Indie games, once a fringe fringe of the gaming world, have now become a bastion of creativity and a true powerhouse in the marketplace. That's why it's curious that Sony has been rather silent about the indie games coming to the PS5.

Comparatively, Microsoft released a large number of indie and third-party games for the Xbox Series X in May, before lifting the lid from the big first-party games. In comparison, Sony showed off numerous first-party games and big third-party titles at its June event; the lack of PS5-based indie games raises eyebrows.

Indie games used to be the sole domain of the PC. But then programs like Xbox Live Arcade brought titles like Braid, Limbo, and Peggle to the console world. Sony caught up with the PS3, and as the company's online component expanded, it became easier to sell games from lesser-known developers.

When the two consoles launched in 2013, the PS4 was arguably more indie-friendly than the Xbox One. However, the Xbox One has caught up with initiatives like Xbox Game Pass, which offers an easy way to access indie titles for a monthly fee and removes the worry of buying games you might not like.

Both Sony and Microsoft seem to be aware of the welcome diversity that indies and low-budget third-party developers bring to the gaming ecosystem. However, Microsoft seems to be actively promoting indie titles.

With no blockbuster games like Halo Infinite or Fable 4 in the Xbox Series X launch window, it could be argued that Microsoft needs to support indie games. Comparatively, Sony has decided to make "Spider-Man: Miles Morales" and the "Demon's Souls" remake the exclusive launch titles when the console launches on November 12. Games like "Gran Turismo 7" and "Ratchet & Clank" will also be released: the release dates for these two titles have not yet been confirmed, but games like "Gran Turismo 7" and "Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart" will likely be released shortly thereafter.

Neither console, however, will have a lavish lineup packed with major titles at launch. Indie games provide a nice break between triple-A games and bursts of creativity. They can even be legitimate alternatives to big-budget games, especially given the stale nature of some big-budget franchises.

The Xbox Series X offers a wealth of indie games and titles from lesser-known studios, such as Call of the Sea, The Ascent, Scorn, Echo Generation, and Orphan of the Machine

These games are available in a wide variety of formats.

Whether these games will be available in time for the November 10 launch date of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S is not known. However, they should be enough to fill the gap between the fall launch of the consoles and the spring of 2021. We don't know if these games will come to the PS5, but in any case, Sony isn't letting us know.

That in itself is a bit sad. As my colleague Adam Ismail pointed out, the indie game Resogun was a bit of an odd hit for the PS4; had it been released in 2014, it might have been overshadowed by some of the PS4's bigger games.

The success of indie games is very important to the gaming industry as a whole. Indie games are also a good beacon of diversity, from the topics and themes they cover to the developers. Such diversity is often lacking in many big-name games and established franchises.

Again, it seems odd that all we hear from Sony regarding indie games is a post about nine games from the "PlayStation Indies" initiative, only four of which are confirmed to be coming to PS5. This is despite the fact that Sony once looked like the indie gaming champion, with the now-defunct PS Vita as its primary indie platform.

Now, I'm not going to claim Microsoft or the Xbox Series X as the bastion of indie gaming. However, the subscription nature of Xbox Game Pass does make indie games more attractive to casual players. I tried games like Observation and Tacoma, but they weren't games I would necessarily buy, at least not on the Xbox One X. PS Plus does contribute to the distribution of some smaller games, but it doesn't have the scope or arguably the appeal of Microsoft's service.

Nevertheless, I believe that Sony will eventually have a strong indie game lineup for the PS5, given its predicted popularity; the PS4 has a much larger user base than the Xbox One, and many PS4 players will naturally migrate to the PS5. In other words, indie developers looking to make a big hit with their games may simply target the PS5 to pursue the largest user base.

Then again, Microsoft appears to be adept at nurturing indie studios; after acquiring Minecraft developer Mojang, Microsoft encouraged astronomical growth in games without too much fine-grained control. With this indie-studio-friendly approach and Microsoft's eagerness to promote non-Triple-A games, the Xbox Series X may well feature the most interesting indie games.

Ultimately, both consoles will have strong exclusive games, but it is the initial explosion of indie games that I may lean toward either console. For now, I'm looking favorably on the Xbox Series X, but I'm really hoping that Sony is trying to sway me, because I'd like to see a lot of new games on the console, and I'd like to see a lot of new games on the console.