Games Made in France 2026: 8 French Indie Games You Should Know About

France does not get enough credit for its indie game scene. Studios like Don’t Nod, Dotemu, Amplitude, and DigixArt have been quietly producing some of the most creative games in the industry. Every year, the Games Made in France showcase puts 38 of them on stage for four days of live demos, interviews, and reveals.

The sixth edition runs April 23 to 26 on MisterMV’s Twitch channel, hosted by streamers MisterMV, At0mium, Trinity, and DamDamLive. Last year’s edition drew an average of 7,000 concurrent viewers and over a million total views across the four days. It is organized by Capital Games with support from the CNC (Centre national du cinéma) and the Ile-de-France region.

Here are the eight games we think deserve your attention.

Aphelion (Don’t Nod)

Launches April 28, 2026 | Narrative action-adventure

Don’t Nod (Life is Strange, Banishers) is showing its next original IP just days before launch. You play as Ariane, an ESA astronaut stranded on an uncharted frozen planet called Persephone. Your partner Thomas is wounded. The landscape keeps shifting around you. The studio describes it as a cinematic third-person action-adventure, which is a significant departure from their narrative-heavy, choice-driven formula. This is the highest-profile game at the showcase and the one most likely to make headlines when the stream goes live.

Tides of Tomorrow (DigixArt / THQ Nordic)

Launches April 22, 2026 | Narrative adventure with online story-link

The makers of Road 96 are back with something genuinely experimental. Tides of Tomorrow is set in a flooded world threatened by a disease called Plastemia. The hook is an “Online Story-Link” system where choices made by previous players shape the world for future ones. It is not multiplayer in the traditional sense. It is a single-player narrative game that evolves based on collective decisions. THQ Nordic is publishing, which gives it significant marketing reach. It launches the day before the showcase begins, so expect the stream to double as a launch celebration.

Absolum (Dotemu / Guard Crush Games / Supamonks)

Released October 2025 | Beat’em up roguelite | Very Positive (94%)

Dotemu already proved they could revive the beat’em up genre with Streets of Rage 4. Absolum is what happens when they combine that expertise with a roguelite structure. You fight as outcast heroes trying to reclaim magic from the Sun King Azra, with a 94% approval rating on Steam from over 4,000 reviews. If you enjoy roguelite combat, this one has already earned its spot.

Astral Ascent (Hibernian Workshop)

Released November 2023 | Roguelike platformer | Overwhelmingly Positive (95%)

This is the veteran of the lineup. Astral Ascent has been out since 2023 and sits at an Overwhelmingly Positive rating with a 95% approval rate. You choose one of four heroes and fight your way through the Garden, an astral prison guarded by 12 zodiac bosses. The combat is lightning-fast, the art direction is gorgeous, and co-op support means you can drag a friend along. Multiple DLC expansions have kept the community active. Its presence at the showcase likely means new content is being teased.

The Witch’s Bakery (Sunny Lab / Silver Lining Interactive)

Coming Q2 2026 | Narrative RPG

If the phrase “witch-baker in Paris” does not immediately hook you, the 100,000+ Steam wishlists might. You play as Lunne, a witch who just arrived in Paris to open a bakery that heals people’s hearts through enchanted pastries. It is a 2D adventure RPG with baking, shop management, and a story about finding your place in a city that does not quite understand you. Planned for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, and Switch 2.

Wonderfall (Attaboy Interactive)

Coming 2026 | Narrative adventure / urban exploration

Paris, 1920. The city is collapsing into sand. You play as Leon, an orphan who can manipulate sand, exploring a reimagined version of the French capital consumed by entropy. The premise alone makes it one of the most visually distinctive games in the showcase. With over 2,000 lines of dialogue and sand-based traversal mechanics, it sits somewhere between a narrative adventure and a puzzle platformer. Self-published by a small team, this is the kind of project that events like Games Made in France exist to spotlight.

Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes (Alt Shift / Dotemu)

Coming Q2 2026 | Tactical roguelite / strategy

The developers behind Crying Suns (which was excellent) are tackling the Battlestar Galactica license. You command a fleet escaping the annihilation of the Twelve Colonies, managing crises aboard your ships while preparing for encounters with the Cylon fleet. It is a story-rich tactical roguelite, which is almost exactly what Crying Suns was, but now with the weight of an iconic sci-fi franchise behind it. A demo is already available on Steam.

ENDLESS Legend 2 (Amplitude Studios / Hooded Horse)

Early Access since September 2025 | 4X strategy | Very Positive (83%)

Amplitude Studios regained its independence from Sega in 2024 and immediately went back to what they do best: asymmetric faction design in a fantasy 4X setting. ENDLESS Legend 2 is the sequel to one of the most respected strategy games of the past decade. It features heroes leading factions across an ever-evolving world, political influence systems, and grand armies. It has been in Early Access since September 2025 with a Very Positive rating. The showcase slot likely means a major update announcement.

The Full Lineup

These eight are our picks, but the full showcase includes 38 games across every genre. Other notable entries include Darwin’s Paradox (which we reviewed earlier this month), Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War! from Dotemu, and a masterclass on the A Plague Tale saga by Asobo Studio.

The stream runs April 23 to 26 on MisterMV’s Twitch channel, starting at 6:30 PM CET on opening night. If you care about indie games and want to discover studios you have never heard of, this is one of the better showcases to tune into.

Games Made in France 2026 runs April 23-26 on Twitch.