GamesBeat panel spotlight: The rise of big indie game studios

The power of indies has never been greater. Small, independent game developers have driven the success of platforms such as the iPhone, iPad, and Android. And now those indies are being courted by the likes of Nintendo, Sony, Ouya, Amazon, Steam, Facebook, and Microsoft with developer programs that sweeten the pot if the developer will make a game for their platform.

And as a result, you can expect to see those small studios turn into big ones. Self-publishing and new platforms are giving them options they never had before, and some successful studios are becoming big players. What’s next in the evolution of the big indie? And what does it mean to be an indie?