These days, indie games are as popular as AAA games. Especially in the year 2025 games some games showed the industry that big-budget endeavors are not always necessary.
We have seen several types of indie games through various genres, such as roguelike, metroidvania, and RPGs, pop up in recent years. Most, if not all of them, went on to win awards and stand beside some of the most high-budget games.
In the list below, we are going to look at some of those indie games that got as popular as some of the biggest AAA games.
Indie Games That Got As Popular As AAA Games
Celeste
In 2018, game developer Maddie Stephanie Thorson released a game under her own independent studio. The game was named Celeste, it was a simple pixel art platformer designed to be very difficult.
This game took the world by storm a while after its release and reached the level of fame that is mostly seen in big AAA titles. The game went on to be nominated for several awards. Celeste’s soundtrack, which was composed by artist Lena Raine, received praise and award nominations as well.
The indie game lets players step into the shoes of a girl named Madeline, who has undertaken the arduous task of climbing Mount Celeste. The game’s narrative explores depression and coming to terms with mental health, and striving to become one’s best self.
Limbo
Limbo was one of the first indie games that exploded into popularity. It shocked the AAA video game industry for various reasons. No one had seen a 2D game reach unprecedented heights of popularity.
It was developed by the independent studio Playdead and released back in 2010. The game went on to be released on multiple platforms, including mobile phones.
The game is a simple 2D side scroller with horror elements. You play as a child character who is traversing through some dangerous places. On the way, you come across several puzzles as well as monsters that need to be avoided.
Undertale
In 2015 one of the biggest independent games was released, the impact of which we still see throughout the internet. Undertale is a pixel art game that has reached the popular heights of AAA games, or even surpassed some of them.
The most surprising part about Undertale is that the game was made by one person. This includes the art as well as the music. Developer Toby Fox is applauded as one of the greatest game developers of our time. But surprisingly, he didn’t even have a team or studio, yet he still achieved something this remarkable.
The gameplay of Undertale follows RPG-like encounters and interactions with various interesting NPCs. The game has multiple routes, and can be played fully without getting into combat with everyone.
Hollow Knight
The world has been waiting and begging for the release of Hollow Knight: Silksong. It can be aptly said that the franchise is more popular than the AAA gaming industry. Even though it was made by an indie developer, it has quickly become one of the most sought-after franchises.
Developed by Team Cherry, the game follows an insectoid knight traversing through worlds unknown. The game is an action side-scroller with various movement options and other abilities that you slowly unlock through every run.
Hollow Knight is one of the most played roguelikes at present date. The new game titled Hollow Knight: Silksong was revealed some years ago, but is yet to be released.
Balatro
Indie developer LocalThunk made one of the most addictive card game experiences in existence. Balatro has incredible music and gameplay loop. After its release, it quickly became a hot topic of discussion. The most surprising thing about it is that it is a roguelike.
There are a lot of really good deck builder games out there, but nothing has gained the amount popularity as Balatro has in recent years. It even went on to be nominated for The Game Awards and won a few of the awards.
Balatro is helmed up there with some of the most popular AAA titles. It was surreal to see it get nominated alongside some of the biggest and most graphically intense-looking games. Even the internet refused to believe that a card game could be so fun and addictive.
Among Us
It’s normal to know nothing about one of the most popular multiplayer indie games from the last decade. But it would be shocking if you are reading this, never having come across one of the small space suit guys and their memes floating around the internet.
Among Us is definitely the game that got super popular through the memes all over the internet, more than people just playing it online. The game was developed by indie studio Innersloth and released in 2018.
It went on to become more popular than a lot of AAA game titles, and even got to collaborate with some of the biggest game franchises. A VR version of the game was released in late 2022, which got a lot of praise as well.
Hades
Hades is a hard game, but a fun one nonetheless. The developer of the game, Supergiant Games, is not a studio who are new to the industry. They have developed some of the best indie games in the past, such as Bastion and Transistor.
When Hades was released, it became one of their flagship titles, standing beside some of the big AAA titles. It was nominated for several awards and highly praised not just for the addictive roguelike gameplay loop. But also because of its beautiful art style made by incredible artists at Supergiant Games.
Hades follows the story of Zagreus, the son of Hades. He is trying to escape the underworld and reach the surface. The game keeps throwing more story at us every time we go through a run, and it does it with some of the most incredible artworks of Greek Gods.
Cuphead
Cuphead is a game that was developed and published by indie Studio MDHR in 2017. It is a side-scrolling shooter that shot up to the popularity of AAA games upon release. Mainly due to how difficult the game was and its well-made art style.
The game was seen in demonstrations and teasers for years before release. The old school Walt Disney-style animation immediately caught everyone’s attention. It is not an easy feat to achieve as an art style for a video game created by an independent studio.
The game follows the adventures of two characters, Cuphead and Mugman. They traverse through various whimsical level designs to face off against difficult bosses after making a deal with the devil.
Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium is one of the best RPGs you should play right now. It is developed by the indie studio ZA/UM, which had some amazing developers working behind it. Namely, Estonian novelist Robert Kurvitz and producer Kaur Kender.
The game is designed to harken back to the classic days of point-and-click RPGs that take inspiration from tabletop RPGs. The developers knocked it out of the park with this release.
Upon release, the game immediately gained critical acclaim. It did what a lot of AAA-developed RPGs were not able to achieve with their narratives for the longest time.
Disco Elysium went on to win several awards. This includes the RPG of the year award as well as the Best Independent Game award.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is probably the biggest achievement among indie developers that is on its way to winning a lot of awards. It is developed by the French studio Sandfall Interactive, which brought in some of the most amazing talents to work on this game.
At first glance, the game might look like it was made by a AAA studio. But people get shocked as soon as they learn that it is made by a bunch of people who had no prior knowledge of game development.
Calir Obscur: Expedition 33 is a testament to the fact that you don’t always need a huge budget and teams to make a AAA quality video game. It can be achieved if the right minds are brought together to work.
