I want to share the current trends I have seen here and there. Be mindful this is mostly an intuition that is hard to back by actual data and may be suspect to biases.
Narrative games make a come back… but need gameplay
Games like Golden Idol see a good success and show that, maybe, narrative games make a comeback. But I would say you still need a strong gameplay or investigation style so that your players don’t just spend time reading or listening to things.
Narrative games also often provide a unique setting: it makes them memorable and different. It’s an important part of why people buy indie games: why buy an indie game that lasts 5 hours when you can play a free game that lasts 4K hours?
The perfect combination of setting, story and gameplay is still hunted by players for amazing experiences.
Example:
Small experiences find a way
While players have less money to buy games, it becomes clear that spending 5 bucks to play a cool game for the evening is a solid option.
Players rally on smaller games like Nodebuster, Outpath, BABBDI.
In a way, these games focus on a core gameplay and provide an immersive, concentrated experience. They are well-made short experience for players to enjoy for a small amount of money.
The problem with that is that you can toss aside wishlist and traditional marketing : the algorithm & influencers are the only way to push those small games and therefore, you rely more heavily on luck.
It is another sign the wishlist era is dying slowly. Nowadays, games with a lot of wishlists can totally crash comparing to their expectations.
Example : Nodebuster
AAA struggle to prove why they’re worth
AAA games can now cost between 60 to 90 euros and that amount is hard to justify. People become very selective with their spending: if you buy, you must play it.
The abundance of III and AAA games that got delivered in 2024 because of the COVID hype is now here, and we see the peak of big released and failures.
That said, in 2025 we will see less AAA so more rooms for indies, hopefully this can trigger another golden age for indie games.
example : Star Wars Outlaws
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2842040/Star_Wars_Outlaws/
Free to Play or Forever Updated still live forever
Some games have made a shitton of money in the last years, and their creators are drowning in money. Those who have been very secure and safe with it are still very well-placed. Games continue to sell, money is put aside, so they can make games or updates for a decade.
Indie who are struggling are still in competition with those games or free to play, because you can literally never pay a game and play 10K hours, like League of Legends, Valorant or Path of Exile.
I think the difference with the previous years is now that every genre, every size has free games : FPS, indie, Narrative, Romance, Strategy, Hack’n’Slash… every kind of PC gamer can have a free game to fiddle with.
example : Helltaker
Thank you for reading, if you have 2 minutes please help me by wishlisting my next game Slashin’ Around
