By Editorial Staff
December 20, 2021
In a poignant announcement that marks a significant shift in the landscape of independent games journalism, Lewis Denby, Managing Director of Game If You Are Ltd, confirmed today that The Indie Game Website (TIGW) will cease active operations and enter an indefinite period of hiatus effective later this week.
Launched in 2017, the platform served as a vital sanctuary for developers operating outside the mainstream spotlight. The closure arrives not as a failure of vision, but as a strategic pivot, as the parent agency looks to reallocate its resources toward more direct support initiatives for marginalized and underrepresented developers in the coming year.
The Genesis of a Vision: A Four-Year Retrospective
The story of The Indie Game Website began at a moment when the indie development scene was experiencing a period of rapid, often chaotic, expansion. For developers—particularly those working in solo capacities or residing outside of major English-speaking hubs—gaining visibility in a media landscape dominated by AAA blockbusters was, and remains, an uphill battle.
The site was conceived by the team at Game If You Are as a remedy to this systemic visibility gap. Unlike commercial publications beholden to traditional advertising pressures or the relentless pace of SEO-driven traffic, TIGW was designed to be an editorial sanctuary. It was a space where the quality and innovation of a game were the primary metrics for coverage, regardless of the developer’s marketing budget or geographic origin.
Over its four-year lifespan, the publication served as a testament to the importance of specialized, advocacy-driven journalism. Under a succession of editors—including Neil, Jon, Jason, and Khee Hoon—the site maintained a rigorous editorial standard that prioritized the human stories behind the code. By acting as a filter in a saturated market, the site provided a platform for indie titles that might have otherwise vanished into the digital ether.
Chronology of an Editorial Evolution
The trajectory of the publication can be divided into distinct phases of growth and recalibration:
- 2017: The Launch. Established by the team at the marketing agency Game If You Are, the site is born from a desire to provide a platform for indie developers who struggled to "cut through the noise."
- 2018–2020: The Expansion. The publication establishes its identity, bringing in a diverse stable of freelance writers who bring unique cultural perspectives to the table. The site moves beyond mere reviews to explore the industry’s social, political, and technical complexities.
- 2021: The Turning Point. As the global pandemic continues to shift the industry landscape, the leadership team begins a soul-searching process. They grapple with the central question of their mission: How can we best shine a spotlight on indie developers who would normally struggle to be heard?
- December 20, 2021: The Hiatus. The announcement of the site’s transition to "hibernation," marking the end of daily editorial production.
Supporting the Indie Ecosystem: The Financial Reality
One of the most revealing aspects of Denby’s announcement is the acknowledgment of the site’s financial model. From its inception, The Indie Game Website was designed to operate at a loss. For the management at Game If You Are, this was a deliberate choice—an investment into the health and diversity of the game development community.
However, the decision to pivot stems from a realization that money alone is not enough to solve the issues of equity and visibility in the industry. As the leadership team evaluated their impact, they concluded that their capital and time could be more effectively deployed through new, more direct initiatives.
"The reality is that we needed to make a decision on where our investment was best spent in order to achieve this goal," Denby noted in his address to the community. This candid admission highlights a growing trend among media-adjacent organizations: the move from passive promotion (journalism) to active support (mentorship, funding, and community infrastructure).
Official Statement: A Bittersweet Transition
In his official address, Managing Director Lewis Denby framed the decision with a mixture of pride and cautious optimism for what lies ahead.
"The Indie Game Website has always run at a loss—but we were okay with that, because it has always been very important to us," Denby wrote. "Today is a difficult day, because we’ve made the decision to put The Indie Game Website on hiatus… I am excited about the future, and some of the plans we have in place for 2022—in particular around how we are going to invest in supporting marginalized and minoritised indie developers."
The leadership emphasized that this is not a permanent shuttering. The website’s archives will remain live, serving as a digital library of the creative output of the last four years. This serves as a vital historical resource for the industry, ensuring that the critical analysis and reviews of smaller titles remain accessible to future researchers and enthusiasts.
Implications for the Media Landscape
The closure of TIGW leaves a discernible hole in the gaming media landscape. As major outlets consolidate and shift their focus toward "games-as-a-service" and massive, high-revenue titles, the loss of a dedicated, niche-focused publication is significant.
The "Noise" Problem
The core challenge identified by the TIGW team—the "noise" of the modern storefront—remains the industry’s most pressing issue. With thousands of games launching on platforms like Steam every year, the ability of a smaller project to find an audience is largely dependent on the quality of their media presence. Without independent, advocacy-driven outlets to act as curators, the industry risks becoming a winner-take-all environment where only those with massive marketing budgets receive coverage.
A Pivot to Active Support
The shift from journalism to "direct support" for marginalized creators suggests that the future of indie support may be shifting away from editorial coverage and toward direct intervention. By focusing on the developers themselves rather than just their finished products, agencies like Game If You Are may be able to move the needle more effectively on issues like diversity, equity, and inclusion in game design.
The Future of Indie Journalism
The hiatus serves as a cautionary tale for those attempting to sustain high-quality, specialized journalism without a robust, profit-driven model. It raises the question: can media outlets that prioritize equity over profitability survive in the current market? Or must they be subsumed by broader organizations that can leverage their resources in other ways?
A Legacy of Voices
The true value of The Indie Game Website was not in its traffic numbers, but in the voices it amplified. By providing a platform for writers who did not fit the mold of traditional, male-dominated gaming journalism, TIGW helped to broaden the discourse on what games are, who they are for, and how they should be evaluated.
The editorial team, under leaders like Khee Hoon and Jason, fostered a culture of empathy. They recognized that the review of a game is not just an assessment of mechanics; it is an assessment of an artist’s vision, often crafted in isolation and under significant personal stress.
Looking Ahead: 2022 and Beyond
While the site is entering a period of silence, the ethos that drove its creation is expected to persist. Denby has promised that further details regarding their new initiatives will be revealed in the New Year. For the developers who relied on the site for coverage, the hope is that these new projects will provide even more tangible benefits than a review ever could.
As the industry looks toward 2022, the legacy of The Indie Game Website will serve as a blueprint for those who wish to challenge the status quo of gaming media. It was an experiment in altruistic publishing that succeeded in its primary goal: ensuring that the smallest voices were heard, even if only for a fleeting moment, in the vast, deafening chorus of the global games industry.
"It is our absolute aim to ensure TIGW’s ethos continues into 2022 and beyond," Denby concluded. "Who knows, maybe one day it’ll be the right time to resurrect it!"
For now, the site remains a testament to the hard work of the writers, editors, and developers who made it a home for the weird, the wonderful, and the truly independent. The page is turning, but the story of indie advocacy is far from over.
