Indies and non-sequels have exploded in the last year, and it's not all friendslop

Indies and non-sequels have exploded in the last year, and it's not all friendslop "Indie studios produced 20 of the 21 extra breakout launches in the 2026 cohort," reads one industry analysis. In fact, most people won't play most games—plenty of games release on Steam to approximately 0 user reviews, and last year, more than half of the 19,000 games that came out had fewer than 10. Indie breakouts shot up from 13 to 33, making up 43% of the pack, and 35 of the breakouts were non-sequels—around 53%. 2026 games: All the upcoming games Best PC games: Our all-time favorites Free PC games: Freebie fest Best FPS games: Finest gunplay Best RPGs: Grand adventures Best co-op games: Better together Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.