Indie games are driving most of the volume on PC storefronts—and in some years, they’ve come close to matching AA/AAA revenue on Steam (based on full-game sales). Below is a data-heavy snapshot of how big the indie ecosystem is, how it’s trending, and how creators are funding releases.
indie game statistics
Key indie game statistics
Steam catalog growth: 20,017 games released on Steam in 2025 (vs. 18,506 in 2024).
Indie dominates release volume on Steam (2024 YTD): 13,007 total games released (as of Sep 30, 2024), with 99% categorized as indie in the referenced Steam market breakdown.
Indie revenue share on Steam (2024 YTD): indie games accounted for 48% of full-game revenue (copies sold) as of Sep 30, 2024.
Indie revenue share growth: indie share of Steam full-game revenue rose from 24% (2018) to 48% (2024 YTD).
Kickstarter (video games): $26M pledged to successful video game campaigns in 2024, with 441 successful campaigns.
GDC funding reality: 56% of developers reported self-funding; crowdfunding was reported by 11%.
Solo dev trend (GDC): respondents working as solo developers increased from 18% (2024) to 21% (2025 report).
Steam indie market share (2024 YTD)
As of Sep 30, 2024, an indie-focused Steam market snapshot reported: 13,007 games released (99% indie), 504M units sold (58% indie), and $8.3B in full-game revenue (48% indie). (Full-game revenue refers to copies sold and excludes in-game spending.)
Top indie game launches of 2024 (units sold, as of Sep 30, 2024)
Game
Bar
Units sold (M)
Black Myth: Wukong
20.6
Palworld
20.1
Manor Lords
3.3
Enshrouded
3.0
Content Warning
3.0
Max = 20.6. Widths: Black Myth: Wukong 100.00%, Palworld 97.57%, Manor Lords 16.02%, Enshrouded 14.56%, Content Warning 14.56%.
Steam supply: how many games launch each year
Steam has continued to add tens of thousands of new releases per year, increasing competitive pressure for discoverability—especially for smaller teams.
Survey data suggests indie creators rely heavily on personal capital and small-team execution. In the referenced GDC survey, solo development rose to 21% of respondents (up from 18% the prior year).
Funding methods developers reported using (GDC survey)
Funding method
Bar
% of developers
Self-funding
56%
Publishing deal / Project-based funding
28%
Government funding / Grants
15%
Venture capital
15%
Co-development contract
15%
Crowdfunding
11%
Max = 56. Widths: Self-funding 100.00%, Publishing deal / Project-based funding 50.00%, Government funding / Grants 26.79%, Venture capital 26.79%, Co-development contract 26.79%, Crowdfunding 19.64%.
Kickstarter video game crowdfunding (2024)
$26M pledged to successful video game campaigns in 2024.
441 successful video game campaigns in 2024 (a platform record cited in the same report).
$270M pledged to Games projects overall in 2024 (tabletop + video games), with tabletop representing the majority of Games pledges.
Sources
SteamDB — Steam Game Release Summary by Year
SteamDB — Steam Game Tags
Video Game Insights (VGI) / Sensor Tower — Global Indie Games Market Report 2024 (Steam indie market snapshots and time series)
GDC — 2025 State of the Game Industry report (publishing/financing and solo developer trend)
Kickstarter — “2024 Was a Big Year for Games on Kickstarter” (video game crowdfunding totals)
