Dave the Diver’s 'Indie' Controversy Addressed by Mintrocket CEO

Dave the Diver at Game Awards 2023

Dave the Diver, the quirky deep-sea RPG that made waves in 2023, found itself at the heart of a heated debate—though not for anything in the game itself. The controversy started when the title landed a nomination for “Best Independent Game” at The Game Awards 2023, despite being developed by Mintrocket, a subsidiary of Nexon, one of South Korea’s biggest gaming companies. That didn’t sit right with many players and indie developers who felt the spot should’ve gone to a truly independent studio.

The confusion wasn’t entirely surprising. With its pixel-art visuals, small team vibe, and creatively oddball gameplay, Dave the Diver definitely looked and felt like an indie game. A lot of people didn’t even realize it was backed by a major publisher. But the team at Mintrocket never actually claimed otherwise.

In a recent interview with 4Gamer (translated by Automaton), Mintrocket CEO and Dave the Diver director Jaeho Hwang spoke about the nomination and cleared up the misunderstanding. He explained:

"No, we didn't intend to make it feel like an indie game. In the first place, it was made by Nexon and there was no indie or anything. However, when it comes to making games with small teams, the art style and game system tend to be unique, so I think it was considered an indie game from that point of view. For some reason, it was nominated for an indie game award, and people said, "It's a Nexon game," but we didn't apply."

So, how did it happen? According to the nomination process laid out on The Game Awards official site, games are chosen by a jury of over 100 global media outlets. There’s no application or submission system—any game released before the cutoff date is eligible. That means it was the media panel, not Nexon or Mintrocket, who selected Dave the Diver.

As per reports by VGC, Geoff Keighley, producer and host of The Game Awards, commented that the definition of “independent” isn’t always black and white. “It can mean different things to different people,” he said, and ultimately left the decision up to the jury.

Still, that didn’t stop the backlash. Many indie developers argued that the nomination could’ve gone to a smaller team without the backing of a big corporation. It sparked a broader conversation about what “indie” really means in today’s game industry.