Swedish studio Semiwork has released R.E.P.O., a cooperative survival horror game developed by a small team without a cinematic announcement trailer, a multi-year hype campaign, or a tiered preorder system. It currently holds an OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE rating from over 121,000 Steam reviews. It peaked at 266,908 concurrent players. It has sold approximately 18.4 million copies. It won the Golden Joystick Award for Best Early Access Game.

We at the Indie Defense Force wish to note for the record that R.E.P.O. costs less than $20, does not have a battle pass, does not require a persistent internet connection to access content the player has already purchased, and was not teased via a logo reveal at a press conference followed by three years of silence.

The game tasks players with collecting valuables while avoiding monsters. Runs are different each time. Players report experiencing something researchers have historically referred to as "fun." The Indie Defense Force is continuing to monitor whether this phenomenon can be reproduced at scale, and what, if anything, the broader industry intends to do about it.

No major publisher has yet issued a statement. We are not surprised.

Build A Rocket Boy, the studio founded by former Grand Theft Auto producer Leslie Benzies, launched MindsEye this year to a Metacritic score of 43 / 100 and a user score of 2.5. The game was marketed extensively using the credential "from a producer of Grand Theft Auto." The Indie Defense Force has reviewed its records and determined that this credential does not, on its own, make a game good.

Professional critics described MindsEye as featuring "a ridiculous story," "utterly atrocious combat," and mission design that is simultaneously "archaic" and "formulaic." The game retails for $69.99. It is not clear why.

The studio has issued a post-launch update described as its "most significant" update. An expansion has been announced. The studio has communicated its intention to continue. The Indie Defense Force respects the right of a studio to continue.

We extend our condolences to the developers who worked on this title. We extend our continued attention to the marketing department that spent three years implying it was Grand Theft Auto.

Dogubomb, a studio whose full team fits comfortably within a single elevator, released Blue Prince in April 2025 to what multiple outlets have independently described as the best critical reception of the year. The game holds an 86% POSITIVE rating from over 12,000 Steam reviews and a Metacritic score in the mid-90s. PC Gamer named it Best Designed Game of 2025. Several publications named it Game of the Year.

Blue Prince is a puzzle mystery game in which the player navigates a procedurally arranged manor searching for Room 46. It has no microtransactions. It does not verify your license every 72 hours. It did not ship with a day-one patch larger than the base game. It was not available in three editions at three different price points, one of which unlocks the ending.

A writer at The Gamer described the game as their "white whale of gaming." We are unsure what this means but we believe it is positive.

It retails for under $20. The Indie Defense Force has no further comment at this time.

Activision has released Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, the seventh entry in the Black Ops sub-series of the Call of Duty franchise, itself now in its 21st year of annual releases. The game retails for $69.99. It includes a Battle Pass. There is a seasonal content roadmap. Players who preordered received a weapon skin for a weapon they will unlock via normal progression approximately four hours later.

The game features soldiers. The soldiers shoot each other. Killstreaks are present. A new map, described in official press materials as "a new map," has been confirmed and is included. A second map will be available in Season 2. Season 2 begins in six weeks. A bundle containing cosmetic items themed around Season 2 is available now for $19.99.

The Indie Defense Force reviewed its archives. We have typed a version of the previous two paragraphs every year since 2006. We are not certain this is sustainable. We are certain it will continue.

Industry analysts project strong sales. The Indie Defense Force dispatched a researcher to investigate what this implies about the human condition. He has not reported back. We have marked his desk as available.

Schedule I, a game developed by a solo developer, has sold 8 million copies on Steam. The game was not announced at a major press event. It did not have a cinematic trailer. No executive appeared on a stage to gesture at a logo. There was no countdown timer on a website. There was no embargo. There was, apparently, just a game.

In approximately the same reporting period, major publishers including Microsoft, EA, Sony, Ubisoft, and Tencent conducted layoffs totaling over 9,000 developers. These companies cited market conditions. The market conditions they cited are the same market conditions in which a person working alone sold 8 million copies of a game.

The Indie Defense Force would like to state, for the record, that we have noted this. We are available to discuss it further with any executive who would like to contact us. Our email address is listed on the Contact page. The Contact page is under construction. The email address still works.

We wish the 9,000 developers the very best. We suggest they consider working in a bedroom.

PEAK, a cooperative game about climbing a mountain, has sold 15.7 million copies. It was developed by a small team. It did not cost $69.99. It does not have a season pass. The mountain is the same mountain every time, which is a design decision we respect because the mountain is a very good mountain.

The game was developed by the creators of Untitled Goose Game, a previous entry in the Indie Defense Force Hall of Fame. We note this lineage not to imply that pedigree guarantees quality — see: Exhibit A, the former GTA producer whose game received a 43 on Metacritic — but because in this specific case the pedigree is relevant and the game is good.

Players describe the experience as joyful, occasionally frustrating, and meaningful in a way that is difficult to articulate. We believe this is what games are supposed to feel like. We have been told this makes us naive. We disagree.