Small indie game teams – sometimes even single individuals – are continuing to experiences explosive success in 2024. How are they doing this and what does it mean for the games industry at large?

Takeaways

  • The games industry is experiencing a transformation with indie devs achieving success without much marketing.
  • Manor Lords, developed by a single person, achieved one million Steam sales in just one day.
  • Balatro reached one million Steam sales in under a month, with a peak of 38,000 concurrent players.
  • Helldivers 2 exceeded eight million Steam sales and had a record 460,000 concurrent Steam users.
  • Palworld, starting with a small team and growing to around 40 developers, sold eight million copies in six days of launch..
  • Many games achieved viral success largely without relying on traditional marketing, using new tools and strategies.
  • This trend demonstrates a new kind of app store optimization (ASO) for PC and consoles.
  • The current shift shows how democratized tools and platforms are enabling more innovation.

The video game industry is witnessing a transformative era marked by the rise of indie developers achieving monumental success, often with minimal traditional marketing. This trend is highlighted by several breakout hits that have not only captivated gamers but have also disrupted traditional models of game development and marketing.

Which games are seeing success

Manor Lords, a city-building game developed by a single main developer, saw an astonishing one million Steam sales in just one day, with a peak of 173,000 concurrent players – the highest ever in its genre. Similarly, Balatro, another game crafted by a solo developer, reached one million Steam sales in under a month and had 38,000 concurrent players at its peak.

On the other end of the spectrum, Helldivers 2, developed by a 100-person team, has exceeded eight million Steam sales, with a record 460,000 concurrent Steam users and reportedly 800,000 across all platforms. Palworld, which started with a small team that has supposedly expanded to about 40 developers, sold eight million copies within six days of launch – and a staggering 25 million units by late February 2024 across Steam and Xbox.

New marketing strategies in the making

These games share a common thread of achieving viral success without heavy reliance on traditional marketing avenues. This phenomenon can partly be attributed to new tools and technologies, including AI, which empower small teams and individual developers to create and market games more effectively. These developers are also learning to “hack” the algorithms on platforms like Steam – what we’re really seeing is a new kind of app store optimization (ASO) for PC and console.

However, as more people learn how to implement these PC/console ASO strategies, there’s also a risk of lower-quality games climbing the charts. Platforms like Steam would do well to follow in the steps of app stores like Apple and consider much more than downloads when curating content.

Still, this shift in the gaming landscape is a clear indication of how democratized tools and platforms are reshaping what’s possible in the industry, paving the way for more innovation.

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