Dave the Diver Creator Rejects Indie Label, Denies Role in TGA Nomination

In a recent interview with 4Gamer, game director Jaeho Hwang finally clarified that he never considered his game to be an indie title.

Hwang noted that while the team aimed to make the game feel indie-like, the game was still developed under the umbrella of a major publisher, so there was nothing independent about it.

The developer believes the game was mistaken for an indie title due to the small size of the team and the simple pixel art style common in many independent projects.

The director also emphasized that neither his team nor Nexon had any influence on the nomination at The Game Awards 2023.

Show organizer Geoff Keighley previously said that the jury decides what qualifies as an independent game. But here's another thing. Balatro is obviously an indie game, but it has a publisher – not as big as Nexon, though. I leave it up to you to decide how to define indie titles. It's too complex. 

In other industry news, one analytical firm recently attempted to study which genres generate the most money on Steam – action games lead with 58% of all revenue, while most indie subgenres struggle to break even.