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You could be forgiven for thinking indie games are thriving right now. Last night’s triple-I indie showcase announced Slay the Spire 2, which will undoubtedly be a huge hit, among a host of other cute and quirky games. I loved the recent indie release Death of a Wish, and Devolver Digital’s latest releases Pepper Grinder and Children of the Sun both launched to excellent reviews and widespread media coverage.
The absence of big triple-A hitters in 2024 is starting to be felt in this post-Final Fantasy, Like A Dragon, and Dragon’s Dogma world. You might be able to argue that Stellar Blade is triple-A – its scope certainly seems up there – but it’s a new IP and that comes with plenty of risk. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 follows in May, before the Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree in June. After that, we have to wait until September for our next big game – just three triple-A releases in the next five months. Surely it’s up to indies to fill the gap? Sadly, it doesn’t seem to be the case.
Let’s take Devolver Digital as the prime example of indies with huge publishing budgets with plenty of scope for marketing across the company’s well-followed social media accounts. And yet, many people online are saying that the first time they heard about Children of the Sun was when it was released. These supposedly engaged gamers missed the previews, reviews, and marketing leading up to the game’s release, and this has had a knock-on effect on players.
Lewis Burnell, senior communications manager at ICO Partners, a company that specialises in marketing and self-publishing indie games, pointed out that Children of the Sun peaked at just 208 players on Steam in a post on the social media formerly known as Twitter. His industry nous led him to believe that “it will probably sell around 5,000 units in the next 7 days,” a number he guessed would be below expectations for publisher Devolver.
This caused quite a stir, and other industry analysts pointed out that Pepper Grinder had similarly poor numbers. This is an issue, seeing as Devolver puts the triple into triple-I. If fantastic games published by powerhouses like these can’t find their niche, then what hope is there for even smaller indies? Everybody wants to be the next Palworld or Balatro, but there’s no guarantee your game will go viral.
However, there’s a silver lining. Devolver itself responded to the post, saying, “Thanks for you [sic] interest. The game has exceeded your first week prediction already and is well on it’s [sic] way to success. We’re quite pleased with the reception and partnering with solo developers on small projects is foundational to our label.”
There’s a few things we can take away from this. Firstly, not every Devolver game has the same expectations. A hotly-anticipated sequel from a larger developer like The Talos Principle 2 would be expected to do quite well. It would likely have more resources offered by the publisher, who would like a return on that investment. Small games like Children of the Sun from solo devs like René Rother will have less pressure to sell tens of thousands of copies than games with far bigger budgets. Even within the space, there’s indie and then there’s indie indie.
Also, it’s good to note that Children of the Sun has already sold over 5,000 copies. That could be 5,001 or it could be 5,000,000 (it isn’t the latter, we’d have heard about it), and that’s no mean feat, even with Devolver backing. Hopefully it’s enough to ensure that Rother is able to make a follow up that’s equally unique and invigorating.
But indies still need your help. Devolver probably doesn’t need your custom as much as a truly independently published game, but it still needs to pay its staff and keep the lights on. In this lull between triple-A releases, it may be tempting to leaf through your back catalogue or replay Dragon Age: Origins for the fifteenth time, but it’s worth looking smaller.
I bought Pepper Grinder, Children of the Sun, and Buckshot Roulette for 20 quid this week and I’m having a great time. Find some small games that you fancy trying out, chuck a couple of quid at a small developer, and have fun trying new things. The indie scene is vibrant and buzzing and needs to be kept alive. When you can get nine games for the price of one triple-A title, what’s not to love?
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