Ball x Pit, developed by a small indie team, has surpassed $12M in gross revenue, selling over 800K copies barely a month after launch.
Let’s break down how this seemingly ‘1970s-era game’ became one of this year’s biggest indie successes.
Design Inspiration: Old Formula, New Energy
By blending shoot-’em-up, roguelike, and light management mechanics, the game carves out its own identity in an oversaturated genre. On its surface, the game resembles Breakout and Vampire Survivors, but its true inspiration came from an unexpected place: Habby’s mobile game PunBall.
Kenny, the lead developer, saw an ad of Punball, played it, recognized its untapped potential, and reimagined it into something faster, sharper, and far more reactive. To deepen the experience, the devs layered in meta progression that gradually evolves the game into a semi–idle-style management experience, giving players a satisfying sense of long term growth on top of the moment-to-moment chaos.
Marketing: Strong First Impressions
Devolver Digital stepped in early, giving the game their signature spotlight. At the 2025 Devolver Summer Showcase, the game took center stage and gained massive momentum that fueled its visibility
And the demo played a crucial role too. It was simple, convincing, and gave players a clear taste of what the full game would deliver. That strong first impression helped the game spread organically across Steam and content creators.
The result? A game that feels instantly familiar, yet completely its own!
Takeaway
By taking a classic genre and reinventing it with fresh energy, Kenny and the team along with Devolver Digital were able to position Ball X Pit in a perfect spotlight and deliver a flow state players instantly “get” and can’t put down.
What else?
Recently, mobile games have increasingly drawn inspiration from PC titles to create hits. Ball X Pit flipped the script, showing that taking ideas from mobile can also lead to major success