Palworld developer Pocketpair has a simple answer to one of gaming’s most argued-over questions: what actually makes a game indie? According to John ‘Bucky’ Buckley, the studio’s Head of Publishing and Communications, it is not about headcount, budget or whether a publisher got involved. It is about who makes the creative calls.
Buckley shared his take on X, arguing that games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Stardew Valley should not lose their indie status just because outside publishers helped bring them to players. What really matters, in his view, is whether developers keep the freedom to make their own creative decisions. As he puts it, “creative control is king.”
Why Pocketpair Still Calls Itself Indie
The discussion started after Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe told VGC that the company is a true indie studio, even while admitting its size and success could be seen as approaching double-A territory. Japanese outlet Damonge followed up with a piece questioning where the indie line really sits, and Buckley stepped in to explain the studio’s view.
His argument is that Pocketpair has zero outside investment. Palworld and the studio behind it are entirely self-funded and fully self-owned, with no investors to answer to. That, he says, is what gives the team complete freedom to make the games it wants, and that freedom is the real marker of independence.
He also acknowledged the obvious counterpoint. Palworld has reached around 40 million players this year, and plenty of people will point to that success, or to Pocketpair’s growing team, as reasons the label no longer fits. Buckley’s response is relaxed: if fans would rather call Pocketpair triple-i or double-A, that is fine, because what matters is that the studio is still making fun games.
Publishers Do Not Automatically Kill Indie Status
The more interesting part of Buckley’s take is what it means for other studios. He does not think a publisher or investor automatically makes a developer less indie. If a studio keeps genuine creative freedom, he considers it independent. If another company starts applying creative pressure or making decisions for the team, that is when the label becomes questionable.
That puts him firmly on one side of a debate that has followed Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 since its breakout success. Sandfall Interactive’s RPG was published by Kepler Interactive, and its sweep of major awards sparked arguments over whether a publisher-backed game with that level of polish should compete in indie categories at all. Stardew Valley is another useful example: ConcernedApe built the game almost entirely solo, yet it originally launched with help from publisher Chucklefish. Few players would argue it was ever anything but indie.
Pocketpair Is Now a Publisher Too
Buckley’s view also lines up with where Pocketpair itself is heading. The studio now runs its own publishing arm and is backing other indie projects, including Windrose, Truckful and Clicky Islands. If publisher support automatically stripped away indie status, Pocketpair would effectively be un-indie-ing every game it helps.
Palworld, Stardew Valley and Expedition 33 by the Numbers
Whatever label you give them, all three games have found huge audiences on Steam. Palworld’s all-time peak of more than 2.1 million concurrent players, set in January 2024, is one of the biggest in Steam history, and it still pulls in around 29,000 players at once nearly three years later. Stardew Valley, now almost a decade old, currently has more people playing than Palworld, with close to 45,000 concurrent players and a 98% review score. Expedition 33 peaked at just over 145,000 players in May 2025, which is remarkable for a single-player, turn-based RPG.
| Game | Playing Now | 24-Hour Peak | All-Time Peak | Steam Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palworld | 28,933 | 41,179 | 2,101,867 | 94% Very Positive |
| Stardew Valley | 44,992 | 79,001 | 236,614 | 98% Overwhelmingly Positive |
| Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | 4,441 | 5,746 | 145,063 | 95% Overwhelmingly Positive |
Track live numbers for each game on our Palworld player count, Stardew Valley player count and Expedition 33 player count pages.
Our Take
Buckley has a point. “Indie” has never had a strict definition, and tying it to team size or sales numbers punishes the studios that succeed. Creative control is a cleaner test, even if it is harder to verify from the outside. Whether you agree or not, expect this debate to flare up again the moment the next award season indie shortlists drop.
Are Palworld and Expedition 33 still indie in your book? Let us know in the comments.
