How 5 vibe-coded AI games went viral, despite their creators having tiny
audiences
Critics have dismissed the success of an AI game by Pieter Levels due to his massive following. But vibe coders with smaller audiences are succeeding too.
Ever since Pieter Levels vibe coded an AI game that went viral, much of the conversation has centered around Levels' massive audience — he has 600K+ followers on X — and whether his reach alone should be credited for the game's incredible success.
This sentiment was nicely summed up by this viral X post from an indie hacker named Chris Maconi:
Well, here's a funny twist.
Chris Maconi has a son and co-founder named Reagan. And like Pieter Levels, Reagan Maconi also vibe coded an AI game that went viral — generating over 1.5K likes on its launch post! But unlike Pieter Levels, Reagan Maconi has a small audience on X: about 500 followers.
So there has to be more to the story than audience.
And Reagan Maconi isn't alone.
I found half a dozen indie hackers whose vibe-coded AI games generated tons of buzz (e.g. launch posts with 100+ likes) despite relatively low follower counts. I studied their examples to identify factors beyond audience size that helped them stand out in a competitive attention economy for AI-assisted game development.
The viral vibe coders
Here are some of the founders I'll analyze, along with their AI games. (I encourage you to check out their X feeds and study their marketing approaches for yourself!)
Reagan Maconi (X followers: 520) of Combat Mission (top X post: 1.5K likes)
Nicola Manzini (X followers: 3,302), creator of Vibe Sail (top X post: 1.6K likes)
Nicolas Zullo (X followers: 2,265), creator of WW2 Dogfight Arena (top X post: 2.9K likes)
Cemil Sevim (X followers: 353), creator of Battle Tank (top X post: 1.1K likes)
Jay Codes (X followers: 1,205), creator of Space Balls (top X post: 2.2K likes)
Note that these follower counts include all of the followers these indie hackers have gained in the days and weeks since going viral!
But now let's get into the approaches they've all used to get their projects noticed.
Build high-quality games
Let's start with the elephant in the room:
A majority of the AI games indie hackers have vibe-coded in the last couple of weeks have been pretty low-quality. Not so for the ones that went viral.
Take Space Balls (lol) and WW2 Dogfight Arena. Both of these games were heavily inspired by games that already exist and have already proven to be in high demand by lots of players:
Space Balls is based on Agar.io, one of the most popular and addictive web games in history, and
WW2 Dogfight Arena is basically a much, much, better version of Pieter Levels' original Fly game
Building new versions of popular games not only allowed these vibe coders to skip the validation process, but it also increased the odds their games would get noticed and mentioned by the creators of the original games.
Which is exactly what happened in the case of WW2 Dogfight Arena:
“Piggyback” on popular posts for more exposure
In addition to promoting their games on their own X feeds, all of the viral vibe coders have strategically commented on already-viral posts from other people to help their own projects gain exposure.
For example, recall the X post from Chris Maconi arguing over why Levels' game was so successful.
Once Maconi's tweet started gaining traction, he cleverly turned it into a thread that promoted his son's game by reposting Reagan's launch post in the replies:
The rest of the viral vibe coders have employed similar tactics, the most popular of which has been to promote their AI games in the comment sections of the update posts Pieter Levels makes about his game — which happen several times per day.
Which brings me to the final tactic:
Ship constantly, and share what you ship
The final understanding that seems to be shared among all the viral vibe coders is that it's not enough to build a high-quality game, or to score the occasional high-engagement tweet.
They've also all been building in public like madmen.
Building in public is a two-fold challenge. Yes, you have to post content on social media. But it can't just be a bunch of remixes on the product updates you shipped last week. You actually have to ship new updates. And then talk about those updates. And then ship even more updates. And then talk about those updates. And then… and then…
If this sounds exhausting, congratulations: You've discovered what makes people like Pieter Levels so impressive. (Imagine doing this week after week for over a decade!)
The most impressive of the viral vibe coders on this front has been Vibe Sail's Nicola Manzini. Not only has he shipped and shared multiple product updates a day for around two weeks, but he's also been blindly active on X in general, averaging over 20 posts a day (including replies).
In fact, Manzini's been so diligent about shipping and sharing public updates that even on the days when he doesn't have updates to share, he shares updates that he doesn't have any updates to share:
Satisfyingly, an update that he shared when he got back to work the very next day was about a financial milestone: "Proud to share that @AtlanticRecords is now a supporter of vibesail!"
Man, I feel all communities are filled with AI slop nowadays. Unfortunately that's how I describe those games: AI Slop. Nobody would realistically play them as real games, if they were regular gamers.
Most comments here are AI slop as well.
Generally agree. But did you play Space Balls? Fun, beautiful, and imminently playable. Outside of latency issues, I think it easily measures up to professional web games. (You can test this by asking a friend to play/review it without giving them context on how it was made.)
I feel this wave is happening because people are shocked at how AI tools can build full projects now.
It doesn’t feel like it’s about the product quality or distribution, it’s more about the sheer amazement (or fear) that anyone can spin up a full SaaS or game with AI.
Maybe we’re not at 100% automation yet, but in the coming months, it’s going to get even crazier.
The bar for launching is dropping fast.
Yeah, I largely agree with this.
What I think everyone needs to remember is that this is a community of entrepreneurs, so we perceive “value” in a different way than standard consumers. New technologies that open up the possibility space of what we can do are catnip for entrepreneurs.
I agree, that's a good way to look at it.
I just quickly looked over the mentioned games and yeah, they don't look like they will impress anyone nowadays. But it seems like they might have their place - simple games, like Spaceballs and Vibe Sail, could get traction because they are entertaining enough even though they are simple. How simple and yet popular was/is tetris? So, it seems like with the right strategy one could build something that can be monetized.
The games look fun, but these aren't consistent incomes. These are "flash-in-the-pan", "new-shiny-thing" products that get forgotten in two weeks when the next "vibe coded" app comes out. This business model is fun & gimmicky, but really only makes sense when you want to be an influencer and you make income from your personal brand. Which, honestly, is far easier than building a stable SaaS business or Indie Game. For any indie hackers out there, understand that these apps simply function as "content" + a resume builder - which is fine - just see it for what it is instead of assuming you're a failure. My suggestion? Build "vibe coded AI apps" for content, while in the background, build a legitimate product. Once your product is done, BAM, you have an audience already.
You have a valid point.
X was also the right channel for this type of product. All techies, geeks and gamers.
Someone once said to me, "Why don't you try making a game?". I responded, "But I don't know anything about game engines like Unity". He replied, "Bro that is the last thing you should do!". I still haven't made any games but that new plane game just blew my mind
Definitely give it a shot! With AI it's a whole new world compared to the days where learning Unity was a filter.
I recommend doing as little overthinking as possible: just hop into Cursor and start feeding it prompts.
This article brilliantly highlights how innovation and engagement can drive virality, even with a small audience. It’s inspiring to see how unique concepts and strategic marketing outshine follower count in the gaming space! 🚀
Still, they have an audience. Though it’s relatively tiny, it helped a lot in pushing the viral aspect forward IMO. I don’t get how it can even be considered controversial that the size of Levels’ audience is a key factor in the success of his game project.
Trying to add my name to the list of successes here. Vibe coded a fun typing challenge game (cloned from an old game I played). Much like the premise of this article the challenge is getting it any exposure. For some reason on X my posts see almost ZERO engagement or views. I really regret not focusing on building an audience all those years I was developing stuff.
Despite having smaller audiences, vibe-coded AI games have gone viral by tapping into unique and engaging gameplay experiences that resonate with players. These creators, like Pieter Levels, focus on crafting simple yet captivating games that leverage AI's potential in creative ways. While some critics attribute the success of AI games to the creators' large followings, many smaller creators are also thriving by building niche communities and delivering games that offer novelty, fun, and unexpected experiences, proving that a dedicated audience and innovation can lead to viral success.
This post really highlights how audience size isn't the only factor in going viral—execution and timing matter just as much. I’ve seen similar trends in other industries too, where strategic marketing and product quality outweigh pure reach.
For anyone interested in AI-driven indie projects, we’ve been exploring similar strategies at
cofocsp to help builders get more visibility. Would love to hear others’ thoughts on how small creators can break through!
"Great post! You have explained this topic in a very clear and engaging way. Thank you for sharing such informative and interesting content. I look forward to reading more articles like this. Could you share more details on this topic?"
These five vibe-coded AI games went viral due to their unique aesthetics, AI-driven novelty, and shareable gameplay. Despite small creator audiences, organic social media buzz, influencer boosts, and niche community engagement propelled their success, proving that innovation and emotional resonance can drive virality.
This is a great insight and I started noticing this strategy lately with other Indie Hackers dropping their games in these popular posts. Seems like a great time to start selling shovels in this gold rush.