Enshrouded is gaming's next mega-hit indie

Enshrouded is the latest gestalt-style indie game that's taken over the video games market.

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While AAA gaming firmly ruled 2023, indie games have since dominated 2024. Palworld has stolen the limelight by selling 8 million copies in less than a week, signalling a large shift in player behavior. Heavy-hitters like Valheim and Fortnite are proof gamers crave survival-crafting experiences, and these new breakout indies fit the bill nicely.

Despite Palworld's success, there's another rising indie star: Enshrouded, a fantasy game with comprehensively combined mechanics, has now sold 1 million copies in 4 days.

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"In just four days, Enshrouded has attracted over a million players. We are completely blown away by its success and the overwhelmingly positive reception. From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank all our players," German developer Keen Games said on Twitter.

Like Palworld, Enshrouded is a game with an extensive variety of gameplay mechanics and features. It's a kind of all-in-one style game that packs in various gameplay loops like survival, crafting, building, combat, looting, and other interactive social mainstays of these types of online games.

With more gamers avidly consuming these types of titles, indie developers are now having more sway over trends as the volatile video games market braces against thousands of job cuts and layoffs.

Enshrouded features

• Real-time third-person combat akin to Breath of the Wild, complete with a BOTW-styled stamina wheel. Combat is also somehow reminiscent of Dragon Age
• Fast combat that rewards precise striking, blocking, and dodging, similar to a Souls-like
• Diablo-like inventory screen
• Similar skill tree to Path of Exile
• Robust building mechanics
• 16-player dedicated servers