InJanuary 2021, Steam welcomed a game called Dyson Sphere Program to the platform. The inaugural game by Chinese developer Youthcat, it was an unassuming yet ambitious entry into the factory management subgenre, pioneered by big indie hits like Factorio and Satisfactory. Less than a year later, Dyson Sphere Program is poised to make a big splash all its own — still in early access and with significant features not yet implemented, the game nevertheless racked up 1.7 million confirmed sales by September 2021.
Suffice it to say, Dyson Sphere Program is a hit — not just by the standards of the burgeoning Chinese indie scene, but by any standard you care to apply. For an indie/retro snob such as myself, it’s very tempting to hold up cases like this as a sign that the Age of the Indie has finally arrived. After all, we’ve seen plenty of small teams produce million-selling games, not to mention that some of those games — the so-called “triple-I” titles — have production values that rival those of the biggest companies around.