The Forge (roleplaying game website)

An indie role-playing game is a role-playing game published outside of traditional, "mainstream" means. Varying definitions require that commercial, design, or conceptual elements of the game stay under the control of the creator, or that the game should just be produced outside of a corporate environment. The validity and exact definition of the "indie" label is disputed.

Indie role-playing games (RPGs) can be self-published by one or a few people who themselves control all aspects of design, promotion and distribution of the game. An independent role-playing game publisher usually lacks the financial backing of large company. This has made forms of publishing other than the traditional three-tier model more desirable to the independent publisher.

Independent publishers may offer games only in digital format, only in print, or they may offer the same game in a variety of formats. Some major RPG publishers have abandoned PDF publication, probably as a counter-piracy effort. Common digital formats include HTML, text, blog, or PDF form.Gamers may print the game documents, use a in electronic form on a laptop, or use an eReader.Desktop publishing technologies have allowed indie designers to publish their games as bound books, which many gamers prefer. The advent of print on demand (POD) publishing has recently lowered the costs of producing an RPG to the point at which role-playing games can be produced and distributed with minimal financial investment. Indie games are often conflated with small press games, because of the great overlap between creator ownership and small press publishing.

Disintermediation is a key concept in indie game distribution; independent publishers typically lack established business relationships with distributors and retailers. Indie distribution is often achieved directly by the game's creator via e-commerce or in-person sales at gaming conventions. However, some fulfillment houses and small-scale distributors do handle indie products using the traditional three tier system.

...
Wikipedia