Launch a game. Found a studio.
Indie Game Academy is a live, online game dev school. You learn from industry veterans twice a week, build an original game with a team, launch it, and pitch it to real publishers. We turn students into game devs and game devs into indie studio founders.
Level 3: 8 weeks, live, $999 (scholarships available). Level 1 is free.
- 4.97/5average rating on Course Report
- 1,000+core-program graduates
- 40 of 42Level 3 games launched
- 50Kfollowers across our channels
Don't wait to be hired. Build your own studio.
When we started in 2020, a junior developer had about an 8% chance of being hired within a year. Today it's under 1%. That said, indie studios are rising, and the tools to make and sell a game have never been closer to hand. We teach you to ship games and run a studio, with a team, from day one.
Learn live
Two live classes a week with veteran professors, in our Discord. No pre-recorded course to fall behind on.
Build with a team
Programmers, artists, designers, writers and marketers, sorted into Houses. Solo devs welcome too.
Launch a game
Every Level 3 team releases its game on itch.io. Of 42 games made in Level 3, 40 launched.
Pitch to publishers
Finish at Pitch Night in front of publishers and industry judges. The best can publish with our own Foundry.
Level 3: Publish
Eight weeks to ideate, build and launch an original game with a team, guided by a squad of veteran professors. Then you pitch it live.
- 8 weeks live, Tuesdays and Thursdays
- Prototype, alpha, beta, launch
- Your game released on itch.io
- Pitch Night with publishers
- $999 · scholarships available
- Weeks 1-2
Pre-production
Sorting into Houses, team up, playable prototype.
- Weeks 3-4
Alpha
Core loop in, first playtests.
- Weeks 5-6
Beta
Content and polish, plus your go-to-market plan.
- Weeks 7-8
Launch
Release on itch.io, then Pitch Night.
Play our graduates' games
These games were built by student teams in our programs. Credit goes to them: we just made sure they launched a dang game.
The Indie Game Foundry
Our publishing arm. The Foundry helps the most promising IGA games reach players on Steam.
- Whiskers, Wizards & Wands by Sweet and Power Sauce. Wishlist on Steam
- Daughter of the Rift by Future Suit Games. Wishlist on Steam
- The Box is Alive by Ludocratic Games. Wishlist on Steam
Don't just take our word for it
"As a graduate of all three Levels, I can safely say this is the most supportive community I've had the pleasure of working with. By the end of the coursework, I was completely prepared to start my own studio... So I did: I founded Sea Stories Creative Studios LLC."
"Indie Game Academy has been vital to my growth and development as a game writer and narrative designer. I've had the privilege of taking all three levels... I now have multiple game credits to my name and that list just keeps growing!"
"Full disclosure; this was the best blessing I've had the opportunity to receive in recent time. One inquiry, two meetings and some communication later and now I'm here. And I wouldn't want to change it or where I am now for anything."
Rated 4.97/5 by graduates on Course Report.
Not ready to apply? Learn with us for free.
Free live classes, the Indie Game Lunch Hour every Wednesday, Pitch Nights and jams in our Discord, plus the Ready Dev Start wiki with templates and career guides.