You’ve got your game idea all laid out, and now it’s even in the works. But then comes the looming question of how you’ll be getting the game into the hands of gamers everywhere. Where can you sell indie games?
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We’ve compiled a list of places where you can submit your indie games for release! Many of these gaming portals are indie-friendly, though some require more submission guidelines than others to get listed. We’ve only touched on the basics that you may want to consider when choosing a distributor, but we’ve got plenty of links that can bring you to relevant pages from that site.
Before you decide to go with a distribution platform, be sure to keep in mind of the following:
- How much of your revenue are you willing to split? 70/30 is pretty standard in the industry, but there are certain places that are negotiable or have other revenue schemes.
- Who is your target customer? Steam users may be used to paying for games (albeit most lurk around until deals/sales come up), but if you’re hoping to sell on a platform with games that are mostly free, you won’t be looking at much support from gamers or many sales if you sell indie games there.
- Do you meet the requirements of that platform? Submitting to Kongregate may be on the top of your list, but if you’re not an in-browser game, you will not be accepted. The same goes for platforms that only consider completed games. Make sure to meet the requirements the distributor sets out to avoid wasting time waiting for the rejection.
- Releasing on smaller platforms? It’s a no-brainer that Steam gets a staggering amount of visits daily, but being released may not be as easy as you first thought. There are some platforms that give you the freedom to release any game without their internal review, so this may have to be your alternative if your game gets rejected. These sites may offer much more freedom, but you’ll have to work extra hard to get your games noticed on sites with lower average daily visits.
One last thing to consider comes further down the line. Submissions may be fairly easy and hassle-free, but once the distributor accepts your game, you’ll often be invited to further discussions, and lastly, a contract. Make sure to be aware of the terms and conditions that come with distributing your games so that you protect your own rights!
Places to sell indie games
Steam
Game format: XNA, Java, Flash or Adobe Air games and any application that can run as a stand-alone executable
Number of users: 125 million (2015 source)
Submission fee: $100 (donated to Child’s Play)
Submission Process: You’ll first go through Steam greenlight, where the community approves of a game into Steam. Once Greenlit, Steam will then reach out to the developer to determine the game’s release timeline.
Revenue split: 70/30 (source)
Exclusivity: No
Platform: PC
State of game when submitting: There are two categories you can choose from: one for mostly-finished games seeking distribution, and one for early builds and concepts seeking community feedback.
Links: Submit, FAQ
GOG:
Game format: Any
Daily visitors: n/a
Submission fee: None
Submission process: Fill out submission form. If you pass initial stage of the submission, GOG will do an internal review then get back to you with feedback and decision.
Revenue split: 70/30 (or 60/40 if you choose to get an advance on royalties, which drops to 70/30 when the advance is paid back; source)
Exclusivity: No
Platform: PC
State of game when submitting: Ideally a completed game (alpha/betas fine, but prefer a feature-complete slice of the game with art/gameplay as close to the final version as possible)
Points to note:
- No free to play titles or microtransaction games
- Only DRM-free titles
- Borrowed assets in your game means very unlikely you’ll be accepted
Links: Submission page/FAQ
Game Jolt
Game format: Any
Number of users: n/a
Submission fee: None
Submission Process: Add a game page and set your price.
Revenue split: Up to you, as long as you give 10% or less to Game Jolt (source). You get 30% of ad revenue generated from your game page (source).
Exclusivity: No
Platform: PC
State of game when submitting: Any
Points to note:
- If purchasing games with money from a Game Jolt wallet, they won’t take a cut of the sale
Links: Add a game page, How to add game
GamersGate
Game format: Any
Number of users: n/a
Submission fee: None
Submission Process: Email [email protected] with details on this page filled out.
Revenue split: 70/30 (source)
Exclusivity: No
Platform: PC and mobile
State of game when submitting: Game has to be completed, in that it is installable and playable. Can be in alpha/beta stage as long as it’s installable/playable.
Points to note:
- Can offer demo of your game
- Can offer pre-order for your game
- Does not support web-based games
- Supports microtransactions
- They prefer to sell Steam keys
Links: FAQ
Itch.io
Game format: Any (not limited to games; any project can be uploaded)
Number of users: n/a
Submission fee: None
Submission Process: Free to create your own page(s) on itch.io where people can download any project you’ve created.
Revenue split: Open revenue sharing (you choose what % of sales goes to itch.io)
Exclusivity: No
Platform: PC and mobile
State of game when submitting: Any state
Points to note:
- Can allow gamers to pay what they want (i.e. free, but can donate)
- Adult content allowed
Links: Info/Upload
Playfield
Game format: Any
Number of users: n/a
Submission fee: None
Submission Process: Create a game page any time you want, but will have to contact [email protected] to sort out the contract details in order to start selling your game.
Revenue split: 75/25 (source)
Exclusivity: No
Platform: PC
State of game when submitting: Any (can create a game page anytime)
Links: Info
Kongregate
Game format: Flash (swf) files, HTML, and Unity game files
Number of users: 29 million registered users
Submission fee: None
Submission Process: Complete your submission by making sure you meet the integration checklist criteria. Then contact Kongregate so they can run a quality assurance pass to make sure it’s ready for publishing.
Revenue split: Ad revenue standard cut at 25% to developer; varies with exclusivity of game. Up to 50%.
Exclusivity: Not required, but increases your ad revenue if exclusive
Platform: PC and mobile
State of game when submitting: Alphas/betas accepted.
Points to note:
- Can send in game for sponsorship review
- Does not allow game that requires a player to externally login or create a non-Kongregate account
- Can port your Facebook game to Kongregate
- Microtransactions must be done through Kongregate Kreds.
Links: Info, Submission page
Newgrounds
Game format: Flash (swf) files, HTML5
Number of users: n/a
Submission fee: None
Submission Process: You can freely submit your game onto Newgrounds. Submissions appear immediately on the site and go through a judgment phase where users vote on them. If a sufficient score is not achieved by the end of judgment, the submission will be deleted. A submission may pass judgment and still be removed by moderators if it breaks the rules stated on the submission form.
Revenue split: Around $0.30/1000 views (source)
Exclusivity: No
Platform: PC
State of game when submitting: Alphas/betas accepted.
Points to note:
- Does not offer monetization for Mature and Adult content
- Not exclusively for games; you’ll be amongst audio, art, movies, etc.
Links: Info, Guidelines, Submission form
Humble Store
Game format: Any
Number of users: n/a
Submission fee: None
Submission Process: Fill out a form to Humble Bundle to get them to review your game. They will respond if your game gets rejected or accepted.
Revenue split: 75/15, then 10 to charity
Exclusivity: No
Platform: PC and mobile
State of game when submitting: Can do early access releases.
Points to note:
- Please note that this is not equal to a Humble widget.
- When you first submit, your game will not be included in their features or be discounted to work out bugs.
Links: FAQ, Submission form
GameHouse
Game format: Build on Unity, Marmalade or your own custom engine
Number of users: 30 million monthly users (source), 13 million PC customers (source)
Submission fee: No
Submission Process: Contact GameHouse to leave your contact information and they’ll have someone reach out to you to discuss more about your game.
Revenue split: 30% royalty revenue share
Exclusivity: No, but exclusive may lead to higher revenue share
Platform: PC (primarily) and mobile
State of game when submitting: Alpha and beta okay for reviewing, but the game has to be completed before you can be submitted for launch by GameHouse.
Points to note:
- Provides localization in 8 languages
- Your final game build must conform to their platform requirements (scroll to bottom of http://partners.gamehouse.com/developer-resources/)
Links: Contact
Playism
Game format: Any
Number of users: n/a
Submission fee: None
Submission Process: To release a game on Playism, you’ll go through the following steps: inspection on quality of your game, creating a contract, localization (translating game and making ready for Japanese consumers) and debugging, distribution and promotion preparation, and lastly distribution. The game can also just be released in English on Playism.
Revenue split: n/a
Exclusivity: No
Platform: PC
State of game when submitting: Any
Points to note:
- Helps you translate your game to Japanese
- Helps with marketing and media in the Japanese market
- Handles customer support from all over the world regarding your game
Links: Info/Contact
IndieGameStand
Game format: Any
Number of users: n/a
Submission fee: None
Submission Process: Apply and you’ll be sent an automatic email to notify when you can access the Developer Portal. Once you’ve opted in to be listed on the store, they’ll approve you and your game will appear in their new releases list.
Revenue split: For PWYW game deals, 70/20, then 10% to a charity of the Developer’s choosing. For the store, the split is 75/25.
Exclusivity: No
Platform: PC and mobile
State of game when submitting: Alpha/Beta games okay
Points to note:
- Can do Pay What You Want deals
- Can help host/distribute any digital goodies you have from crowdfunding services like Kickstarter or IndieGoGo for free
Links: FAQ, Submission
Amazon
Game format: Supports Android devices that are running Android OS 2.2 and higher, HTML5 apps and mobile websites. No iOS applications.
Number of users: n/a
Submission fee: None
Submission Process: Create an Amazon developer account as well as an Amazon customer account. All games must with comply with Amazon’s Policy: Content Guidelines. Android Apps can first be tested though the Amazon’s App Testing service. You can then submit your app to the Amazon Appstore for a review process.
Web Applications can be first tested using the Web App Tester. The Web App submission is very similar to the android app submission process.
For Mac & PC games and software, after submitting, Amazon will go through a review of your digital software/video game before publishing them.
Revenue split: 70/30
Exclusivity: No
Platform: Android, PC, Mac, and web-based platforms
State of game when submitting: You can submit a game of any state as long as it satisfies the Amazon submission requirements. Amazon’s Live App Testing tool can help with testing Alpha or Beta state games.
Points to note:
- Currently, you will be unable to distribute PC and Mac software and video games outside of the U.S with Amazon.
Links: Info, Android Apps submission, Web App submission, Mac & PC games/software submission
Apple Store
Game format: Code will be moved to Xcode which supports source code for C, C++, Objective-C, Objective-C++, Java, AppleScript, Python, Ruby,ResEdit (Rez), and Swift
Number of users: 200M+ iOS in 2011 (source)
Submission fee: USD$99/year
Submission Process: Enroll in the Apple Developer Program for USD$99/year to distribute your apps on the App Store (both iOS and Mac OS). You app will have to meet the guidelines set about by Apple before it can be submitted for review. Every app that is submitted to the store has to be reviewed by the Apple team before release.
Revenue split: 70/30 (or if a subscription type app, 85/15 after first year)
Exclusivity: No
Platform: Mobile and Mac
State of game when submitting: Alphas, betas and demos not allowed. Can be tested on TestFlight though.
Points to note:
- Check here for top list for app rejections on the app store
Links: Info, Submission form
Google Play App Store
Game format: APK files
Number of users: 1 billion active monthly users (source)
Submission fee: One time $25 payment to open publisher account on Google Play
Submission Process: After getting access to the developer console by paying a one time fee, a variety of guidelines will have to be met to make sure your game complies with Google Play. When your uploaded application is ready to be released to the public, click “Publish” in the developer console and your application will go live shortly and be available worldwide.
Revenue split: 70/30
Exclusivity: No
Platform: Mobile
State of game when submitting: You can submit an alpha/beta game for testing on your Google Play Developer Console, but games that appear for sale on the app store are in its complete form.
Points to note:
- Make sure your target market is on Google Play’s supported country list
- If you set the price of your game to free, this becomes permanent. You can’t change it back to paid once it has been published
Links: Launch checklist, Sign up
Platforms/Game Publishers with insufficient info
Below are some other platforms that allows you to sell indie games. However, there were too many missing blanks when it came to filling out their info with the above details that we decided it wasn’t very helpful to create a listing. This may be either due to very different contracts between games, or the company chose to make their game deals less public. If you’ve got a game on hand that you’re looking to release, you can contact the below platforms to see if it’s a good fit for you.
- Green Man Gaming (Info, Submission form)
- Games Republic (Info)
- GameStreamer (Info)
- FireFlower Games (FAQ)
- Binpress (Info)
Know any more great platforms you think should be added to the list? Comment below!
Hopefully, this post helped you decide on a distribution platform and got you started on your quest to sell indie games. May you reach the gamers your game deserves!
Need assistance with marketing your game? We at Mana Marketing can help! Feel free to reach out to us for personalized campaigns that fit your game and budget.
The post Where to sell your indie games? 15 indie-friendly platforms guide appeared first on Manamark.
