Indie showcase’s biggest stars are AAA game characters

Not since Nintendo tapped an indie studio to make a Zelda...

Rogue Prince of Persia. Screenshot: Evil Empire,

Konami’s Contra characters are coming to indie sensation Vampire Survivors. Konami’s Castlevania hero Simon Belmont is coming to V Rising. 

And Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia is getting a new game, Rogue Prince of Persia, from Evil Empire, the developers behind the post-release content for indie hit Dead Cells.

Those were some of the biggest head-turners during today’s Triple-i Initiative showcase, which packed 36 game announcements into a 45-minute runtime.

And not since Nintendo uncharacteristically let an indie studio make a Zelda game, way back in 2019, has this kind of crossover between AAA publisher’s character rosters and smaller, largely indie teams, gotten this strong a push.