iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Piotr Michael @piotr-michael.bsky.social · 22h

On October 8th Forever Ago will release… I can’t wait for you to take the journey with Alfred, he’s been an incredible experience to perform. From @annapurna.com

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Rob Manuel @robmanuel.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This trailer is better than some of the movies I've watched recently. youtu.be/70ZB9wCcf-c?...

youtu.be

Endless Machines - Official Trailer

YouTube video by Indie Games Hub

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melos han-tani (Danchi Days out Oct 29!!) @hantani.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I have a game without random encounters called Angeline Era! You fight enemies in real time. It's on all consoles and PC. store.steampowered.com/app/2393920/... #NeverMissASale #DiscourseMaxxing

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Fellow Traveller @fellowtraveller.games · 28/09/2026

🌟 Presenting the LudoNarraCon 2026 Official Selection 🌟 🎮 51 narrative indie games 🗓️ October 8–15 PT on Steam 💙 Supported by @jacobgeller.com, @lookingfor.game, @remapradio.bsky.social & @thisweekinvideogames.com 🌐 More info at bit.ly/FTLNC2026 📬 Sign up for our newsletter to stay updated!

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Xalavier Nelson Jr. @writnelson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

WE'RE MAKING A SHELVING SIM WHERE YOU USE THE DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM IN A LIBRARY THAT'S HAUNTED AS FUCK BECAUSE A BILLIONAIRE WAS STUFFING CORPSES IN THE WALLS TO GENTRIFY HIS CITY WISHLIST "SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE LIBRARY" TODAY store.steampowered.com/app/3971340/...

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Mikhail Klimentov @leadergrev.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

One more share for the weekend crew The video is about Kotick's legal threats, but it's also about the challenges inherent to publishing a story about those threats. Also: there's a thread about a federal indictment that adds a twist to the Activision lawsuit story. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKwp...

youtube.com

Bobby Kotick vs. The Games Media

YouTube video by People Make Games

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Rotub @rotub.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Doggy Don't Care is out now! 🐶 Unleash adorable chaos, solve puzzles, leave your mark (literally!), and earn all the mischievous badges by being naughty I hope you enjoy it! store.steampowered.com/app/2438180/... #doggydontcare #indiegames

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Rob Manuel @robmanuel.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

@plante.bsky.social Listened to this week's GamediscoverCo Show and you were looking for people who work in gaming events. I've worked on more than a couple. DM me any questions you may have.

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Rob Manuel @robmanuel.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Award season already?! Teams are eagerly scrambling to to remember what came out this year for public voting. And maybe you can't remember playing more than 10 indie / PC games so you try to slide in a game that's not even out yet for voting. Say Less. Here are some games for that 10th slot.

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Dominic Tarason @dominictarason.com · 25/09/2026

And that's me done for the week! We covered SO many games this week, and still had over thirty on the docket for the roundup, including several that launched in just the past hour or two. Played anything from this lot and think it deserves a deeper dive? Let us know in the comments box on the site.

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Pookleblinky @pookleblinky.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Reminder that in Canada upon becoming an engineer you get an iron ring made of a collapsed bridge, purposely designed to be uncomfortable, to remind you that your ethics demand you give a fuck even about the boring grudgework of such as double-checking your math. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Ring

en.wikipedia.org

Iron Ring - Wikipedia

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Rob Manuel @robmanuel.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Young Ladies Don't Play Fighting Games is one of the best decisions Capcom ever made. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcEl...

youtube.com

Flow State Unlocked |Young Ladies Don't Play Fighting Games (SF6) Ep10

YouTube video by OverLocked

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Rob Manuel @robmanuel.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Not like I don't already have a billion games to sift through already but there's an Out of the Box game event happening on steam right now with new demos. A bunch of weird games with demos. You know my weakness. store.steampowered.com/curator/4619...

store.steampowered.com

OUT OF THE BOX GAMES

Discover games that do things differently, from unexpected gameplay and striking art to unforgettable stories. Ask yourself: Have you ever played something like this?

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Zoë Hannah is bisexual @zoehhannah.com · 23/09/2026

found this game on itch ln and proceeded to play til i finished. i will be writing about it in @mothership.blog , but i simply cannot gatekeep until my story goes live. if you liked seance of blake manor or the roottrees are dead, you will love

jamwitch.itch.io

The Archives of Trevosa by jamwitch, AureliusWhitlock, Celia

Translate terms to untangle the history of a secret kingdom

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Tanat (making Building Relationships) Boozayaangool @tanatb.housefuckinggame.com · 22/09/2026

it’s my birthday today and i’m finally adding yaoi to our indie game :)

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Rob Manuel @robmanuel.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Oh god. I'm still trying to figure out the first one.

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Iron Bramble 🪻 @ironbramble.com · 21/09/2026

In 5 days, Iron Bramble's demo hit Overwhelmingly Positive!! Thank you all for your support. It means so much to us... None of us have gotten a game rated this highly before 😳😳

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Old DeuTaranomy🧶⚒️ @kindofstrange.com · 21/09/2026

Last call, y'all! Sign up now for our FREE workshop supporting gamedevs impacted by layoffs and industry instability. TONIGHT at 5pm PT | 8pm ET givebutter.com/takethistalk... Reskeets appreciated!

givebutter.com

Managing Burnout for Game Developers

This workshop will equip developers impacted by layoffs with the knowledge and skills to tackle burnout and support their mental health.

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Jake Birkett - Veteran Indie @greyalien.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

DLC ANNOUNCEMENT! Just when you thought the card-flipping horrors were over... new secrets are unearthed. Introducing a brand new story-driven DLC, Forbidden Solitaire: The Discarded! Please wishlist and share: store.steampowered.com/app/5238350/... New levels, enemies, jokers, sigils + more!

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KO_OP: 🪐 Wishlist Young Suns on Steam! @ko-op.com · 21/09/2026

We’re so excited to share our BRAND NEW trailer for Young Suns and announce that we’re launching on Steam on November 3rd! 🚀 ✨ Wishlist now! hi.youngsuns.com/Steam

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Rubeki Games 🛩️The Hollowing Demo Live!🛩️ @rubeki.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

✈️Just announced in the PC Gaming Show✈️ The Hollowing is an atmospheric first-person horror flight sim Your job is to maintain communications towers at various airports and outposts in the Megastructure FREE DEMO OUT NOW!! link below 👇

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Casey Explosion @caseyexplosion.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Hey folks, there's a BOOMSTOCK event on steam, and a lot of those neat Rootin' Tootin' Point'n'Shootin' games are on sale. Now, there's a lot of them there Quakenstein games, how do I know which ones are good? Well, let me suggest a few of my favourites so you can get some bang for your buckshot!

static.klipy.com

Doomguy's Epic Dance Shuffle

Alt: Doomguy's Epic Dance Shuffle

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Dominic Tarason @dominictarason.com · 17/09/2026

The Message From Deep Space is such a smart puzzle game. Slowly figure out how to communicate with aliens, starting with basic math concepts and building up from there.

steamhype.com

Become Earth's First Xeno-Linguist in Sci-Fi Puzzler The Message from Deep Space

Here's my number, so call me maybe?

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Akupara Games @akuparagames.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

📢 PRESS + CREATORS! 🤩 Echo Weaver from @moonlightkids.bsky.social launches October 8 and we want to give YOU a game key! Explore the remnants of a fallen colony, forge a path, learn abilities, & discover secrets as you attempt to break the cycle of an eternal time loop. ⬇️FORM BELOW!⬇️

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Double Fine @doublefine.com · 17/09/2026

🕰️ Clock in 🚍 Drive the bus 🚏Get passengers to their stops 👋🏼 SLAP anyone breaking the rules ⏏️ Throw 'em out if they don't behave! It's Crazy Taxi meets Papers, Please. THANK YOU BUS DRIVER launches October 14~ Wishlist today: f.mtr.cool/25n3e5da76

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Wario64 @wario64.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Heart Machine founder Alx Preston - "nearly everyone at the studio had to be laid off" after a publisher is no longer moving forward with an unannounced game "Right now, I'm not sure yet how or if Heart Machine survives" www.linkedin.com/posts/alx-pr...

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Rebekah Valentine @duckvalentine.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

For almost a decade John has been quietly busting ass behind the scenes to make so many of the incredible videos you have enjoyed. I loved working with him: reliable and skilled yet also a wonderfully calming presence even when things were stressful, and of course a kind friend and colleague.

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Rob Manuel @robmanuel.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

This week is going to kill your wallet. Let's go through the games. Of course, Happy Roman Sands RE:Build Day to all who celebrate! From the team behind Paratopic, comes a reality hopping / puzzle / visual novel / horror / Gotcha / adventure game. store.steampowered.com/app/2231460/...

store.steampowered.com

Save 10% on Roman Sands RE:Build on Steam

A service industry adventure with an apocalyptic flavor. A manic genre mashup told across two broken realities. Step through the cracks: find your Exit.

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popagenda @popagenda.co · 16/09/2026

DOSA DIVAS from @outerloopgames.bsky.social, a notable game of this year in our opinion, just received a BIG quality of life update! 🌶👩‍🍳🤖 The game is also currently 30% off on Steam as part of the Party-Based RPG Fest. Give this colorful, heartfelt, and breezy RPG a look! 🙂 s.team/a/2950710

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danielleri @danielleri.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Have some BIG NEWS, and it really is wild that today is also the anniversary of the Fanbyte Apocalypse. But my time at Game Developer is done, and hence, my time as a full-time game journalist has come to an end. 20 years in a career sure is something. www.tumblr.com/danielling/8...

After 20+ years of writing professionally about games, including time at Polygon and Idle Thumbs, launching Waypoint, serving as editor in chief of Fanbyte and finally as EIC at Game Developer, my time is done. I'm officially out at Game Developer. Given the state of game journalism, this obviously means leaving the profession, at least as a full-timer.

I'm out, with respect to my colleagues, and a lot of love for the site as it was. We've published work that I'm extremely proud of, particularly our reporting on labor and on how workers are finding things in a miserable, gutting moment in the game industry. I'm proud of the dev-authored features we had for so many years, the resources and knowledge and bits and pieces of know-how that I still use, to this day, in my own game design courses.

What's next? Well, I'm not leaving games. I'll always be making and teaching and writing about games, it just can't be my full time gig anymore. I've actually been doing narrative design on a game since 2022, with a team I really believe in, and I can't wait until I can show that off properly. I am also OPEN TO WORK. Anything involving writing or editing words, editing video, teaching (I've been teaching college since 2009), and hey, I'm an EMT and got my phlebotomy cert a couple years back. I'm versatile!

For full-time employment, I am eventually going to try my hand at medicine. I've served as an EMT here in NYC since 2016, and I've been taking science courses post-bac since January 2025, usually 2 or more at once concurrently with... the full time job, my part time adjunct job, and volunteering on said ambulance. Exhaustion set in years ago, lol, so I've settled into something beyond that at this point. I feel like I've been climbing a mountain, and trying to make many things work at once. I had a pretty good rhythm going, truth be told, despite all the burnout. I'm proud of myself for that.

I'd really like to be a physician assistant one day, or potentially a nurse practitioner. It's a very, very long and hard road to either of those paths, but I'm going to make my way as best as I can.

How do I feel? Again, devastated was years ago. We're pretty far past that at this point. What's happened to journalism in America is... a topic for a very depressing, very well-researched book. I hope someone writes that one day. What happened to game journalism... well, it's more of a niche, but I can say only that reporting honestly on layoff after layoff and corporate malfeasance writ large and executives gambling the whole industry down the drain was tough, but somebody had to do it.

But it's not something one can do without editorial independence.

It's dramatic, but I'm going to mourn this career. Twenty years of my life, at 42, is just about half of my days alive. I put a lot, and I do mean *a lot* of myself into this. I tried at all times to lead with empathy and care for the human beings around me and to be as honest and frankly honorable as possible in my work. I really, really tried to live my values in my work in this career, and the only way I can keep that reputation is the path ahead of me.

So there it is. Expect to see me making games, making art, teaching game design, writing about games from time to time @VeeGeeBees. Expect to hear more about my adventures as an EMT, and hopefully, soon as a PA student, and eventually, as an advanced practitioner. I've kept telling myself, in the darkest and worst days of the last few years, that I'll fly again, somehow. It'll just look very different.

To sign off, and pull an old favorite out of my pocket: be good, and be good at it.

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Rebekah Valentine @duckvalentine.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

IGN gets a lot of extremely rightful flack for being really homogenous. Many of its shows are consistently just rows of cis white men. There was a brief period of time, blessedly crossing over with my tenure, when that started to slowly change. (1/x)

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Matt Caulder (They/He) @mattcaulder.com · 15/09/2026

I spent the afternoon yesterday playing this and what’s available right now is so rad, I really hope that @teamlazerbeam.bsky.social let it cook and bloom into something incredible

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kylethompsondev.bsky.social @kylethompsondev.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

My dark fairy-tale metroidvania, Well Dweller, is releasing on PC and all consoles in 1 week!! I'm very excited (and nervous!) for it to finally be out!

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Robert / Zeboyd @zeboydgames.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

It's the Steam Party-Based RPG Fest and Cosmic Star Heroine, Cthulhu Saves Christmas, This Way Madness Lies, and our other RPGs are heavily discounted! It's been a rough few weeks so if you could share this, I'd greatly appreciate it. :) store.steampowered.com/search?term=...

store.steampowered.com

Save 81% on Cosmic Star Heroine on Steam

3 exotic planets to explore. Aliens. Robots. Magic. Forbidden technology. Ruined Worlds. Ghosts. Long-lost secrets. Conspiracies. A galactic threat. And one brave heroine to make things right. Cosmic ...

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Rob Manuel @robmanuel.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

This video will either get you excited about Brazilian Drug Dealer 4 or have you run screaming from it. A mix of amazing game feel with horrendous everything else. Except the music. That's still incredible. youtu.be/A45giYPKMRU?...

youtu.be

CV11-8A-241 - RONALDO'S REVENGE

YouTube video by Civvie 11

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Karatkuro | Myth Caller @karatkuro.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Gamedev is funny sometimes because you'll spend 4 days wrecking yourself to update the game's engine version and fix super difficult memory management problems- ...and the game will look literally the same and people will assume you did nothing lmao #gamedev #indiedev #pixelart

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Knoebel @knoebel.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

'Crystal Crisis' is currently free to keep on Steam. store.steampowered.com/app/447700/C...

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Rob Manuel @robmanuel.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

If you haven't played any of Jeremy's games, you need to check out Escape from Lavender Island. Surreal. Fantastical. Rewarding curiosity. There's also a demo for Soul Injector if you want to check it out now.

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Rob Manuel @robmanuel.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Good people who did amazing work are being let go when there's so much to do. Please support those looking for a new place to land.

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Dean @dean-dev.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

store.steampowered.com/app/4331110

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The Triple-i Initiative @iii-initiative.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The Triple-i Initiative showcase is back! 45 minutes of pure back-to-back game announcements with zero fluff. World premieres. Gameplay reveals. Release dates. Demos. No hosts. No ads. Just games. Be there - October 8th - 9am PDT / noon EDT / 6pm CEST.

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J. L. Westover @mrlovenstein.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Secret Panel HERE 🧠 tinyview.com/mrlovenstein/2026/06/14/memory-hole

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Tucker Hazell @tuckerhazell.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The proof is in the pudding- @doublefine.com has been reborn/ They're bursting out of the womb doing backflips and shooting fireworks. At PAX West I talked to @ashleyesqueda.com with a glimpse of @timoflegend.bsky.social about their new game, new label and new goal. Watch now! youtu.be/R_vcxTB-FtM

youtu.be

Double Fine Interview PAX West 2026 | Dev Dive

YouTube video by Dev Dive

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Dominic Tarason @dominictarason.com · 14/09/2026

It's TIME! TO! GET! HYPE! Today, I get to proudly unveil Steam Hype, the project I've been working on with the help of @hookshot.media for the past two and a half months. A new PC gaming site which aims to demystify PC gaming, cut through the 100+ daily releases and spotlight indies as much as AAA

steamhype.com

Steam Hype

Steam Hype is your go-to destination for discovering the latest, greatest, and most talked-about games on Steam.

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Dave Gilbert @wadjeteyegames.com · 13/09/2026

We are aware that Steam has classified Nighthawks as an adult game and has excluded it from searches (and delisted it entirely in certain countries). We are working on it. Valve is under the impression that this game is way sexier than it actually is.

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