Independent studio
Owned by its founders or staff, not by a publisher, platform owner or investment fund.
Owned by the people who make its games, an independent studio answers to its players rather than to a parent company's growth targets.
What it means
The company is controlled by the people who run it and make its games, not by a larger publisher, a platform owner or an investment fund. Independence doesn't guarantee fairness, but it means decisions about how a game earns money are made by the people closest to it.
How we apply it
We add it when the founders, staff or an employee trust hold a controlling stake, from the company's own statements or reliable reporting. A publishing deal for one game doesn't change it; selling control to an outside owner removes it.
Companies in the guide with it
- ConcernedApe
Eric Barone has self-published Stardew Valley since December 2018 and on all platforms since March 2022, after ending his publishing deal with Chucklefish.
Developer and publisher · United States · 1 game in the guide - Hazelight Studios
Privately owned studio founded by Josef Fares in 2014; EA funds and publishes its games through EA Originals, and Hazelight's own site describes EA as its publisher.
Developer · Sweden · 1 game in the guide - Innersloth
Self-described small independent studio, founded 2015 by Forest Willard and Marcus Bromander, with no publisher or platform parent
Developer and publisher · United States · 1 game in the guide - Larian Studios
Founder-run and self-publishing its games since 2012; Tencent is reported to hold a minority stake, but no publisher or platform owner controls it.
Developer and publisher · Belgium · 1 game in the guide - LocalThunk
A solo developer who owns Balatro and works with Playstack under a publishing deal; no publisher or platform owns the studio.
Developer · Canada · 1 game in the guide - Team Cherry
Small Adelaide studio that developed and self-published Hollow Knight, part-funded by a 2014 Kickstarter; no publisher or platform owns it.
Developer and publisher · Australia · 1 game in the guide