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===Development tools===
For development of personal computer games, indie games typically rely on existing [[game engine]]s, [[middleware]] and [[game development kit]]s to build their titles, lacking the resources to build custom engines.<ref name="every game indie">{{cite journal | title = Is Every Indie Game Independent? Towards the Concept of Independent Game| first1 = Maria B. | last1 = Garda | first2 = Paweł | last2 = Grabarczyk | journal = Game Studies | volume = 16 | issue = 1 | date = October 2016 | issn = 1604-7982 }}</ref> Common game engines include [[Unreal Engine]] and [[Unity (game engine)|Unity]], but there are numerous others as well. Small studios that do not anticipate large sales are generally afforded reduced prices for mainstream game engines and middleware. These products may be offered free, or be offered at a substantial royalty discount that only increases if their sales exceed certain numbers.<ref name="lipkin">{{cite journal | title = Examining Indie's Independence: The Meaning of "Indie" Games, the Politics of Production, and Mainstream Co-optation | first = Nadav | last = Lipkin | journal = The Journal of the Canadian Game Studies Association | volume = 7 | issue = 11 | pages = 8–24| date = December 31, 2012 | url=https://journals.sfu.ca/loading/index.php/loading/article/view/122/149 }}</ref>
Prior to 2010, development of indie games on consoles was highly restrictive due to costly access to [[software development kit]]s (SDKs), typically a version of the console with added debugging features that would cost several thousands of dollars and come with numerous restrictions on its use to prevent trade secrets related to the console from being leaked. Console manufactures may have also restricted sales of SDKs to only certain developers that met specific criteria, leaving potential indie developers unable to acquire them.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/07/how-certification-requirements-are-holding-back-console-gaming/ |title=How certification requirements are holding back console gaming |first=Kyle |last=Orland |date=23 July 2012 |work=[[Ars Technica]] |access-date=24 August 2020 |archive-date=13 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013002650/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/07/how-certification-requirements-are-holding-back-console-gaming/ |url-status=live }}</ref> When indie games became more popular by 2010, the console manufacturers as well as mobile device operating system providers released special software-based SDKs to build and test games first on personal computers and then on these consoles or mobile devices. These SDKs were still offered at commercial rates to larger developers, but reduced pricing was provided to those who would generally self-publish via digital distribution on the console or mobile device's storefront, such as with the [[ID@Xbox]] program or the [[iOS SDK]].
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