Designer of Braid and The Witness, creator of the Jai language, head of Thekla
Braid, The Witness, Order of the Sinking Star +2
stack --tool cpp · #56 of 80
Indie makers who build with C++ (2026)
2 indie makers on IndieMakerList list C++ in their stack — 1% of makers who share one — including Jonathan Blow and Billy Basso. A high-performance systems programming language used for games and native apps. Below: their products, self-reported revenue and the tools they pair with C++.
2
makers
6
products
—
combined revenue*
0
exits
Official site: isocpp.org
Top indie makers using C++
2 makers, ranked by profile depth, audience and reported revenue.
Chicago solo developer who spent seven years building the hit Metroidvania Animal Well
Animal Well
Products built by C++ makers
A selection of the 6 products shipped by these makers.
B
Braid
braid-game.com
Time-manipulation puzzle platformer; an Anniversary Edition with commentary was released in 2024.
$4M+ lifetime by 2014by Jonathan Blow
T
The Witness
the-witness.net
Open-world first-person puzzle game on an island of line-drawing panels.
$5M+ gross in first weekby Jonathan Blow
A
Animal Well
animalwell.net
Atmospheric pixel-art exploration and puzzle game full of hidden layers, published by Bigmode.
by Billy Basso
What C++ makers build
Where C++ makers are based
Other language tools indie makers use
C++ indie makers FAQ
Which indie makers build with C++?
Indie makers on IndieMakerList who list C++ in their stack include Jonathan Blow and Billy Basso.
How popular is C++ with indie makers?
2 makers — 1% of the 170 profiles with a listed stack — use C++, ranking it #56 of 80 tools used by two or more makers.
What do indie makers build with C++?
Makers using C++ mostly work in Indie Game Makers (2), and have shipped 6 listed products between them.
What is C++?
A high-performance systems programming language used for games and native apps. Official site: https://isocpp.org
Know an indie maker who builds with C++? Submit a maker to IndieMakerList →
Stack data comes from each maker's posts, interviews and open-source repos. See every tool in the indie maker stack.