7+ Independent Game Publishers Indie Devs Should Know About

However, the majority of indie RPG fans, especially those who enjoyed Undertale, will almost certainly enjoy Omori, so it’s a risk worth taking. With a well-deserved Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam, Omori is an RPG for the ages and something everyone should experience at least once. When players aren’t engaging in the beautifully written and often hilarious story, they’ll be exploring interconnected areas full of monsters to kill, quests to complete, and loot to discover. These are all incredible locations to explore, largely thanks to the phenomenal pixel art aesthetic as well as the overall compelling level design. CrossCode also features Zelda-like dungeons with some challenging yet fair puzzles to solve.

RPG:

In 2017 they were the ‘Publishing Hero’ at the Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Despite this, funded game developers usually have more time, money, experience, and resources to make polished and commercial titles that may squeeze more potential out of a game than they might have without funding. In conclusion, finding the right publisher for your indie game can seem daunting, however, with some research and careful consideration it is possible to find a reliable partner. Make sure you take the time to research potential publishers, align your goals with theirs, contact them directly, negotiate the contract and consider matching your game’s niche to their expertise. If you’re a game developer that has had success with a Game Publisher, let us know in the comments too! One of the best methods is to actually take a look an games that are in your genre and write down all the game publishers.

• It balances survival elements with a well-crafted yet challenging combat model that can make even going from one town to another a dangerous endeavor.
• Designed to challenge you to adapt to the whims of the AI storyteller, it forces you to make tough choices as you strive to protect your colonists from whatever new calamity the storyteller cooks up.
• Yes, most indie publishers take a share of the game’s revenue in exchange for the services they provide.

Most Anticipated Indie Games of 2025

Omori is a psychological horror RPG all about the experience of suffering from severe mental health issues. While its initial adorable aesthetic can lead to a false sense of security, it doesn’t take long for Omori to start discussing its darker themes through its beautifully written dialogue and creepy visuals. What makes Omori brilliant is its maturely handled narrative that manages to be as thought-provoking and moving as it is unsettling.

No matter what your game is about, they will know how to make it stand out significantly in the crowded market.

A top publisher works with many kinds of indie games, not just one style. Yet, even with the right publisher, crafting exceptional game assets and compelling marketing materials remains challenging. Who doesn’t know that ayopagames.com networking is a powerful tool in the game development industry?

You can also include information about your development team, budget, and timeline to give the publisher a better understanding of your project. In addition, be open to feedback and suggestions from the publisher, as they may have valuable insights that can help improve your game. Once you’ve done your research and found a potential match, reach out to them directly and ask if they’re interested in publishing your game. Be prepared to provide a pitch, game demo, or prototype for them to look at so they understand what you’re trying to achieve. I made this list previously in different places (on FB in 2015 and another blog in 2016) and it was always useful for other developers and I got a lot of “thanks”. So I decided to refresh my notes regarding it and create a new one for 2018.

Kinephantom Games

Adam worked as an assistant to the literary agent Andrew Wylie and then in the marketing department of The New York Review of Books. In the meantime, check out some of the best roguelike games you can play right now. The developer behind Balatro clearly has an affinity for roguelikes, though, and he gave a shoutout to two special ones in his list. Players take on the role of a tea shop owner, which entails growing the tea leaves and selling them to customers in a gorgeous 3D world.

A Game Publisher also offers a wealth of experience that Indie Teams lack. A Game Publisher that has published a catalog of games is going to know all the ins and outs of games that can help with development decisions. Self-publishing is also a fantastic way for indie developers to get their work out there. They pride themselves on their operational excellence and focus on deliverables for their games, making sure the developers know they’ve got a safe pair of hands getting their game to market. While Kinephantom are relatively new on the publishing scene, they’ve actually worked in the Games Industry for a long time and bring a wealth of experience under their belts working on hundreds of game launches.

A contract can be drawn up where the Game Publisher funds the development of the game in return for a % of royalties. There are all sorts of different agreements and profit-sharing arrangements that each Game Publisher offers. As part of our new Game Development section, we want to try and offer some more resources for Indie Game Development and one important aspect of that is Game Publishers.