Ryuu96 on 10 January 2023
Went back to my old post on this and updated it, Lol.
I know I'm missing a lot of older independent studios but it was mostly focused on the newer ones because I was sick of hearing constant complaining about consolidation or people freaking out whenever a few people leave a studio but now I'm just interested in keeping track of it, Lol. The gaming industry is perhaps one of the easiest industries to go indie in and right now it's easier than ever to secure funding.
Could add a publisher bracket too, Idk.
Older Independent Studios
| Blackbird Interactive (AAA) | Founded 2007. |
| Certain Affinity (AAA) | Founded 2006. |
| IO Interactive (AAA) | Founded 1998. |
| Oxide Games |
Founded 2013. |
| Remedy Entertainment (AAA) |
Founded 1995. |
| Stoic Studio | Founded 2011. |
Newer Independent Studios
| Ascendant Studios (AAA) | Formed by Bret Robbins; Creative Director of Dead Space, Call of Duty WW2, Advanced Warfare and Modern Warfare 3. |
| Bit Reactor (AAA) | Former Firaxis Games, XCOM Lead Developers and Creatives. |
| Bokeh Games Studio | Formed by Keiichiro Toyama; Co-Creator of Silent Hill, Siren and Gravity Rush. |
| Bonfire Studios | Formed by Rob Pardo; Chief Creative Officer at Blizzard, Lead Designer for WoW. |
| Build a Rocket Boy (AAA) | Formed by Leslie Benzies; Former President of Rockstar North from GTA III to GTA V. |
| Dark Passenger | Former CD Project Red Employees. |
| Deviation Games (AAA) | Former Employees from Treyarch, Dice, etc. |
| Dreamhaven | Formed by Mike Morhaime; Co-Founder of Blizzard Entertainment. |
| Dreamhaven's Moonshot Games | Led by Blizzard Veterans. |
| Dreamhaven's Secret Door | Led by Blizzard Veterans. |
| Elemental Games | Formed by Linus & Viktor Bloomberg; Co-Founders of Avalanche Studios. |
| Embark Studios |
Formed by Patrick Soderlund; Former Executive Vice President at EA. |
| Eyes Out | Formed by Cory Davis; Creative Director of Spec Ops: The Line. |
| Frost Giant Studios | Formed by Tim Morten; StarCraft 2 Director & Tim Campbell; Wasteland 3 Director. |
| Gardens | Formed by Chris Bell; Lead Designer on What Remains of Edith Finch & Game Designer on Journey. |
| Gravity Well Games (AAA) | Formed by Drew McCoy; Senior Producer on Titanfall 2 & Jon Shiring; Lead Programmer on Titanfall 2. |
| Gunzilla Games (AAA) | Former Employees from Ubisoft, EA, Warner Bros, etc. |
| Humanoid Studios (AAA) | Formed by Casey Hudson; Director of Mass Effect 1-3 and KOTOR. |
| Interior Night | Formed by Caroline Marchal; Former Game Designer at Quantic Dream. |
| Ivy Road | Formed by Karla Zimonja; Co-Founder of Fullbright and Davey Wreden; Co-Creator of The Stanley Parable |
| Jumpship | Formed by Dino Patti; Co-Founder of Playdead. |
| Kojima Productions (AAA) | Formed by Kojima... |
| Liquid Swords (AAA) | Formed by Christofer Sundberg; Co-Founder of Avalanche Studios. |
| Lost Lake Games | Formed by James Phinney; Lead Designer on StarCraft. |
| Maverick Games (AAA) | Formed by Mike Brown; Creative Director of Forza Horizon 5. |
| Midnight Society (AAA) | Formed by Dr Disrespect... |
| Mountain Top Studios (AAA) | Formed by Nate Mitchell; Co-Founder of Oculus. |
| Nesting Games (AAA) | Former Employees from Ubisoft. |
| Possibility Space | Formed by Jeff Strain; Founder of Undead Labs. |
| Probably Monsters | Formed by Harold Ryan; Former President of Bungie. |
| Probably Monsters Cauldron Studio (AAA) | Led by Dave Matthews; Art Director at Bungie. |
| Probably Monsters Firewalk Studio (AAA) | Led by Tony Tsu; Senior Vice President on Destiny. |
| Rebel Wolves (AAA) | Formed by Konrad Tomaszkiewicz; Game Director of The Witcher 3. |
| Something Wicked Games (AAA) | Formed by Jeff Gardiner; Lead Producer on Fallout 4, Senior Producer on Skyrim. |
| That's No Moon (AAA) | Formed by Taylor Kurosaki; Cinematic Lead on Uncharted 3 & Jacob Minkoff; Lead Designer on Uncharted 3, The Last of Us. |
| Unseen Inc | Formed by Ikumi Nakamura; Lead Artist on The Evil Within. |
| Wildflower Interactive | Formed by Bruce Straley; Naughty Dog Director. |
| WolfEye Studios | Formed by Raphael Colantonio; Co-Founder of Arkane. |
| Yellow Brick Games | Formed by Mike Laidlaw; Creative Director/Lead Designer on Dragon Age. |
Not Independent but Not Owned by One of the Major Gaming Publishers
| Avalanche Studios (AAA) | Owned by Nordisk Film |
| Archetype Entertainment (AAA) | Owned by Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro. |
| Atomic Arcade (AAA) | Owned by Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro. |
| Invoke Studios (AAA) | Owned by Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro. |
| Skeleton Key (AAA) | Owned by Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro. |
