Randy·1yI made this game in 30 days
The post describes the author’s experience of developing a game in 30 days, detailing the challenges and progress made. The game involves collecting and selling resources, expanding land, and defending the base at night. It is compared to a mix of Fara and Factoria. The demo is currently playable online, and the author plans to sell the game in early access to fund further development.
80 LEVEL·41wClassic Warcraft Vibes Return in a New Indie RTS
The Scouring is an indie real-time strategy game with action-RPG elements built on a custom C++ engine. It features destructible environments, day-night cycles that affect gameplay, and a unique mechanic allowing players to delegate army control to AI while focusing on hero character development. The game supports single-player and multiplayer modes with Steam Workshop integration for custom content creation. Currently in Early Access for $22.49, it's planned to remain in development for approximately 18 months.
Collections·29wRising Viability of Linux Gaming as Nearly 90% of Windows Games Now Compatible
Linux gaming on Steam has crossed 3% market share for the first time, reaching 3.05% in October 2025—a 50% increase from the previous year. This growth is driven by improved compatibility layers like Proton (enabling 90% of Windows games to run on Linux), the popularity of Steam Deck (accounting for 27% of Linux gaming), and Windows 10's end of support pushing users toward alternatives. Popular distributions include Arch Linux, Linux Mint, CachyOS, and Bazzite, with new hardware like Lenovo's Legion Go S further expanding the ecosystem.
Code Monkey·51wDev followed my FREE course, then made $150,000!
A game development instructor shares success stories of students who learned from his free Unity courses and went on to create profitable games. The main example is Urban Jungle, a cozy home decoration game that generated approximately $150,000 in revenue after the developer started as a complete beginner and followed a 10-hour Unity tutorial. The post highlights multiple success stories and promotes various free programming courses, emphasizing how beginners can learn game development through structured tutorials and reverse engineering existing code.
Hacker News·27wWhy I Don't Need a Steam Machine
A humorous personal reflection on Valve's newly announced Steam Machine console. The author lists 22 reasons why they don't need the device—from being a retro gamer who doesn't need the power, to already having too many gaming devices, to preferring physical games over digital—only to conclude they're buying one anyway despite all the rational arguments against it.
GamesIndustry.biz·40w"Our game made €4 million," says Rise of Industry's creator. "Three years later, I was broke"
Alex Mochi, creator of Rise of Industry, shared his experience of how a successful indie game that grossed €4 million left him broke three years later. Despite strong sales and topping Steam charts, various factors including platform fees, refunds, regional pricing, and what he describes as a problematic publisher deal with Kalypso Media/Kasedo Games led to financial difficulties. Mochi eventually sold the IP for what he claims was $5,000 (though the publisher disputes this figure, stating it was $50,000 including advances). The case highlights the financial challenges indie developers face even with successful games, including revenue splits, overhead costs, and the complexities of publisher relationships.
80 LEVEL·29wHow Coding Sim The Farmer Was Replaced Reached 39,000% Revenue Rise
The Farmer Was Replaced, a programming farming simulator using a Python-like language, achieved a 39,000% revenue increase from early access to full release, selling over 400,000 copies and generating $1.65 million in the first 30 days. The success came from rebuilding the Steam page to emphasize programming aspects, adding 11 languages with full localization, improving game polish, and executing targeted marketing including influencer outreach to 10,000 creators, viral Reddit posts, and expansion into Chinese social media platforms like RedNote, which grew China's market share from 0.3% to 20%.
Fireship·27wThis new gaming console uses Arch btw…
Valve's new Steam Machine is a gaming console running Arch Linux with Steam OS and KDE Plasma desktop environment. It features a semi-custom AMD chip at 4.8 GHz, 16GB RAM, 8GB VRAM, and can run 4K games at 60fps. The device supports Windows games through Proton compatibility layer and allows switching between gaming mode and full Linux desktop. Hardware is non-upgradeable, pricing expected under $1,000, with availability targeted for 2026.
Game Developers·38wAttack and damage animations
A game developer showcases attack and damage animations for their upcoming indie game Baiacool: Tides of Olympus, featuring a puffer fish character. The post includes animated GIFs demonstrating the character's combat mechanics and promotes the game's Steam wishlist page.
TechLinked·22wDownload Spotify (ALL OF IT)
Spotify's entire music library (300TB) was scraped and uploaded to Anna's Archive by activists. Valve discontinued the original Steam Deck LCD model, making the OLED version the new entry point at $550. Chinese tech companies are bypassing Nvidia chip bans by renting B200 GPUs from overseas data centers in Japan and Australia. Firefox will add a single toggle to disable all AI features after user feedback. YouTube Premium appears to have a bug causing high CPU usage even when paused. Chinese GPU maker More Threads announced new chips claiming to compete with Nvidia. A power outage in San Francisco immobilized Waymo's robotaxis.
Game Developers·39wNew movement animations
A game developer showcases new character movement animations for their indie game 'Baiacool - Tides of Olympus'. The animations are described as basic but significantly improve the character's movement fluidity and bring more life to the gameplay. The post includes a GIF demonstration and promotes the game's Steam wishlist page.
80 LEVEL·29wDev Accidentally Calling Game "Sh*tty Dungeon" Led to Extra Wishlists
An indie game developer accidentally mistranslated his game's title to 'Sh*tty Dungeon' in Japanese using machine translation tools. The error went viral on Japanese social media, resulting in a significant increase in Steam wishlists. The developer embraced the humor but eventually changed the name to something more appropriate, while the game itself received positive reviews from players who appreciated its nostalgic gameplay and humor.
Unity·44wGames made with Unity: June 2025 in review
Unity showcases games released in June 2025, highlighting successful titles like PEAK which sold over 2 million copies in 9 days, Broken Arrow, and Len's Island 1.0 launch. The roundup covers various genres including platformers, RPGs, strategy games, and simulation titles, demonstrating Unity's versatility across different game types and team sizes. Unity encourages developers to submit their projects for future showcases.
Jonas Tyroller·28wThis Young Solo Dev Built a Steam Hit in 4 Months
Solo developer Zoro Arts shares how he built Pedal Pedal Pedal, a viral co-op game that sold 120,000+ units, in just 4 months while studying at university. Working only 3 hours daily, he created a demo in 2 weeks that gained massive social media traction. The conversation covers his journey from his first commercial game Maky's Adventure, learning Unity networking with Photon, dealing with feature creep, working with publisher Assemble Entertainment, and his philosophy of making fun games quickly rather than spending years on single projects. He emphasizes gameplay over graphics, rapid prototyping, and using social media feedback to validate ideas early.
80 LEVEL·23wSteam: $16B+ in 2025, Nearly Half of 19,000 Games Got Under 10 Reviews
Steam generated over $16.2 billion in revenue during the first eleven months of 2025, marking its strongest year ever. However, nearly half of the 19,000 games released on the platform received fewer than 10 reviews, indicating severe discoverability challenges. Only 6.2% of releases surpassed 500 reviews, a threshold for broader visibility. The data reveals a platform thriving commercially through a small number of successful titles while the majority of games struggle to gain traction, creating a difficult environment for smaller developers.
GamesIndustry.biz·27wThe Steam Machine could be an industry turning point | Opinion
Valve's upcoming Steam Machine represents a strategic challenge to both Microsoft and Sony in the console market, leveraging a decade of development on Steam Deck and SteamOS. The device combines competitive pricing with access to extensive Steam libraries and a Linux-based OS that outperforms Windows in gaming benchmarks through lower overhead and the Proton emulation layer. This timing particularly impacts Microsoft's pivot toward Xbox-Windows integration, as Valve's approach offers similar PC-console hybrid functionality at mass-market prices. The Steam Deck served as a crucial testbed, proving that optimized software can deliver strong gaming performance on modest hardware specs.
Code Monkey·1yI made the MOST PROFITABLE Game as a Test!
The shop simulator genre is highly popular and financially successful on Steam, with many titles earning millions and receiving positive reviews. These games are relatively straightforward to develop, making them accessible to indie developers. By focusing on player interactions and adding unique themes, developers can create appealing and profitable games. The author shares a prototype they created to test their game development toolkit, which includes various tools to simplify the development process.
80 LEVEL·37wSilksong's Launch Crashes Steam & Attracts 500K As Pirates Hold Back
Hollow Knight: Silksong launched after 8 years of anticipation, immediately attracting 500,000 players and crashing Steam due to overwhelming demand. The indie Metroidvania sequel received 96% positive reviews on Steam and surprisingly influenced pirates to purchase the game instead due to its affordable $20 price point and developer-friendly approach. Team Cherry's success story demonstrates how passion-driven development can overcome initial skepticism and achieve massive commercial success.
YouTube·23wI’ve Had Enough of Windows - Switching to Linux
A frustrated Windows user documents their switch to Linux Mint after growing tired of Windows 11's ads, forced updates, privacy concerns, and invasive features like Copilot. The author walks through installing Pop OS (which had issues) and then Linux Mint, testing hardware compatibility, gaming performance, and daily workflows. While they still need Windows for Adobe Premiere editing and certain anti-cheat-protected games, Linux Mint handles their primary tasks—browsing, writing, casual gaming—better than Windows. The experience highlights Linux's speed, cleanliness, and respect for user control, making it their new main OS despite keeping Windows for specific use cases.
GamesIndustry.biz·25wTeam Cherry says it's "unfortunate" that Silksong launch disrupted other indies
Team Cherry acknowledged that Hollow Knight: Silksong's surprise release announcement disrupted other indie game launches. The studio revealed the release date only two weeks in advance, forcing competing developers to reschedule their games. The launch was so popular it temporarily crashed major digital storefronts including Steam, Nintendo eShop, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms. The developers admitted they had little control over timing, learning the date just weeks before announcement while rushing to complete the game after years of fan anticipation.
It's Foss·41w15 Co-Op Games for Linux Steam Gamers in 2025
A curated list of 15 cooperative games that work well on Linux through Steam, featuring titles like Valheim, Phasmophobia, Deep Rock Galactic, and It Takes Two. Each game includes Steam Deck compatibility status and focuses on multiplayer experiences that require teamwork and coordination. The selection spans various genres from survival and horror to puzzle-solving and action, with several games offering native Linux support.
80 LEVEL·50wBorderlands 2 Goes Free on Steam Amidst Intense Review Bombing
Borderlands 2 became free on Steam but faced massive review bombing due to controversial Terms of Service updates by Take-Two and 2K. The new EULA introduces extensive data collection practices, bans mods, includes forced arbitration clauses, and restricts VPN usage. Players are protesting these privacy-invasive changes, resulting in only 18% positive recent reviews despite the free game offer.
Collections·1yDwarf Fortress Achieves 1 Million Sales on Steam
Dwarf Fortress, the fantasy adventure game developed by Bay 12 Games and published by Kitfox Games, has achieved 1 million sales on Steam in over three years since its release. The game's strong community and legendary status have contributed to its success. Kitfox Games expressed gratitude to supporters, highlighting the game's ongoing popularity and financial success for the developers.
Game Developers·40wI just launched my game's Steam page: Greek gods, sea creatures, and chaos ahead...
An indie developer announces the Steam page launch for their upcoming game 'Baiacool - Tides of Olympus', which reimagines Greek mythology with gods and creatures transformed into sea beings. The developer is seeking feedback and wishlists while beginning to share more about their development journey.
The Verge·49wSteam is finally adding native support for Macs with Apple Silicon
Steam now runs natively on Apple Silicon Macs through its latest beta client, eliminating the need for Rosetta 2 emulation. This update comes as Apple prepares to phase out Intel Mac support and limit Rosetta 2 availability after macOS 27. Users can access the native Steam client by opting into the beta program through Steam's settings interface.