50 Indie Games that Changed the World

Note: Estimated release is August 2025

Exploring the inception, development, and legacy of some of the most important titles of the digital download era, 50 Indie Games That Changed the World is the ultimate celebration of what it takes to get a video game made outside of the typical AAA studio system. Penned by experienced video game journalist Aaron Potter, this beautiful hardback book takes an analytical deep dive into each featured game’s production, speaking to the small teams and solo creators responsible for making them via original interviews that aim to bring a new perspective to the wider game development conversation across 50 insightful chapters.

With an opening guest foreword by an indie game veteran in Thomas Was Alone’s Mike Bithell, you’ll discover the stories behind 50 of the most influential indie games released in the past two decades – from pixelated classics like Shovel Knight and Dead Cells to early masterpieces like Super Meat Boy and Limbo. Each game’s chapter is also accompanied by a raft of behind-the-scenes concept art and high-quality screenshots that further showcase the level of variety only possible in indie games that are able to span a wide range of excitingly fresh genres and unique art styles.

If ever you’ve wondered how hard it is to develop a video game and bring it to market without the support of a major publisher in the era of easy-to-access game engines and flooded digital storefronts, 50 Indie Games That Changed the World will provide an illuminating journey throughout all 450+ of its pages. This isn’t a classification of the ‘best’ indie games of all time, but rather a fascinating look into the ways that 50 boundary-pushing indie games (plus 16 honourable mentions) changed the world in ways both big and small by believing in their own.

50 Indie Games That Changed the World is printed lithographically on premium paper stock in line with the typical high standards Bitmap Books is known for. This ensures a seamless and satisfying reading experience that aims to match the quality of every indie game discussed. The cover features text embossed in gold and a gorgeous original design by artist Roberto Zurdo.

Games Featured

80 Days, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Among Us, Axiom Verge, Before Your Eyes, Blasphemous, Braid, Broken Age, Castle Crashers, Cave Story, Celeste, Coffee Talk, Cuphead, Darkest Dungeon, Dead Cells, Dear Esther, Disco Elysium, Don’t Starve, Downwell, Enter the Gungeon, Fez, GRIS, Gone Home, Guacamelee, Hades, Her Story, Hollow Knight, Hotline Miami, Hyper Light Drifter, Hypnospace Outlaw, Into the Breach, Journey, Knights and Bikes, Limbo, Lonely Mountains Downhill, Minecraft, Monument Valley, Night in the Woods, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, OlliOlli, Ori and the Blind Forest/Will of the Wisps, Outer Wilds, Overcooked, Oxenfree, Return of the Obra Dinn, Risk of Rain, Rogue Legacy, Sea of Stars, Shovel Knight, Slay the Spire, Spelunky, Stardew Valley, Steamworld Dig, Stories Untold, Super Meat Boy, Terraria, That Dragon, Cancer, The Binding of Isaac, The Stanley Parable, Thomas Was Alone, Tunic, Undertale, Unpacking, Vampire Survivors, Velocity, What Remains of Edith Finch.

Specifications

452 pages. 250mm × 250mm. Hardback. Foil-blocked cover. Edge-to-edge high quality lithographic print. Sewn binding for enduring quality and the ability to lay flat for ideal double-page image viewing. Bookmark ribbon. Shrink-wrapped. Volumetric weight: 2.5kg.