Game management platform Indie.io has announced Indie Pass, a subscription gaming service exclusively for indie games, and the first of its kind. Indie Pass will launch on PC on April 13.
At launch, Indie Pass will offer its library of over 70+ indie games for $6.99 per month, with new games added ‘frequently.’
I’m fairly well-versed in indie gaming (albeit a vast category!), but I struggled to recognize many of these games. I did recognize beat ’em up Heroes of Mount Dragon, cozy farm sim Echoes of the Plum Grove, and the Fire Emblem-like tactical RPG series Dark Deity.
It should be noted that Indie.io is also a publisher, and published Echoes of the Plum Grove and Dark Deity among several other indie titles.
For participating developers, Indie Pass will utilize a non-exclusive, revenue-sharing model, with developer revenue based on player time spent in each game.
“Indie developers create some of the most innovative games in the industry, yet discoverability remains one of their biggest challenges,” said Jess Mitchell, Director of Growth, Indie.io. “Indie Pass is our answer to that: a dedicated destination where indie fans can uncover great titles, and where developers can build sustainable, ongoing monetization without exclusivity or heavy lift.”
While I agree that discoverability can be challenging, I fail to see the excitement here. Indie gaming is already notoriously cheap, even if you only buy full price games. And let’s face it, most gamers don’t pay full price thanks to frequent digital gaming sales. And I’m all for supporting indie developers, but it it’s unclear how that revenue distribution breaks down compared to something like Steam.
But mostly, Indie Pass will need to secure some much higher profile indie games to really draw fans’ attention.
Indie Pass will launch exclusively on PC on April 13.
