I spent WEEKS curating games last year, and it would be a shame to not share some indies worth looking at. I present: A thread that took me more time than I'd like to admit to prepare (2025 indies you missed):

While everyone recounts their GOTY, we wanted to shine a light on the underground first. We just released a whopper of a list covering 2025's hidden gems. I guarantee there is at least one game here you haven't heard of. Support the micro homies → www.indieformer.com/p/hidden-gem...

Our final Showcase for the year is here. Quieter, but that just means more spotlights on some killer games. There are a few special emails this month: 2025 hidden gems you definitely missed, and our top picks. Have a read, and sign up for the special emails! www.indieformer.com/p/showcase1225

2026 is going to be massive—Indieformer is releasing its FIRST published game! But before we get there, I want to channel that energy into our next game jam: Patch Notes v1.1. And this time we’re putting up cash prizes, directly from our own pockets. 💸

Are you releasing a game this December? I'm on the look out for more we can add to Waypoint (our live indie calendar), so let me know ↓

People are really eating up the newsletters lately, just over a day later with a great open rate! Have a browse of the latest in Early Access → www.indieformer.com/p/indievelop...

Dragon Fodder is finally in a state I’m happy with! The core gameplay now feels wonderfully smooth. Over the past month I’ve focused hard on the feel of the game – all the clicks, thunks, subtle shakes, and little nudges – and testers seem to really enjoy it. #screenshotsaturday

Our archive continues to grow. - 20 Showcase games - ✦ 6 Hidden Gems - 14 Extras All from this November. Latest wrap here → www.indieformer.com/p/showcase1125 Full calendar → waypoint.indieformer.com Bonus points if you know which game this art is from.

I’ve been playing for like 30 mins and Pokémon hits me with this existential bullet right up front. bro… 🥲

It's time for a sale! 🤠 But not our sale — I have nothing to sell you — except for a completely free, hand-picked calendar of great indie gems. There's always a sale on somewhere (yes we mark which games are on sale), so go support a game dev! waypoint.indieformer.com

Not something I’d normally post, but I’m a human too. My wife gave birth only 48 hours ago, and we’re settling right back at home adjusting to keeping another human safe and sound. It can be hard to pause for a moment to take in the whirlwind around us. Everything still running as normal 🥰

I had a great chat with @sotodev.bsky.social about his upcoming handcrafted shooting, Cardboard Cowboy. He was fortunate enough to secure $100,000 USD from @blueoceangames.bsky.social to get this out into the world. Give it a read (and a playtest) → www.indieformer.com/p/cardboard-...

Look mom we're on TV! at @indieformer.com is an honorary gunslinger of the flatlands for covering Cardboard Cowboy. We tip out hat to you🌵 www.indieformer.com/p/cardboard-...

First position in the bookmark bar is a very serious accolade

Culling is part of the game, and it sucks. But I will try my best to not have an unengaged email list. We already had a ~40% open rate before this cull, so I'm keen to see if that number goes up. Back to the 2000 readers who love the wraps up we're making.

Whilst Waypoint grows, we wanted a way that could subtly highlight games we back that little bit more. What better than a little sheen effect? We'll be going back and adding some in. Have a browse → waypoint.indieformer.com

We’re back with another batch of indies worth your time. We added 18 new Early Access titles to Waypoint — and I’ve pulled together a quick wrap on 10 of them: www.indieformer.com/p/indievelop... If you want the full list, have a poke around Waypoint and see what grabs you: waypoint.indieformer.com

Upcoming releases 🥹 We finally got our Steam Publisher page up and running 🎉 GETTING REAL

Honoured to be mentioned alongside @clemmygames.bsky.social in this little write up: world.hey.com/nathanielbuc...

Here's a game NO ONE is talking about. A pixel-perfect throwback where Van Helsing and his loyal hound take on a vampire with a puppy problem. PURE ARCADE GOODNESS

Latest Showcase is out for October! And more importantly, your monthly reminder to see what's been added to Waypoint → waypoint.indieformer.com - 15 Showcase games - ✦ 10 Hidden Gems - 16 extras To be exact 👀 Read the highlights → www.indieformer.com/p/showcase1025

People ask me all the time how games get featured or added to Waypoint. There’s no secret form, algorithm, or paid slot. I just find games that feel right. Usually means I’ve watched the trailer, read through the Steam page/website, checked reviews, and came away thinking "yeah, I’d buy that".

All *serious* websites have dark mode. Jokes aside, we've got dark mode now 🎉

the slight animation between the game art and the trailer 😮‍💨🤌

There's been some great releases this month, and still a few to come!

Solo devs and very small teams often have this inherent cringe about the idea of making people pay $20 or $10 or even $5 for their little game and I can't emphasize enough how much you have to grab that cringing impulse within yourself and strangle it to death

wE did iT FirSt ha hahaha ha... Jokes aside, Waypoint is still Indieformer's calendar, but this is a great new one from Steam! store.steampowered.com/news/app/593...

very VERY excited to announce that we are publishing @dragonfodderhq.bsky.social 🎉 When this landed in my inbox, the hand-drawn art immediately caught my attention so I had to reach out. Lots of back and forth later, and here we are, wetting our pants a little. I made this overview myself 🥹

One month at a time. April 2024 has been filled!

🥹🥹🥹

PAX Aus was excellent this year, and my small wrap is live! www.indieformer.com/p/pax-aus-2025 Featuring these lovely devs: @justcamh.bsky.social @cassbaygames.bsky.social

@kimchica.bsky.socials is a POWERHOUSE for the indie game community. If you aren’t following her and Wholesome Games then you’re missing out. Great to be able to meet and chat at PAX!

Lame photo, but was a great first day at PAX 🤝 Sooooooo many good indie games. Got my hands on a bunch of good ones (not to mention great chats with devs too) to report back with next week🙏

This is from NZGDA (New Zealand Game Developers Association). The growth the games industry is experiencing — especially indie games — is undeniable. "For every dollar invested, the program (GDSR) has delivered NZD 4.74 in return to the economy as of March 31, 2025." Get ready for the ride y'all✌️

For an industry built on 0s and 1s, it was ace to start the day at the CODE NZ Game Dev Breakfast ahead of #PAXAus— chatting with actual developers and hearing a brilliant panel unpack where the industry’s headed. If you spot the gem (my shirt) in the crowd, tap me on the shoulder and say g’day!

A new Frontline’s out with @direkittengames.bsky.social I don’t usually cover magical dating sims — if I saw Heartspell on Steam, I’d probably scroll past. But every “fringe” game is someone’s life’s work. www.indieformer.com/p/frontline-...

We participated in a game jam on @itch.io by @indieformer.com Patch Notes 1.0 and we created this game below within 2 days! Theme: The Error Is the Feature Test out our game and let me know about your thoughts! gafdev.itch.io/conegonewrong #indiedev #IndieGameDev #games #gamejam

La team Indies Together vous parle de leurs jeux préférés testés lors de la Gam Jam Patch Notes de @indieformer.com ! 🫶 Du platformer, du visual novel, du puzzle game, il y en a pour tous les goûts ! 🎮🥰 @nuagedemots.bsky.social @schrodingerkitten.bsky.social @layraalixis.bsky.social

What do you do when you design a custom logo font… but later need letters you never actually made? 👉 You hire someone to get the font built out properly. Indieformer Logo → turned into a working typeface → Waypoint Logo. Gemcut-Regular.otf was born.

VERY EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE: We've got a sequel launching for Patch Notes (our game jam series). Version 1.1 is now live and ready to sign up for a Jan kick off → itch.io/jam/patch-no...

Behind every indie game is a real person bringing it to life. And Indieformer? It was just me, Josh — curating gems so you could search less, and play more. Now it’s two of us: Clem’s joined in to help build this thing out, bringing his sharp eye for hidden gems (and countless hours of playtime).

I'd love to get a pulse check — where do you like to stay updated about games? Either fully released or coming up. Newsletters, Discord, Social Media — or something else? Let me know in the comments!

Hard to fathom, but we’re officially publishing a game 🫠🫠🫠 Announcement of said game coming soon 🫶

Indieformer’s growing — I’m not doing it alone anymore 🙌 Clem’s officially joining me to help build this project. We’ve had countless chats about the future, and he’s got a sharp eye for the hidden gems we love to share. Think of it as two mates building something fun — and it's just beginning.

bring back those small, quirky little games I played on my DS 😭 PANIK hits this vibe just 🤌

My game for the patch-notes game jam got featured in the @indieformer.com newsletter! Thanks so much for featuring me! It's an supply-chain management autobattler called "Born of Original Error" I'm hoping to make a post-jam version soon with a proper tutorial ;) #gamedev #indiegame #itchio

WHY DOES MY SINGLE PLAYER GAME NEED A LOGIN??? 😭

"A Kung-Fu Noir prison escape based on Buddhist myth that is a mix of stylish combat, dating sim and exploration." WHAT LMAO

📣 24hr #giveaway — 2 Steam keys for Super Farming Boy One-button farming that flips between harvesting, fighting & puzzles in seconds. To enter: - Like & repost - Comment with an indie game that deserves more love (past or future) I’ll pick my two favourites across X, Bsky & Threads.