Game development isn't one industry—it's many. Indie studios and AAA publishers operate differently, and the right choice depends on what you want from your career.
What Indie Often Offers
- Smaller teams, more ownership. You might touch design, code, and content on the same project.
- Creative say. Your ideas can shape the game, not just your slice of it.
- Flexibility in tools, process, and sometimes schedule.
- Higher risk: studios can run out of funding; projects get cancelled. Job security is less guaranteed.
What AAA Often Offers
- Big budgets, big IP, and large teams. You work on a small part of a huge machine.
- Specialization. You go deep on one discipline (e.g. combat design, rendering, animation).
- More process: pipelines, reviews, milestones. Less "figure it out as we go."
- More stability and benefits. Pay and job security tend to be higher.
It's Not Either/Or Forever
- Many people start in QA or junior roles at larger studios, then move to indie for more ownership.
- Others start indie, then join AAA for financial stability or to work on a dream IP.
- Some alternate: ship a few years at a big studio, then join or start a small team.
Questions to Ask Yourself
- Do I want to specialize deeply or wear many hats?
- How much financial risk can I take? Do I have dependents or savings?
- Do I care more about creative control or working on the biggest titles?
- Do I prefer clear process or a scrappy, iterative environment?
There's no single "best" path. There's the path that fits your life and goals right now.