December 2025 Update
Ho-ho-ho, Indies!
Tis the season!
2025 was a big year for Seattle Indies! As we move into the final month of the year we look back at all of the growth and accomplishments.
As we enter our 10th year as a nonprofit organization it was exciting to see our Meetup group break 10,000 members! We can’t wait to celebrate our 10th year throughout 2026 with you as we look forward to the next 10 years and our next 10,000 members.
In 2025 we hosted the inaugural SLICE, our first B2B games industry event which brought together over 850 games industry professional, all of the major platforms, and local legislators and government employees to celebrate the Seattle games industry, learn from each other, and lift each other up. SLICE will return to McCaw Hall on Wednesday September 2, 2026!
We also hosted the 15th annual edition of Seattle Indies Expo (SIX), and it was our biggest yet with 50 games from the Seattle Indies community, local high school and college student teams in our inaugural Student Showcase, and a special selection of games from Ukrainian developers. Nearly 5,000 people came through to play the games, meet the developers and connect with our community. We also broadcasted SIX Online live simultaneously from the show floor of SIX IRL for the first time. This gave all 50 teams a chance to join our live stream so people who couldn’t make it to the show in-person could learn more about each game and the devs who make them.
Among the 300+ meetup events we hosted this year we added new monthly social meetups in Tacoma and Olympia, added some fun new events in Auburn, and continued to support satellite events in Bremerton, Kent, Lynwood, Redmond, and Northgate expanding our community coverage throughout the Puget Sound region.
To build momentum towards and keep it going from SLICE we started the Founders Club meetup and teamed up with our friends at WIN on the Business of Games meetups to support the business owners and entrepreneurs in our community who are fueling the future of the games industry in WA State.
Speaking of fueling the future, today is Giving Tuesday and our year-end fundraising campaign funds not only our monthly meetups for the coming year but new initiatives like the Workforce Development Program to teach the necessary skills, and the Gaming Innovation Hub to give us a home base.
Read more about these initiatives here https://www.seattleindies.org/play-it-forward-level-up-the-next-generation-of-game-creators/
Seattle is the home of legends of the games industry, and we are building the next generation of creators right here.
Every dollar means we can help bring to life YOUR ideas, YOUR art, and YOUR future masterpieces. Let’s keep the creative spirit of the PNW burning bright!
We are asking you to help us Play it Forward and support the next generation of legends today: https://donorbox.org/giving-tuesday-2025-play-it-forward
In this season of giving thanks a huge thank you goes out to all of the volunteers, organizers, sponsors, board members, advisors, partners, venue hosts and our Patreon supporters who continue to help make all of this possible!
Last but not least we have the annual Seattle Indies Holiday Party – the can’t-miss social event of the year for Seattle-based game developers – At GameWorks on Sunday 12/14/25! Hope to see you there in your Holiday best, your favorite ugly sweater, or whatever you choose to wear.
The annual Seattle Indies Holiday Party – the can’t-miss social event of the year for Seattle-based game developers – At GameWorks 12/14/25
Click Here Get Tickets & Learn More
Seattle Indies is excited to bring you our ninth annual Holiday Party! Join us for a special night of festive drinks and merry-making with your fellow indie devs to celebrate a successful 2025, and kick off 2026!
This is taking place at GameWorks in downtown Seattle, where we have reserved the entire large venue filled with videogame machines, all of which will be unlocked for this event.
Dinner Buffet
An all-you-can-eat Latin Buffet, Pizza & Pasta Bar, and Deserts Bar. Vegan and gluten-free options will be available.
Cocktail Bar
We’ll be providing beer, wine, and cocktails! Be sure to bring your photo ID. Drink tickets will be provided.
Unlimited Gaming
Your ticket includes unlimited access to every arcade game GameWorks has to offer in their huge collection. Prize tickets and prize redemption will not be available for this event.
Photo Booth
This year we’ll have an automated photo booth where you can create your own digital keepsakes.
Dress To Impress (Optional)
Use this occasion as an excuse to dress up as fancy as you’ve secretly longed to! You can come dressed for a Seattle cocktail party, or wear an ugly sweater. Do anything to get into the spirit!
(Note that all Seattle Indies Superhero tier patrons on Patreon at the time of this event creation should have received a code for a ticket to this event.)
Seattle Indies is holding a Showcase/Demo and vendor event on Friday, December 5th inside of the Outlet Collection Mall in Auburn, WA. Do some holiday shopping and play some locally crafted indie games.
We will be there all day with over 20 games from our community plus artists and vendors! Find us in the hallway between Burlington and the Food Court. Parking and attendance is free. RSVP and find out more.
IndieGameBusiness® is hosting the next installment of our virtual Deep Dive series on December 10th. Get ready for a focused, one-day event unpacking the ins and outs of indie game production.
IndieGameBusiness® Deep Dive: Mastering the Art of Pipeline and Production
In response to the evolving needs of today’s creative industry, we are thrilled to continue our new series of 1 day, single-subject conferences designed to provide focused, in-depth insights into key topics that will help studios thrive in an ever-changing landscape.
Save the Date:
📅| December 10, 2025
🌐| Online – YouTube, Twitch, LinkedIn
🕘| 9am – 5pm Eastern
Don’t miss out! Register Now and help your game reach its full potential!
If you want to get a list of all upcoming game event shows and get ready early, The Indie House has published this fantastic list of upcoming festival that’s exactly that. Well worth a bookmark!
This month we are featuring Otto and Jeremie from Laughing Manatee Games, the team behind the recently released Puzzle Depot that was featured at SIX 2024 and 2017. A box-pushing, bug-squishing, post-apocalyptic adventure awaits you in Puzzle Depot! Challenge hundreds of meticulously designed rooms that expand on classic sokoban gameplay with new and creative mechanics. Build your own devious creations with the included level editor!
What inspired you to become a game developer?
Jeremie: I was heavily inspired by early MS-DOS games, particularly games like Starflight 1 & 2, and Ur-Quan Masters. I was very drawn to these sorts of exploration experiences, which also had compelling narratives. I spent a lot of time toying around with early game engines. ZZT, and particularly Megazeux. Both of these I received from a close friend in middle school on floppy disks! These engines played a critical role in developing my early interests in software development and game design, and I owe much to them, and their supporting communities. I would later go on to be influenced heavily by a lot of indie game developers. Especially those who are committed to quality have the talent to carefully tease out the tiny details that made so many older games great. I’m lookin at you Nigoro, Locomalito, Mossmouth, there’s just so many incredibly talented people out there that have done great work.
Otto: For as long as I can remember I’ve had an interest in making and playing games. Some of my earliest memories involve playing games on an Atari 5200 console. Later, I became fascinated with cutting-edge ascii-based game creation software like ZZT and Megazeux. Those in particular have had a huge influence on me.
What is one important lesson you have learned in your time as a game developer?
Jeremie: “You probably don’t have all the skills you need to produce a high quality game.” Find other talented, passionate humans with complementary skills and treat them as good as you can. Accept no substitutions.
Otto: Getting other people to play your game and watching how they play it is very important. You really need that outside perspective to see what areas need work and to make informed design decisions. We exhibited Puzzle Depot at several conventions over the years and we always came away with some new insights.
What is the one piece of advice you would share today with your younger self before you started your career as a game developer?
Jeremie: While I have spent pretty close to a full time effort making games for a while now, and intend to continue doing so, I consider myself an enthusiastic hobbyist. Maybe that’ll change some day and I can make a career out of it? We’ll see.
Otto: Don’t be afraid to ask other people for help. Making a game is a huge undertaking and everything will be harder than it seems on paper, so finding other talented individuals who can help you is a life-saver.
How has the Seattle Indies community had an impact on your career?
Jeremie: The Seattle Indies community has had a largely positive impact on my work. SIX in particular has frequently been a highlight of my year. Whether I’ve been showing a game, or just spectating, it dramatically improves my morale with whatever I’m working on. Such a cool scene, so many cool games, developers, and fans. Just try to go and not end up in a good mood with a big productivity boost. All it needs is to get expanded to a second day so I can get more of it!
Otto: We’ve were able to show Puzzle Depot twice at the Seattle Indies Expo, once early into development and then again towards the end. In both cases, the feedback we received was incredibly valuable. and Whether exhibiting or just attending the event to check out all the other cool games people are working on, SIX is always such an amazing time!
What is something interesting and unexpected that people would be surprised to learn about you?
Jeremie: Uh, I like standing around all night in dark empty parking lots by myself fiddling with a telescope and trying to shoot photos of deep sky objects. I mean, I was pretty surprised to learn that about myself.
Otto: I like to cook, especially breakfast because I get up so early. My current favorite is a peanut-butter banana and nutella stuffed french toast.
What project are you working on at the moment that has you the most excited and how can we learn more about it?
Jeremie: You can check out our newly released game Puzzle depot here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3108190/Puzzle_Depot/
Puzzle depot was showcased twice at Seattle Indie Expo, and has finally been released! We’ve got some more plans for this title, so that’s where I’ll be focused for now. I’ve got a lot of other ideas swirling around too, so we’ll see if something else gets popped off the backburner soon!
Otto: Right now we’re busy with post-launch support and future updates for our newly-released game, Puzzle Depot. We’ll be working on additional content well into 2026, and after that… who knows?
Here’s our Meetup Page with all future upcoming events.
Note that the usual Cap Hill social at Stoup is NOT happening this month. The Holiday Party (details above) takes the place of the December Cap Hill/Seattle social.
The Pierce County Social is taking place on Dec. 1, 5:30pm-8:00pm at 7 Seas Brewery and Taproom on 2101 Jefferson Ave · Tacoma, WA. Kids are welcome until 8pm as long as they are within arm’s length. Main tap room is first come, first served!
The Seattle Blender User Group is happening on Dec 6, 10am to 1pm at Academy of Interactive Entertainment – Seattle Center Armory – Suite 405 (305 Harrison St, Suite 405 · Seattle, WA). Seabug’s goals are to help beginners learn Blender, create Blender opportunities in the Pacific Northwest, showcase advanced Blender tools and projects, and celebrate open source graphics in all forms.
Seattle Indies Board Game Meetup is on Dec 7 at 5pm at Phoenix Comics and Games. Come play board games with Indie Game Developers!
An In-Person Writer’s Group will take place at Hugo House on Dec 10 at 6:30 PM. For anyone interested or working on projects in game writing, narrative design, voice acting or more– swing by Seattle Indies’ In-Person Writer’s Group! Bring your narrative games, scripts, flowcharts, character bibles or any other story materials for sharing and feedback.
The Northside Social takes place Dec 11, 6pm-9pm at Watershed Pub & Kitchen (10104 3rd Ave NE · Seattle, WA). It’s time to get together and swap stories. Put down your keyboards and brave the outdoors. Let’s meet for some food, a drink, and some good conversation!
Diversity Collective+ Coffee is happening on Dec 14, 12pm-2pm at Phoenix Comics and Games. Come to network, socialize, and discuss issues related to diversity and inclusion in game development! Folks who identify as an underrepresented minority in the game industry are welcome.
Southside Social is taking place on Dec 15, 5:30pm at Logan Brewing Company, 510 SW 151st Street, · Burien, WA. It’s time to get together and swap stories. Put down your keyboards and brave the outdoors. Let’s meet for some food and friendly discussion!
The SnoCo Social is happening on Dec 19, 6pm at Zulu’s Board Game Cafe (5116 196th St SW Suite 203, Lynnwood, WA). Hang out at a local game store with fellow Snohomish Co and adjacent folks over food, drinks, engaging conversations, and maybe some board gaming!
Indie Co-working Support Group in-person will take place every Saturday, from 1:00 PM to 6:30 PM PST, at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment. Seattle Center wifi will be available for use. Please bring everything you need to be productive. We will be meeting every Saturday of the month at AIE going forward. We have also added a Co-working voice channel in Discord for people to use any time they want a quiet space to work alongside their peers.
Seabug Study Hall is a new series of events taking place every week on Thursday, 9pm to 11pm, right on our Discord! Join others from the Seattle Blender User Group for a lo-fi chill out online study hall. Bring a project, just chat, and have a good time with some unstructured project sharing and Q&A.
Grant shared CONSTELLATIONS, a new VR experience they’re launching into Early Access on the Meta Horizon Store in early December. Wishlist it Here!
Parsely shared the Steam page for my their game! It’s a peek into the life of an elderly man who just lost his husband, and how he gets on in life in the aftermath of his loss. If it sounds neat, please add it to your wishlist!
Otto Germain shared that their Puzzle Depot is OUT! Solve sokoban-style puzzles in the post-apocalypse! Just mind the roaches… Get it here!
Mike Sennott shared that new game just dropped! Eclipse Breaker is an action roguelike set inside a classic RPG. There’s a pretty expansive free demo too – check it out.
Vangi (Mateusz) released an update to Opus Cortex that has the JA, ZH, DE and ES language support for the entirety of the story! 🙂 Take a look!
Alice Bottino shared that Hyperbeat has a new trailer! Go Watch It Here!
Kodybod Studios launched kickstarter campaign for the prototype of a horror game that they’ve been working on. Take a look!
enzi is making physical editions of Gas Station Story! If you’re interested in snagging a brand-new Game Boy Color game, check out this link to preorder now!
Harassment Policy, AAPI, Black Lives Matter, and Resources
Seattle Indies stands with the AAPI community. We are here for our members who have been affected by the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes both locally and nationally. For further resources to educate yourself on the issue and how to take action, here is a useful link: https://anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co/
Seattle Indies believes the stories of the victims of sexual harassment and assault in the games industry that have been shared. We strongly condemn the actions by people in power preying on the dreams of vulnerable people trying to make their way in the industry. We strive to build an inclusive community that welcomes all minorities to provide a safe environment and a better vision for the game industry.
While our code of conduct states a zero-tolerance policy for harassment of any kind, we are especially sensitive to the daily challenges faced by womxn due to the ingrained sexism that has existed in the structure of the games industry for far too long. We are actively working to build a better community of game developers, and we all need to do better.
Additionally, Board Member Angel Mero has offered to be a personal resource for anyone who needs help, someone to talk to or some guidance on next steps if you have experienced harassment in the industry either at our events or elsewhere. She can be reached at angel@seattleindies.org.
Our friends at Take This Org have compiled valuable resources for anyone in immediate need of professional help for their situation.
Lastly, Seattle Indies and Diversity Collective+ support Black Lives Matter.Here are some resources compiled by Diversity Collective+ for how you can offer support, whether this is financial, contributing to petitions, preparing for protests, or getting informed. If you have additional resources, comment below and we will add them.
As always, keep an eye on our Discord for any last-minute news and discussion, and let us know about any projects you’re working on that you’d like shared on our Steam or Itch collections or follow us on all of our social media platforms.
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