside social interaction, and Among Us is likely the biggest example.
Over two years after its initial release in 2018, it went from a tiny indie game that very little had ever even heard of to its status now as a household name.
Among Us marked a huge shift in the perception of online indie titles. However while Among Us pits its players against each other in a game of trust and deceit, the next big indie trend would flip this on its head.
Lethal Company, released in 2023, is a chaotic co-op game in which players must work together to scavenge for goods on different planets, all home to different hostile entities.
The mix of horror and comedy as you get trapped in different situations with friends is perfect.
Lethal Company essentially inspired a subgenre of co-op horror, with games such as Content Warning and R.E.P.O following suit. R.E.P.O which released earlier this year has over 44,000 players currently in the game as I write this.
The latest example, PEAK, released this summer. The game takes the chaotic vibes of its predecessors and gives it the refreshing coat of paint of climbing a mountain.
PEAK has sold over 10 million copies since launch, and currently stands as a nominee for Multiplayer Game of the Year alongside industry giant Battlefield 6.
These games focus on spending time with friends, which I haven’t found in many of their AAA competitors. That alongside a steady stream of content updates keeps me coming back.
Anytime that I want to game with friends recently we have found ourselves attracted to indie titles, and if your gaming group hasn’t made the jump yet, this is your sign to check some of these titles out.
Feature Image Credit: Aggro Crab
Third year Journalism student passionate about video-games.
