Some of the best games on your phone were made by one person. Stardew Valley (Eric Barone), Balatro (LocalThunk), Papers, Please (Lucas Pope), Downwell (Ojiro Fumoto), Getting Over It (Bennett Foddy) and Pixel Dungeon (Watabou) were each built by a single developer, and Vampire Survivors started as one person’s project before a team joined. The most famous example, Flappy Bird, was made by Dong Nguyen in two to three days, although it hasn’t been on the stores since 2014.
Solo-made games you can play on your phone #
| Game | Made by | How solo? | On phones |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stardew Valley | Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone | All the code, art, music and sound, over about five years | iOS 2018, Android 2019 |
| Balatro | LocalThunk | One developer over about two and a half years, published by Playstack | iOS and Android, September 2024 |
| Vampire Survivors | poncle (Luca Galante) | Solo at first, then a team | iOS and Android, December 2022 |
| Papers, Please | Lucas Pope | Solo | iPad 2014, iPhone and Android 2022 |
| Downwell | Ojiro Fumoto | Solo, published by Devolver Digital | iOS 2015, Android 2016 |
| Getting Over It | Bennett Foddy | Solo | iOS 2017, Android 2018 |
| Super Hexagon | Terry Cavanagh | Solo design and code, music by Chipzel | iOS 2012, Android 2013 |
| Pixel Dungeon | Oleg “Watabou” Dolya | Solo, open source since 2014 | Android and iOS |
| Shattered Pixel Dungeon | Evan Debenham | A solo developer’s expanded version of Pixel Dungeon | Android and iOS |
| Flappy Bird | Dong Nguyen | Solo, in two to three days | Removed in 2014 |
Release details come from each game’s Wikipedia entry, including Stardew Valley, Balatro and Vampire Survivors. Prices vary by store and change often, so check the listing.
The games, one by one #
Stardew Valley #
Eric Barone spent about five years making Stardew Valley alone, including all of its pixel art, music and sound effects, before it launched on PC in 2016. It’s a farming game where you inherit a run-down plot, grow crops, fish, mine and get to know a small town. The iPhone version arrived in October 2018 and Android in March 2019, ported with the help of a studio called The Secret Police. It’s the go-to answer for “can one person make a great game?”
Wrong for: anyone who wants short sessions. A single in-game day takes a while, and it’s easy to lose an evening.
Balatro #
A poker-inspired roguelike where you build hands and collect jokers that bend the rules. LocalThunk, a solo developer in Canada, built it over about two and a half years, mostly as a side project, and the publisher Playstack found it on Steam. It came to iPhone and Android in September 2024, with an Apple Arcade version called Balatro+.
Wrong for: people who dislike any element of chance. Good decisions win over time, but the cards still decide individual runs.
Vampire Survivors #
Luca Galante, known as poncle, made the first version alone in 2020. You steer a character through waves of monsters while your weapons fire automatically. It became so popular that he brought in more developers. The mobile version arrived in December 2022 and, unlike the PC release, is free with optional ads. According to Wikipedia, mobile development was fast-tracked because clones using stolen code were appearing on app stores.
Wrong for: anyone who wants control over every attack. You mostly move and choose upgrades.
Papers, Please #
Lucas Pope’s game makes you a border inspector in a fictional country, checking documents and deciding who gets in. It sounds dull and turns out to be tense and moving. Pope ported it to iPad in 2014, and redesigned iPhone and Android versions arrived in August 2022.
Wrong for: people looking for something light. It’s a game about bureaucracy and hard choices.
Downwell #
Ojiro Fumoto made Downwell alone, the first game he developed entirely by himself. You fall down a well, shooting enemies below you with gun boots that also slow your fall. It launched on iOS in October 2015 and on Android in January 2016, published by Devolver Digital. It’s played in portrait with simple controls, which suits a phone well.
Wrong for: anyone who hates starting over. It’s a roguelike, and runs end quickly.
Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy #
A man in a pot climbs a mountain using only a hammer, and one slip can send you back to the start. Bennett Foddy made it alone, and it’s famous for making people furious. It came to iOS in December 2017 and Android in April 2018.
Wrong for: almost anyone who wants a relaxing game.
Super Hexagon #
Terry Cavanagh’s Super Hexagon has you rotate a tiny triangle through closing walls, and a good run lasts seconds. Cavanagh designed and built it himself, and the chiptune soundtrack is by Chipzel. It launched on iOS in September 2012 and Android in January 2013.
Wrong for: anyone who found Flappy Bird too hard. This is harder.
Pixel Dungeon and Shattered Pixel Dungeon #
Oleg Dolya, known as Watabou, made Pixel Dungeon alone and released its code as open source in 2014. Many other games grew from that code. The best known, Shattered Pixel Dungeon, is the work of Evan Debenham, who spent seven years expanding it before version 1.0 in August 2021, with more hero classes, items and new music. Both are turn-based dungeon crawlers that play well in short bursts.
Wrong for: people who want a story. These are about the next floor and the next run.
Flappy Bird, the most famous one-person game #
Dong Nguyen made Flappy Bird in two to three days, released it in May 2013, and watched it top the charts in January 2014. He pulled it from the stores on February 10, 2014, saying it had become too addictive. The story of what happened next, including the 2024 reboot he disowned, is in what happened to Flappy Bird.
The game is gone, but its idea is everywhere. Flappy Kittens is one modern take on it: the same tap-to-fly core, with fish treats to collect, combos, power-ups and 14 cats to earn, free with ads and playable offline. For more games in the same line, see our list of games like Flappy Bird.
How does one person make a hit game? #
The games above have a few things in common:
- One strong idea. One tap to fly. Poker with rule-breaking jokers. A border booth. Small teams win by doing one thing very well.
- A small scope, or a lot of time. Flappy Bird took days because it was tiny. Stardew Valley took years because it wasn’t.
- Help at the edges. “Made by one person” usually has an asterisk. Chipzel wrote Super Hexagon’s music, publishers like Playstack and Devolver Digital handled release, and The Secret Police helped port Stardew Valley to phones. The core of each game still came from one mind.
- Protecting the idea. Successful solo games attract copycats fast, as Flappy Bird’s clone flood and Vampire Survivors’ stolen-code clones showed.
Where can you find more small-studio games? #
Solo games are part of a wider indie scene, and many of the best indie games on phones are made by teams of two to ten people. Our list of the best indie mobile games covers the strongest picks, with prices and who each one suits.
Frequently asked questions #
Did one person make Flappy Bird? #
Yes. Dong Nguyen made it by himself in two to three days, using a bird character he had originally designed for a cancelled game.
Was Stardew Valley made by one person? #
Yes. Eric Barone made the original game alone, including the art, music and sound, over about five years. The mobile versions were made with help from the studio The Secret Police.
Is Balatro made by one person? #
Yes. LocalThunk, a solo developer from Canada, made it. Playstack published it and brought it to consoles and phones.
Is Vampire Survivors made by one person? #
It started that way. Luca Galante, known as poncle, made the first version alone in 2020, then added developers as the game grew.
Can one person still make a hit mobile game? #
Yes. Balatro reached phones in 2024 and Vampire Survivors in 2022, and both started with one developer. The odds are long, but the tools and stores are open to anyone.