Indie Game - "indie" being short for "independent"
an indie game is any video game developed and designed independently, or without any assistance from major developers. If the developers behind said game receive any form of help from AAA licensed developers, whether it be help coding the game, funding the project, or providing resources, the game can no longer be considered an indie project.
the only way that AAA development teams can assist with a project without invalidating the "indie game" title is by publishing the game. A publisher only promotes and sells the game, which is a completely separate process.
Super Mario, Call of Duty, and Uncharted are all NOT indie games since they are developed by major AAA development teams.
Stardew Valley, Super Meat Boy, and Terraria ARE all indie games since they were developed in their entirety by independent studios.
No Man's Sky and Cuphead are examples of games that were developed by independent studios, but were published by major AAA companies.
Minecraft is a rare case where the game began as indie game before being purchased by a major company. It is one of the only cases where its current status of being and indie game or not is completely debatable.
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