In an era of soaring development costs and risk-adverse publishers, the industry's greatest hope for discovering new talent and new game ideas lies in the hands of independent developers. Amateur teams of content creators, mod makers, or semi-professional small studios are capable of taking risks and making creative leaps that larger studios can't afford.

What small studios lack is distribution: a way for the best-of-market to rise above the noise and get seen by the gaming world at large. That's where FilePlanet and the rest of the IGN network can step up. Here are a few ways that we're committed to fostering, growing, and supporting independent game development:

• The GameSpy Planet Network: Dedicated community sites surround the largest and most active game communities. Our editors look forward to working with promising teams to help promote the best mods to the game's biggest fans.



• FilePlanet's Featured Indie Game Slot: Every day a piece of real estate on the FilePlanet front page is set aside for clever indie games that we feel deserve a spotlight. The featured Indie game is updated daily.



• FilePlanet's Indie Game Premiere Program: When you're ready to debut a new title, contact Team FilePlanet and schedule a time on our editorial calendar where we can premiere your game in our featured file area. After a few days it will scroll down into our Indie Game Slot and enter the rotation.



• Indie Game of the Week: Great titles will be featured on FilePlanet's Weekly newsletter.



• GameSpy.com's "Download This!" Column: The spotlight shines on 2 or three indie or web-based games every two weeks. Read it here!

Contact FilePlanet Today and let us know about your current indie game project!