Finishing a game is a hard feat- but figuring out where to publish it can be even harder.
Working on a game from start to finish is a harrowing task with lots of road bumps, but once your finished, some devs are left with a question- what now? What do I do with my game now that it’s done? Well, you can post it on Google Drive or Dropbox and share that link around, but if you want a more serious way to publish then consider publishing your game on gaming websites. But, which ones? Below I’ve outlined some of the most popular choices for sharing free and commercial games.
There are 2 lists- PC and HTML. Note that some of these overlap- you can upload mobile and HTML to Itch.io, but I’m only going into detail on it in the PC list.
PC List
1. Steam
Naturally, Steam has to be on this list- it’s the largest, most known game distribution platform out there. So, let’s quickly go over some pros and cons to Steam.
Pros:
- Largest gaming platform with the largest userbase
Cons:
- Largest gaming platform with the largest selection of competing games
- $100 fee per game uploaded
- Lots of information to fill out with multiple review processes
- Somewhat difficult uploading process for new devs (and lackluster documentation)
2. Itch.io
Itch.io in recent years has grown in popularity for indies, and for good reason.
Pros:
- Free to use
- Easy upload process with no review processes
- A good launch can secure a high place on the search places for a longer time
Cons:
- No review process means there are tons of shovelware and multiple reuploads on the site
- Not many users on the site so don’t expect 50+ downloads on launch unless you market it
3. Game Jolt
Game Jolt has been a long standing indie site for flash games but now has opened up to downloadable games- however, their primary consumer base is still HTML.
Pros:
- Free to use
- Easy upload process with no review processes
- Fans can follow individual game pages as well as your developer account
Cons:
- Easy to not get many views on the site with one game but a healthy amount on another
- The consumer base is still heavily HTML gaming
4. Kartridge
Have you heard of Kartridge before this list? Neither had I before I researched forums to share games on and ended up finding a thread about posting games to Kartridge! It’s a subsidiary of Kongregate (which will be on the list later) that was launched around November 2018 during the big Epic Games / Discord Store buzz and subsequently got drowned out by all the bigger news.
Pros:
- Free to use
- Easy upload process with no review processes*
- Not many games on the site so little competition
Cons:
- No analytics whatsoever that I can find**
- Despite Kongregate still having a decent sized consumer base, very few of them transferred over to Kartridge
* Despite games being able to launch without a review process, the staff will go back and check games afterwards and then decide if they belong on the store. For instance, my kinetic (no choices) visual novel The Witch in the Forest was on the store for about 12 hours until I got an email saying it didn’t meet their gameplay standards and was manually taken down.
** I’ve searched and searched and searched and even emailed the staff about analytics, with them basically saying “they’ll work on it” (as of January 2019). There’s no way to tell downloads on free games, no way to even tell how many views your games have. I believe this could be an oversight but the non-inclusion of them after launch is, as I believe, due to the low user counts that they don’t want to publish.
5. Epic Games Store
I’ll make this and the Discord Store quick since I don’t know much about them- it’s new, it’s still in a mostly closed beta, and analytics for how well they do haven’t been released yet.
Pros:
- Not many games on the site so little competition
Cons:
- Stigma against the platform due to exclusives, Tencent, and more
- Seemingly exclusive beta only for extremely polished indie games
6. IndieDB
While it’s not really a gaming platform- it’s a database for indie games, as you can tell from the name- you can still upload and download indie games from it, so I’ll count it.
Pros:
- Easy to set up a page
- Brings in some viewers on its own
- Makes a press kit for you
Cons:
- Not meant to be a gaming platform, more of a database for indie games (hence the name)
7. Good Old Games (GoG)
Almost forgot about this one on my list since it’s not very indie friendly at all- as the name implies it used to be mostly older PC titles but has since shifted towards publishing indie and AAA studio titles (read: not solo indie games). While there might be a couple super indie titles on there, the vast majority won’t make it on this site due to their very tiny submission process and strict polish standards- I along with a few friends have been declined from the site multiple times, with one of the games being declined being listed on an indie gem list on Steam.
Pros:
- Very short initial submission process
Cons:
- Very high “quality” standards- anything that looks indie or doesn’t have a big studio backing it up won’t be on there 99% of the time
HTML List
1. Itch.io
Already reviewed in the PC list, please see above.
2. Newgrounds
Yes, Newgrounds is still alive and kicking (and actually a decent place to post art both in your gallery and in art threads)! I remember using it as a kid and I’m happy to say it’s still a very active place.
Pros:
- Free to use
- Very easy submission process
Cons:
- Not a lot of analytics to look at
3. Kongregate
Another one of the oldies, Kongregate has been around for a lot longer than my career and is still kicking.
Pros:
- Free to use
- Easy submission process
Cons:
- Not a lot of analytics to look at- same developers as Kartridge
4. Armor Games
Again, Armor Games has been around for a long time and is still very active- you can easily get 1,000 views from the site alone within the first couple hours of launch.Pros:
- Free to use
- Easy submission process
Cons:
- Hardly any analytics to look at
5. Game Jolt
Already reviewed above in the PC section.
Final Notes
This is not a fully comprehensive list, as companies are always trying to get a slice of the Steam pie and coming up with new publishing platforms as others go extinct. There are other sites not on this list- I did not include some sites because I do not use them and they are very niche. Or, for example, I did not include DLsite because its audience is not really Western indie games but I do have friends who use it (albeit they admit indie games on there don’t sell much). This list was made in 2019 but edited for 2020.
Not all of the sites listed here will fit your game. Furthermore, as indies we have to remember that making new builds and reuploading them to every single site takes time, so it might not be best for you to publish your game on every platform you can at first. Personally, I publish my commercial games to Steam and Itchio for now, but there are developers who only publish to Itchio and can make a profit if they target super specific niches.