External Discovery
30 indie games in this list, released 2011–2026, from developers such as Spiderling Studios, Placeholder Gameworks, Wube Software LTD.. Pick one to read our editorial note and jump to its store page.
These are editorial pages. The developers and publishers are not affiliated with The Gaming Nest unless explicitly stated.
By Spiderling Studios · United Kingdom
Besiege is a vehicle-construction sandbox from UK studio Spiderling Studios, themed around medieval siege engines. Players assemble their own machines, and reviewers have singled out the sheer range of experimentation it allows. It left a five-year early access phase in February 2020 on Windows, macOS and Linux, and The Splintered Sea, an expansion, was revealed in April 2024.
By Placeholder Gameworks · Estonia
Released in 2020, Death and Taxes is a simulation game by Estonian indie developer Leene Künnap, released through their company Placeholder Gameworks. Players act as a Grim Reaper working through paperwork at a desk, deciding which humans will live and which will die. Aligned with the death-positivity movement, it approaches mortality with a light touch, and in March 2020 its source code was published on GitHub under the MIT License.
By Wube Software LTD. · Czech Republic
Factorio is a factory simulation game from Czech studio Wube Software, which both developed and published it. After crash-landing on an alien planet, an engineer gathers resources and builds increasingly automated industry with the goal of launching a rocket, and play can carry on once that goal is met. It supports single-player and multiplayer, began as a 2013 Indiegogo campaign, and reached full release in August 2020 after early access.
By NPC Studio · United States
Fields of Mistria is a farm life sim with role-playing elements, set in the fictional town of Mistria as it rebuilds after an earthquake. Alongside farming, players get to know the villagers, and the game also mixes in combat and magic. NPC Studio in the United States developed and published it, starting work in 2019 and drawing inspiration from Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon and Rune Factory. It entered early access in August 2024 and reached full release exactly two years later.
By Greenheart Games 💚 · Australia
Game Dev Tycoon is a business simulation in which you run your own video game company. Starting small, players design and release games, shaping each project and steering the business as it grows, in a strategy loop that critics often compared with Kairosoft's Game Dev Story, which inspired it. It was created by Greenheart Games, an Australian company that the brothers Patrick and Daniel Klug founded in 2012, and first released in December 2012.
By Coffee Stain Studios · Sweden
Goat Simulator is a comedic sandbox game in which the player controls a goat and tries to cause as much chaos as possible across an open map, without any larger objective. Its developer likens the flow to skateboarding games, and the team deliberately kept many harmless bugs for their comic value. Swedish studio Coffee Stain Studios grew it from a joke prototype made at an internal game jam, released it in 2014 and built it in Unreal Engine 3.
By Liquid Pug · Belarus
Godlike Burger is a darkly comic restaurant management game set in space. You run an eatery for alien customers and secretly dispatch some of them in creative ways, turning them into ingredients for the menu while keeping the rest coming back. Steam lists it as simulation and strategy. It was developed by Liquid Pug, a studio from Belarus, and published by Daedalic Entertainment in April 2022 for Windows, Mac and Linux.
By Lapovich Team · Belarus
Kapital: Sparks of Revolution is an economic simulation about class conflict. You serve as mayor of a capital city in a European country gripped by crisis, balancing policy against growing social unrest and deciding what compromises are worth making to avoid collapse. Steam lists it under simulation and strategy. It was developed by Lapovich Team from Belarus and released by Fulqrum Publishing in April 2022.
By Coldwild Games · Latvia
Merchant of the Skies is a simulation game that mixes the building-up of a tycoon title with the numbers of an economic sim. Its Steam tags also point to strategy and role-playing elements alongside the trading focus. It was created by Latvian developer Coldwild Games, which published it together with AbsoDev, and it came out in 2020. The available sources do not go further into its systems, but it sits firmly in the business management side of indie games.
By David OReilly · Ireland
Mountain is an unusual simulation game in which you have very little control: your only real input comes at the start, when you are asked to draw some objects. Beyond that the experience is largely passive, and the game is meant to run in the background while you use other programs. It was created by David OReilly, from Ireland, with Double Fine Productions publishing, and released in 2014 for Windows, macOS, Linux and iOS.
By Osmotic Studios · Germany
Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You is an episodic simulation game that puts you in the seat of a government operative. Your job is to sift through surveillance material and personal data to identify people who might threaten national security, deciding what information to pass on. It was created by the indie developer Osmotic Studios in Germany and published by Daedalic Entertainment, with its release on Windows, macOS and Linux in 2016.
By Ghost Town Games Ltd., Team17 · United Kingdom
Overcooked! 2 is a cooperative cooking sim from UK developers Ghost Town Games and Team17, with Team17 handling publishing. A sequel to the original Overcooked, it launched in August 2018 on Windows, macOS, Linux and several consoles. Its focus is shared play in the kitchen, with friends cooking together as a team, and it was later bundled with the first game in the Overcooked: All You Can Eat compilation.
By Italic Pig · Ireland
Paleo Pines is a life simulation game in which you work as a rancher at a dinosaur sanctuary. Days are spent looking after the creatures and building friendships with the people of the nearby town. It was made by independent studio Italic Pig in Ireland and released on 26 September 2023 for Windows, Linux and a range of consoles. Its Steam listing combines simulation, RPG and adventure tags with a casual, easygoing pace.
By Craneballs · Czech Republic
Planet Nomads is a 2019 science fiction sandbox game from Czech studio Craneballs. Its store listing combines the action, adventure and simulation genres, framing it as an open-ended sandbox with a sci-fi theme rather than a linear campaign. It was released in May 2019 for Windows, macOS and Linux, with Craneballs acting as both developer and publisher of the game.
By Squeaky Wheel · Philippines
Political Animals is a government and election simulation set in a world of animal politicians. Players run a campaign by enacting policies and handling scandals to win over voters, with victory at the polls as the central goal. It was developed by Squeaky Wheel, a studio in the Philippines, and released in 2016 by British publisher Positech Games, the company behind the Democracy series.
By Ludeon Studios · Canada
RimWorld is a science fiction construction and management simulation in which AI storytellers steer events, so each colony becomes a generated narrative rather than a pure test of skill. It was designed by Canadian developer Tynan Sylvester, with Ludeon Studios as publisher, and began as a Kickstarter-backed early access project in 2013 under the name Eclipse Colony. Version 1.0 arrived in October 2018, and console editions followed in 2022.
By Dapper Penguin Studios · Spain
Rise of Industry is a business tycoon game in which players construct and run an industrial empire, working to expand it during the early decades of the 20th century. It was created by Dapper Penguin Studios, an independent team from Spain, and published by Kasedo Games. After an early access period that began in February 2018, it reached full release in May 2019, and a sequel, Rise of Industry 2, arrived in 2025.
By Monomi Park · United States
Slime Rancher is a life simulation about running a ranch full of slimes, blending farming routines with first-person action and exploration. Players catch and raise the colourful creatures while building up their farm. It was developed and published by Monomi Park, an independent studio in the United States, which put it into early access in January 2016 before a full launch in August 2017. A sequel, Slime Rancher 2, followed.
By Chucklefish · United Kingdom
Starbound is a 2D action-adventure from UK studio Chucklefish, set across a procedurally generated universe that players roam freely. Exploration yields new weapons, armor and items, and journeys lead to towns and villages populated by a variety of intelligent species. It left early access in July 2016 on Windows, OS X and Linux, and its genre listings point to sandbox and RPG elements alongside its science-fiction setting.
By Kodo Linija · Lithuania
Stardeus casts the player as the artificial intelligence of a wrecked starship carrying drones and human survivors in hibernation. Play centres on directing those drones to patch the damaged vessel, keep the sleeping crew alive and eventually move the ship onward between the stars. It blends colony simulation with strategy and RPG elements. The game comes from Lithuanian studio Kodo Linija, was published by Paradox Arc and launched on Steam in 2022 for Windows, Mac and Linux.
By Schine GmbH · Germany
StarMade is an open-world sandbox set in space, built in the mould of Minecraft and blending science fiction with building and exploration. It was developed by Schine GmbH, a company based in Germany, which first released it in 2012 as a public alpha on Windows, macOS and Linux. On Steam it is listed under action, adventure, simulation and strategy, and it remains an early access title there, having appeared on the store in 2014.
By Re-Logic · United States
Terraria is a 2D sandbox adventure with no fixed goals, dropping players into a procedurally generated world to explore, fight monsters, gather materials and craft gear. Defeating bosses opens up stronger items, while townsfolk NPCs move in to trade and offer services, and it supports co-op play and mods. Re-Logic, an American studio, released it in 2011, and ongoing updates since then have reshaped it considerably.
By Pounce Light · Sweden
Tiny Glade is a sandbox city-builder where players shape medieval houses, castles and other structures, decorate them, and reshape the surrounding land with features such as rivers and ponds. Critics described it as calm and cosy, though some wished it had more content. Swedish studio Pounce Light self-published it in September 2024 after a demo during Steam Next Fest, and it went on to earn nominations at the Steam Awards and the BAFTA Games Awards.
By Urban Games · Switzerland
Transport Fever 2 is a business simulation from Swiss studio Urban Games, published by Good Shepherd Entertainment and first released in 2019. Players plan and operate transport networks, laying routes over land, water and air as their world grows and prospers. It is the third game in the Transport Fever series, and a follow-up titled Transport Fever 3 was announced in 2025.