student from 01.01.2024 until now
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
UDC 339.13
With the rapid growth in the number of indie games on digital platforms, the problem of their successful promotion is becoming particularly relevant. The present work is devoted to the study of the marketing features of indie games in conditions of high market competition. The purpose of the study is to identify effective strategies for promoting indie projects, as well as to analyze common mistakes that prevent the game from entering the market and its commercial success. The object of the research is the indie games market, the subject is the mechanisms of their marketing promotion. The methods used were comparative analysis, case study (analysis of specific successful and unsuccessful projects), as well as qualitative content analysis of materials from industry publications, platforms and digital marketplaces. The work compares the marketing approaches of indie and AAA studios, showing differences in resources, audiences, and communication channels. Special attention is paid to such successful cases as Undertale, Celeste and DARQ, which focus on working with the community, transparency of development and uniqueness of the product. Examples of failed launches (Noct, Yandere Simulator) are also highlighted, which allowed us to formulate a number of practical recommendations aimed at preventing similar errors.
indie games, marketing, promotion, gaming market, AAA games, game development, digital distribution, gaming industry, PR, gamedev
1. Astakhov A.V., Kozyr N.S. Video game industry in the modern sectoral economy // Regional economy: theory and practice. - 2017. - № 15-5. - P. 953–966.
2. Bakhtin, I. V. Review of popular game engines for creating indie games // Young scientist. – 2020. – № 6 (296). – P. 17– 19.
3. Budrin, A.G., Korytova, V.E., Nikitchenko, E.A. Promotion of gaming products based on the concept of engagement marketing // Economy. Law. Innovations. - 2023. No. 3. - P. 20-28.
4. Grinevich, Ya. G., Dobrogost, E. V., Khobta, A. E. Developing an Indie Game on the Unity 3D Engine // Proceedings of BSUIR. - 2021. - No. 1. - P. 45-50
5. Ivanov, V. S., Khoroshavin, A. A. Review of Labor Conditions in the Russian Independent Video Game Industry // Culture and Technology. - 2020. - Vol. 5, No. 1. - P. 88-97.
6. Kamankina, M. V. Indie Games: Creativity of Tale of Tales Studio // Visual Media: History, Aesthetics, Modern Trends. - 2018. - No. 3. - P. 184-231.
7. Kovalev V.V., Goryachkin B.S. Ergonomics of computer games // Scientific review. Technical sciences. - 2019. - No. 3 - P. 31-35
8. Lapin D.A., Margasova A.A. Evolution of the term "indie game": from class to genre // Communications. Media. Design. - 2020. - Vol. 5, No. 1. - P. 102-112.
9. Nikolaeva I.V., Nikolaev N.I. Trends in the development of the video game industry in Russia and the world // Bulletin of the Altai Academy of Economics and Law. - 2020. - No. 8. - P. 277-282.
10. Ostrovskaya, A. S. The relationship between translation difficulties and key characteristics of indie games as a unique genre of computer games // Proceedings of the XI anniversary international scientific conference. - 2018. - No. 11. - P. 119-123.
11. Yumashev, K. A. Analysis of the video game market: a study of consumer genre preferences // Bulletin of Udmurt University. Series "Economics and Law". - 2022. - No. 6. - P. 1048-1055.
12. Politowski, Cristiano & Petrillo, Fabio & Ullmann, Gabriel & Guéhéneuc, Yann-Gaël. Game industry problems: An extensive analysis of the gray literature // Information and Software Technology. – 2021 – Vol. 134.
13. Wachs J., Vedres B. Does crowdfunding really foster innovation? Evidence from the board game industry // Technological Forecasting and Social Change. – 2021. – Vol. 168.
14. Indie Computer Games: What They Are and Why They Are Important // Knife [Electronic resource]. - URL: [https://knife.media/independent-games/] (date of access: 05/25/2025).
15. Indie Game Marketing: How Not to Fail Promotion and Prepare for the Unexpected // DTF [Electronic resource]. - URL: [https://dtf.ru/gamedev/703325-marketing-indi-igr-kak-ne-provalit-prodvizhenie-i-podgotovitsya-k-neozhidannostyam] (date of access: 05/25/2025).
16. How Indie Games Changed the AAA Industry // DTF [Electronic resource]. – URL: [https://dtf.ru/games/2840363-kak-indi-igry-izmenili-aaa-industriyu] (date of access: 05/25/2025).
17. The AAA Games Crisis: Bugs, Monotony, and Inflated Prices // DTF [Electronic resource]. - URL: [https://dtf.ru/games/2977681-krizis-aaa-igr-bagi-odnoobrazie-i-zavyshennye-ceny] (date of access: 05/25/2025). 18. Indie Games: What Problems Are There in Their Development and What Is the Most Important Thing in Their Creation // Habr [Electronic resource]. - URL: [https://habr.com/ru/companies/ruvds/articles/558152/] (date of access: 05/25/2025).
18. Indi-igry: kakie problemy est' v ih razrabotke i chto glavnoe pri ih sozdanii // Habr [Elektronnyy resurs]. – URL: [https://habr.com/ru/companies/ruvds/articles/558152/] (data obrascheniya: 25.05.2025).
19. Darq Review // IGN [Electronic resource]. – URL: [https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/08/14/darq-review] (date of access: 25.05.2025).
20. Distribution of video games released on Steam worldwide from 2018 to 2023, by publisher type // Statista [Electronic resource]. – URL: [https://www.statista.com/statistics/1222307/steam-games-indie-vs-aaa-share/] (date of access: 25.05.2025).
21. Global Games Market Report. 2023 Edition // Newzoo [Electronic resource]. – URL: [https://newzoo.com/insights/trend-reports/newzoo-global-games-market-report-2023-free-version/] (date of access: 25.05.2025).
22. Review : NOCT // Indie game bundles [Electronic resource]. – URL: [https://www.indiegamebundles.com/review-noct/] (date of access: 25.05.2025).
23. Yandere Simulator banned from Twitch streaming // Polygon [Electronic resource]. – URL: [https://www.polygon.com/2016/1/22/10815594/yandere-simulator-banned-twitch-reddit] (date of access: 25.05.2025).
