IndieCade Festival

Lore & Background

IndieCade was formed by Creative Media Collaborative, an alliance of industry producers and leaders founded in 2005. IndieCade founder is Stephanie Barish, Festival Chair is Celia Pearce, and Festival Director is Sam Roberts. The festival started as part of E3 before being spun off as an independent event in Bellevue, Washington. In 2009, IndieCade moved its flagship stand-alone festival from Bellevue, Washington, to Culver City (Los Angeles), California. The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) partnered with the IndieCade organization in 2009. In 2016 IndieCade Europe was rebooted and took place in Paris, where it returned in 2017 and 2018.

In Their Own Story

The lights in the exhibition hall dimmed slightly, focusing attention on a small monitor displaying a hand-drawn world. A developer stood nervously beside it, watching a tester navigate a puzzle that defied traditional logic. There was no roar of a crowd, just the quiet hum of discovery as the player solved a mechanic never seen before. In this moment, surrounded by other creators waiting their turn, the festival felt less like an event and more like a shared heartbeat of innovation.

Reader's Guide

Approximately 40 games each year are selected to exhibit. The finalists are eligible to compete in IndieCade's Red Carpet Awards. Audience Choice and Developer Choice Awards are announced separately during the festival's closing party. Awards categories vary by year and include: Best In Show, Best Story/World Design, Best Technology, Best Gameplay Design, Best Visuals, Best Sound, Best Interaction, Community Impact, and Special Recognition. The IndieCade showcase is free and open to the public. Games are submitted for consideration in the early spring, and finalists are announced by the fall.

Did You Know?

• Ben Fritz for the Los Angeles Times called IndieCade 'the video game industry's Sundance.'
• The IndieCade festival is the only stand-alone festival open to the public in the United States for exclusively independent games.
• Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the main showcase was known as the 'Game Walk' with games exhibited in locations across downtown Culver City.