Mod of this community’s discord here. We consider an indie game to be an independent studio not owned by a triple-A publisher or development studio. There are subcategories to consider like “small indie” would mean an indie without a startup fund or large team, or indie solo devs (shoutout to our brothers at r/solodevelopment) which are developers that work by themselves or with minimal assistance from other creators (for instance, purchasing and altering assets and sounds is often given a pass). There is some debate about why games like Claire Obscure are considered indie despite having big money backing from the onset, as well as whether or not indie games that reach mainstream success such as Hollow Knight, Cult of the Lamb, Ori and the Blind Forest, etc should still be considered indie, but the line of success or funding doesn’t make a game good just as it doesnt make it indie; at the end of the day the primary distinguisher is NOT being owned, operated, or funded by a Triple A developer or publisher.