1m DayZ alpha builds sold is proof indie is "big and serious business"

Indie success is no longer an anomaly, according to Dean Hall. Big sales are "shots fired" at traditional games publishing.

As the alpha build of Bohemia Interactive's DayZ flies past the one million sales mark, creator Dean Hall has told Polygon that huge numbers from early access to indie games can no longer be labelled an anomaly.

While he admitted that early access to content will throw up its own set of problems, the sales success is evidence that gamers want new and exciting experiences and are prepared to accept unfinished projects.

"The concept of Kickstarter and early access games is not without problems, though, and I think we've yet to see the full extent of that," he said. "But what this says to me is that gamers crave real creativity in their games along with engagement in the process, and that the ‘indie' way is not just restricted to small projects in fringe games. It's big and serious business now."

"Previously with the mod I think traditional publishers could write DayZ off as a kind of anomaly. It was possible to think that this would not fully translate to the retail game in terms of real sales. This has got to be a 'shots fired' moment for those in the traditional publishing model, and their investors."