Indie Fund


The Indie Fund is an organization created by several independent game developers to help fund budding indie video game development. The Indie Fund was created in early 2010, its purpose aimed "to encourage the next generation of game developers" by providing them funding for development of these games without the terms that would normally be associated with publication agreements.
The founding and current members of the Indie Fund include: Ron Carmel and Kyle Gabler of 2D Boy, Jonathan Blow, creator of Braid and The Witness, Kellee Santiago formerly of thatgamecompany and currently at Niantic, Nathan Vella of Capybara Games, Matthew Wegner of Flashbang Studios and Aaron Isaksen of AppAbove Games.

History

Members of the Indie Game organization have identified difficulties for indie developers to be able to fund their projects. Ron Carmel noted that there are typically two ways that this funding can occur: either through the developers providing their own money to initiate the project, or by signing deals with publishers for funding in exchange for part of the game's revenues being given back to the publisher. Neither of these choices were considered optimal for an aspiring developer, according to Carmel.
In 2008, several self-published indie games, including Audiosurf, Braid, Castle Crashers, and World of Goo were released to both strong critical reception and large sales. All of these games were initially funded by their respective studios, and demonstrated that investment in independent games could be profitable. With the following years also providing more commercially-successful games, the Indie Fund group decided to create the fund, using the profits from these games, as to aid the next iteration of indie games.

Funding model

Investments in indie games are pulled from the Fund's reserves. Currently, the group states they can select two to three games that they can support per year, but they believe as the Fund expands, they can invest in more projects. Developers cannot directly apply for investment by the Fund; instead, the Fund watches the indie game market, observing games that get notice from the gaming press through both conferences and word-of-mouth, and selects candidate teams from these sources. The Fund provides monthly payments to the selected projects to cover development costs; upon release, the developers are expected to pay back the development funding and a small portion of the game's revenue over the next three years based on the level of funding required. There is no penalty for failing to be able to pay back the full funding and revenue; should this occur within three years of release, the Fund requires no further payment, and all further revenue can be kept by the developers. The Fund allows the developer to retain all IP rights, and does not set any timetable for the development, only requesting monthly progress updates.
As an example, Q.U.B.E., the first Indie Fund-backed game to be released, had an original budget request of about $42,000 in August 2010; aware that it was apparently going over-budget, the Fund approved additional funding to bring the total investment to $90,000. With four days of the title being released on the Steam software delivery platform, the title has sold 12,000 copies, sufficient to repay the investment. The second game, Dear Esther, cleared 16,000 units within 6 hours of being available on Steam, the revenue from that completely repaying the Indie Fund's contribution.
was financed in part by the Indie Fund.
In February 2012, the Indie Fund changed their repayment model, now only asking for the initial investment back plus 25% of the revenues from sales through the first two years or until they have doubled their investment, whichever comes first. This allows the Fund to allow for broader projects in size and scope, as well as take more risks on games that may not be as financially successful as others. One example is the decision to fund the game The Splatters'' in September 2012; though the game had previously been released to Xbox Live Arcade in April 2012, the game was considered unsuccessful but the developers, Spiky Snail, wanted to revise the title based on lessons learned and port it to more systems. The Indie Fund agreed to back the improvements, feeling that the developers had shown an understanding of the initial faults to assure a product that will overcome the risks of investment.
A further change was made in June 2015, allowing investors to decide how their funds can be distributed to the various games currently supported by the Indie Fund.

Funded games

At the 2011 Game Developers Conference, the Indie Fund announced the first three games that it had already funded Q.U.B.E. by Toxic Games, Monaco by Pocketwatch Games, and Shadow Physics by Scott Anderson and Steve Swink. The Indie Fund has also announced funding for one other yet-to-be-named titles from Double Fine Productions. The Indie Fund also provided $50,000 in funding for the development of That Dragon, Cancer.
YearTitleDeveloperStatusPlatformNotes
2011Q.U.B.E.ReleasedPC, Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360Q.U.B.E. was one of the twelve finalists, but did not win, for the 2011 Indie Game Challenge sponsored by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Success on PC led to ports for consoles.
2011Shadow PhysicsScott Anderson and Steve SwinkCancelledXbox Live ArcadeAt GDC 2012 Anderson revealed the game had its funding cut and had been cancelled.
2012Dear Estherthechineseroom and Robert BriscoeReleasedPCOriginally a free game modification for Half-Life 2, the funding was used to expand the work to a stand-alone title.
2012Mushroom 11UntameReleasedPC, Mac, Linux
2013AntichamberAlexander BruceReleasedPC
2013'Pocketwatch GamesReleasedPC and Xbox Live Arcade-
2013FarawayUnreleasediOS
2013The SwapperFacepalm GamesReleasedPC
2013PanoramicalFernando Ramallo and David KanagaReleasedInteractive music exhibitCurrently touring various indie game shows
2013Super SplattersSpikySnail GamesReleasedPC, OS X, Linux
2013Donut CountyLittle Flag SoftwareReleasedPC, OS X, iOSFormerly named Kachina.
2013Fract OSCPhosfiend Systems Inc.ReleasedPC, OS X
2013Spacebase DF-9Double Fine ProductionsReleasedPC, OS X, LinuxSpinout of game developed during Amnesia Fortnight 2012.
2014Hack 'N' SlashDouble Fine ProductionsReleasedPC, OS X, LinuxSpinout of game developed during Amnesia Fortnight 2012.
2014FRAMEDLoveshack EntertainmentReleasediOS, Android, PC, OS X, LinuxAlso has received funding from Screen Australia.
2014Nova-111Funktronic LabsReleasedPC, OS X, Linux
2014Due ProcessGiant Enemy CrabIn DevelopmentPC
2014Ernesto RPGDaniel BenmerguiIn DevelopmentPC, OS X, Tablet
2014Future UnfoldingSpaces of PlayReleasedPS4, PC, OS X, Linux
2014GorogoaJason RobertsReleasedPC, OS X
2014SoundSelfRobin ArnottIn DevelopmentPC, OS X, Linux
2014Soft BodyZeke VirantReleasedPC, PS4, PSVita
2015Her StorySam BarlowReleasedPC, OS X
2015Manifold GardenWilliam Chyr StudioReleasedPC, PS4, OS X, LinuxFormerly named Relativity
2015EngareMahdi BahramiReleasedPC, OS X
2015ArmelloLeague of GeeksReleasedPCPreviously funded through Kickstarter.
2015The FlockVogelsapReleasedPC
2015DuskersMisfits AtticReleasedPC
2016That Dragon, CancerNuminous GamesReleasedPC, OS X, Ouya, iOS
2016Burly Men at SeaBrain&BrainReleasedPC, OS X, iOS, Android
2016MiegakureMarc Ten BoschIn DevelopmentPC, PS4, OS X, Linux
2016Event 0|EventOcelot SocietyReleasedPC, OS X
2016Old Man's JourneyBroken RulesReleasedAndroid, iOS, PC, OS X
2017Hollow KnightTeam CherryReleasedPC, OS X, Linux, Switch
2017Ape OutGabe CuzzilloReleasedPC
2017The CaptainSysiac GamesIn DevelopmentPC
2017Spartan FistGlass Bottom GamesReleasedPC
2017Night in the WoodsAlec HolowkaReleasedWindows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, iOS, Android
2017Eufloria RPGOmni SystemsIn Development
2017Planetoid PioneersData RealmsReleasedWindows
2017Runner3Choice ProvisionsReleasedWindows, OS X, PlayStation 4, Switch
2017The Stillness of the WindLambic StudiosReleasedWindows, OS X, Switch, iOS
2018TunicAndrew ShouldiceIn DevelopmentWindows, OS X, Xbox One
2018QuenchAxon InteractiveReleasedWindows, Switch
2018Cheap GolfPixeljamReleasedWindows, OS X, Linux
2018OverloopGeorge KobyakovIn DevelopmentWindows, OS X, Linux
2018FabularSpiritus GamesIn DevelopmentWindows
2018TaijiMatthew VanDevanderIn DevelopmentWindows
2019The Collage AtlasJohn William EvelynIn Development
2019GuildlingsSirvo StudiosReleasediOS
2019'Losswords''Local No. 12In Development