How to find work as an indie game developer
Whether you code, draw, compose, design sound, voice characters, write or translate, indie game work shows up in the same handful of places: game-focused sites like IndieGuild and Work With Indies, Reddit (r/gameDevClassifieds and r/INAT), itch.io jams, freelance marketplaces like Upwork and Fiverr, forums like GameDev.net, and Discord servers. The trick is knowing which one fits the kind of work you want.
I founded IndieGuild, so keep that in mind when I talk about it. I've tried to be fair to everyone here, because each of these is the right pick for somebody.
- Want devs to find you, with matching roles sent to your inbox? Make a free profile on IndieGuild.
- Want a job at an indie studio? Check Work With Indies.
- Want paid one-off gigs? Post [FOR HIRE] and answer [PAID] posts on r/gameDevClassifieds, or try Upwork and Fiverr.
- Want a team for a rev share or hobby game? r/INAT, GameDev.net's Hobby Project Classifieds, and itch.io jam team boards.
- Playing the long game? Join game jams and Discord servers and show your work.
| Where | Better pick when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| IndieGuild | You want indie devs to find you by craft and genre, and roles that fit you sent to your inbox, for free. | It's new, so there are fewer roles than on the big boards. |
| Work With Indies | You want a job at an indie studio, in art, audio, design, programming, writing, marketing, QA and more. | It's a job board, so you're applying alongside everyone else, and there are fewer small one-off gigs. |
| r/gameDevClassifieds | You want paid gigs and a free place to post your own [FOR HIRE] thread. | Lots of competition, and you need to watch for scams. |
| r/INAT | You'll do rev share or hobby work to build credits or find a team. | Lots of projects there never finish. |
| itch.io jams | You want a finished game and a credit fast, and to meet people by working together. | Jam teams are short-term and usually unpaid. |
| Upwork and Fiverr | You want the platform to handle contracts and payment. | Service fees, a lot of price competition, and few clients who specialize in games. |
| GameDev.net | You want an old-school forum with a classifieds board for hobby projects. | Mostly unpaid hobby projects, and it moves slower than Reddit. |
| Discord servers | You want to meet devs who already work in your engine or genre. | Every server has its own rules about self-promo and hiring. |
IndieGuild
This one's mine. You make a free profile with your work right on the page: music and sound you can play, art, voice clips, writing excerpts, translation samples or code. Devs browse by craft and genre, and when a dev posts a role that fits you, it lands in your inbox. Every role on the Job board says up front whether it's paid, rev share or hobby, so you don't waste time finding out. It's free, and I don't take a cut of anything you get paid.
Better pick when you want devs to come to you, or you're a small creator who wants a fair shot next to bigger names. Not the best pick if you want a marketplace to hold the money for you, or the biggest pool of jobs today, since it's newer than the big sites.
Work With Indies
Work With Indies calls itself "a kind job board" for working with indie game developers. It's exclusive to indie games, with jobs in art and animation, audio, business, design, marketing and community, production, programming, QA and writing. Studios pay to list there (from $49, according to their about page), so you're mostly looking at real studio roles.
Better pick when you want a contract or a staff role at an indie studio. Treat it like any job hunt: a tailored portfolio and a short, specific application.
r/gameDevClassifieds and r/INAT
r/gameDevClassifieds is a job board for paid work. Devs post with a [PAID] tag, and you can post your own [FOR HIRE] thread with your portfolio and rates. Rev share and hobby posts go to r/INAT (I Need A Team), where teams form for passion projects. Both are free. Read each sub's rules first, because they remove posts that break them.
Better pick when you want lots of options fast. Reply quickly to [PAID] posts with work that fits their game, not your whole portfolio. My guide to pitching a game dev has a first message you can adapt.
itch.io and game jams
Most jams on itch.io have a community tab where people post "looking for an artist" or "programmer looking for a team." A jam gives you a finished game, a credit and a teammate who's seen how you work, in a weekend or a week. A lot of indie teams start exactly this way.
Better pick when you're just starting and need credits, or you want to test working with someone before a bigger project.
Upwork and Fiverr
The two big general freelance marketplaces. On Upwork, clients post jobs and you send proposals. On Fiverr, you sell fixed-price gigs from your own listing. Both handle payment and disputes, and both charge service fees that change over time, so check their sites for current numbers.
Better pick when you want steady paid work and payment protection. Watch out: you're competing on price with a huge pool, and most clients aren't game devs, so make your listing say "games" loud and clear.
GameDev.net
One of the oldest game dev communities online. Its forums include a Hobby Project Classifieds board where people post team projects and look for help, tagged by role like artist or programmer.
Better pick when you want a hobby team and a slower, more forum-style place to talk it through.
Discord servers
A lot of indie hiring happens quietly in game dev Discord servers, in channels for hiring, collabs or showcases. Read each server's rules before you post, since most only allow self-promo in certain channels. Show up, help people, share progress, and devs remember you when they need someone.
How to stand out wherever you look
- Show game work, not just skills. A playable build, a GIF of a mechanic, a sprite sheet, a track over gameplay, a scene of dialogue. Devs want to picture it in their game.
- Put your rates or pay type up front. "Paid only," "open to rev share" or a starting rate saves everyone a round of messages.
- Reply fast and short. The first few good replies on a post usually get the conversation.
- Finish small things. Two finished jam games beat one huge unfinished project on your profile.
- Get it in writing. Pay, deadlines, credit and who owns the work, even on rev share.
Watch out for scams: nobody should ask you to pay to apply, and a free "test" that's really the whole job is a red flag. Keep the conversation on platforms you trust until you've agreed on terms.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find work as an indie game developer?
The main places are game-focused sites like IndieGuild and Work With Indies, r/gameDevClassifieds for paid gigs, r/INAT for rev share and hobby teams, itch.io game jams, Upwork and Fiverr for freelance work, GameDev.net's Hobby Project Classifieds, and game dev Discord servers. Which one fits depends on whether you want a studio job, paid gigs or a team.
How do I get game dev work with no experience?
Join a few game jams to get finished games and credits, then use them in a portfolio that shows game work. Make a free profile on IndieGuild so devs can find you, reply to [PAID] posts on r/gameDevClassifieds with work that fits, and take small paid gigs to build from there.
Is rev share worth it?
It can be, for credits and for a game you believe in, but most rev share projects never earn money. Pick teams with a playable build and a clear plan, keep the scope small, and put the share, credit and who owns your work in writing.
What's the difference between r/gameDevClassifieds and r/INAT?
r/gameDevClassifieds is for paid work, where devs post [PAID] roles and creators post [FOR HIRE]. r/INAT (I Need A Team) is where rev share and hobby teams form.
Is IndieGuild free?
Yes. Making a profile, browsing roles and messaging are free for game devs, programmers, artists, VFX artists, composers, sound designers, voice actors, writers, translators and video editors, and I don't take a cut of anything you get paid. Pay and rights are agreed directly between you and the dev.
Let indie devs find you
Make a free profile with your work on the page, and roles that fit you land in your inbox. Paid, rev share or hobby is always labeled up front.
Make my free profileMore guides
- How to pitch a game dev (for creators)
- How to find game music work as a small composer
- How to find people to work on your game
- Where indie game devs find composers