Three Paths for Indie Game Development in 2025

With so many games coming out and business models shifting fast, it’s tough for indie studios to stick with just one project for years and hope for the best. New trends come and go very fast, sometimes it’s a cool new game mechanic or a particular art style and sometimes it’s NFT and crypto scams.

Some studios have the resources to bet big on one title, but for us, the best strategy is trying multiple things. Today, we’re sharing why we’re developing multiple games at once, how we’re making it work, and what we’ve learned so far.

Why We’re Making Multiple Games

None of us have a shortage of ideas, grants and funding opportunities are getting more specific so why limit ourselves? New publishers are emerging that specialize in specific genres and, as an indie studio without recurring revenue and a successful hit, it’s hard to justify working on just one thing and hoping that it works out.

How We’re Doing It

Now obviously, we’re not working on 3 games at the same time. Instead, we are shifting between them and pushing them to the next milestone that makes the most sense. We’re also not making games that are mechanically similar because that’s very limiting. Each game is a chance to experiment with something new and see what works. This isn’t a “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” type situation for us, we genuinely want to make all these games and see them succeed. So here are our 3 different paths:

Path #1: The ambitious, big game - Heritage

Compared to Eyes in the Dark, this is a larger strategy rogue-like fantasy game. It features real-time with pause combat, a world which responds to player choices and unlocks its history and secrets through multiple playthroughs. Every run of this game that you make will leave a permanent mark on the world and all the choices you make as a player during combat and questing will reveal something new.

This game is our most ambitious project yet and that’s why it’s become hard for us to do it alone. Over the next couple of months, we plan to talk more about it and hopefully build a community that will recognize the potential of what we’re building and sign up to help us fund it. It’s been incredibly hard to keep working on this game with very limited funds and to push this vision to where it is today but we’re certain it was the right choice and soon you’ll find out why.

Why make a larger game?

• A unique, immersive world can build strong player engagement and community.
• It’s the kind of game that benefits from a Kickstarter campaign, where passionate fans can help fund development, also a great learning opportunity for us.
• We also secured a Creative Europe grant, which is a great funding option for games that emphasize cultural or narrative depth, the game was a great fit for it from day one.

Why not make a large game?

• The development timeline is longer, meaning higher financial risk.
• It’s difficult to sustain development without early funding or a strong community.
• The core gameplay loop requires multiple testing phases and wasn’t easy to figure out.

Things we learned: If you’re working on a large, content-driven game, plan for long-term funding. Whether it’s grants, crowdfunding, or publisher support, a project like this can’t survive on savings alone. Sadly, we learned this the hard way but still barely managed to make it work.

Path #2: The lean, systems-driven game - Grimroll

This game came out of our love for board games. Our designer, Filip, has had multiple board game releases that have sold incredibly well and one day he realized that one of the very popular genres called “roll and write” doesn’t have a video game equivalent.

Why make a systemic game?

• It is very easy to prototype on paper, allowing us to test its fun factor before committing any resources. It’s also very clear what it is from the start making it easier to pitch to publishers.
• It has built-in streaming potential, making it appealing for Twitch streamers and content creators.
• The smaller scope means we can develop it faster and with less financial risk.

Why not make a systemic game?

• Less content means it must rely on mechanical depth to retain players.
• Marketing for system-driven games is very different. Streamer engagement and community play are much more important.

Things we learned: It’s much easier to get a very fun prototype once you have validated the core mechanics on paper. Doing it all on paper first saves us time and money. We can also test the game a lot more because its turn-based nature makes it a lot easier to avoid bugs and game-feel issues. It becomes all about the core systems and validating them much more quickly.

Path #3: The simple, relaxing small game - Obala

Sometimes, it makes sense to take a completely different approach, one that targets a smaller but passionate audience. In 2024 we had a very simple idea to make a relaxing idle game about our country and its many islands. One of our team members got a small grant to make it happen and the great news about it is that you can already try it out! If you enjoy laid-back idle games with a unique setting, check it out here and let us know what you think.

Why a small game?

• It explores a new genre we’ve never worked in before, letting us experiment and learn a lot.
• It’s low-cost and low risk, allowing us to release something with minimal financial pressure and still grow our profile.
• It’s a culturally specific game, which helped us secure a small grant to fund it.

Why not a small game?

• Niche games need strong community engagement to find their audience.
• Without traditional hooks like deep mechanics or a big narrative, marketing relies more on mood and aesthetic appeal.

Things we learned: Working on something this small meant that pretty much all the production questions already had clear answers, and it was very easy to visualize the final product after a week of making it. This also made the game a great fit for a smaller local grant. In the current climate, we feel like the game’s low budget and production scope could make it an easy fit for a publishing deal.

Anyone who tells you that there’s a right way to succeed as an indie developer is probably living off selling online courses. Every studio, game, and team are a different combination of luck, skill, and timing. We’re still figuring out where these three paths will lead us, but one thing is clear: exploring multiple approaches has made us a stronger, more adaptable studio.

What about you? Which approach resonates most with your own game dev journey? 

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