Developer guide

1Set up your account

1. Choose “Developer” when you sign up

   Only developer accounts can submit games and open the Developer Center. A player account cannot switch itself; if you already have one, write to us and the team will change it.

2. Confirm your email address

   Until you confirm it you cannot post, answer or vote. The confirmation link is in the email we send when you sign up.

3. Fill in your studio profile

   Developer Center → Studio profile. Choose whether your games are published under your own name or your studio’s — that name is what players see on every card and page.

4. Apply for the verified badge (optional)

   Developer Center → Verification application. Give us at least one thing we can open: a website, a store page or a social account. The badge shows players we checked who you are; it does not unlock anything — every tool works the same without it.

2Submit your game

The form has four steps, with a live preview of your game page beside it. Nothing is uploaded to the site: pictures and videos are links to where they already live.

• Have a Steam page? Paste its address in “One-click store import” and the form fills in what Steam already knows. Check it before you send.
• Your unsent form is kept in this browser while you work. “Save as draft” keeps it on the site; “Submit for review” sends it to the moderators.
• A trailer is optional but strongly recommended — it is what the game page, the showcase and the Game of the Week play.

3Review and going live

1. The inspection bot looks first

   It checks that the store link works, the cover image loads, the game is not already listed and the text does not read like an advert. It never rejects anything — the most it does is hold a submission and tell the moderators why.

2. A moderator decides

   Approved, it goes live at once. Not approved, you get a notification with the reason; fix it in the Developer Center and send it again.

3. Editing a live listing

   Your changes appear straight away and the game stays live; a moderator is shown what changed. An edit that breaks the rules takes the listing back to review.

4Release stage

The stage you choose changes what players can do on your page. You can change it any time in the Developer Center.

“Send players to my wishlist page” makes the big button a wishlist button at any stage. Private feedback is read only by you and never affects the page.

5How players find you

Every eligible game gets a fair chance to be found. Nobody can pay for a place, and advertising never changes an order. Each list has its own rule, written on the page:

6The Developer Center

Everything for your games is in one place. What each page is for:

Overview

Your key numbers, a 30-day chart per game, and the latest comments — you can answer them right there.

Your games

Every listing with its status; edit, change the stage, or send a draft for review.

Statistics & analytics

Views, clicks to each store, click-through and how long people stay on your page. Counted in totals — nothing about who.

Community & comments

What players post about your games, in one list.

Private feedback

Notes players send only to you while the game is in development, a demo or early access.

Updates

Write devlogs — see below.

Quick Pitch

The hook, why to play it, what is behind it and what inspired it — the short version of your game players see first.

Studio profile · Verification application · Settings

How you appear, the verified badge, and your account.

7Devlogs

1. Post from Developer Center → Updates

   Pick the game and the kind — major update & patch, tech & engine, art & sound, challenge & post-mortem, or early play & prototype. Add a version tag like “Patch 1.2” and a screenshot link if you have one; without one the game’s cover is used.

2. Your followers hear about it

   Players who follow or support the game get a notification, and the game moves up in Recently Updated.

3. Players like it and ask questions

   Every devlog has its own page. You are told when a question arrives; your answers are marked “Developer” so players can find them.

4. The editors can feature it

   The featured devlog on the Devlogs page is an editor’s pick — or, when there is none, the most liked devlog of the week.

8Community

• Answer players under your game and in the community. Replies from a game’s developer are marked, and players notice.
• As a developer you can open a Q&A (AMA), announce an event, and run a playtest for your own game — players join it and tell you when they have finished.
• Polls and the community’s votes on topics are counted like everything else: one account, one vote.

9Rules and fair play

• List only games you make or represent. One person, one account.
• Do not manipulate votes, support or visibility — second accounts, bought votes and organised brigading are the one thing the site defends hardest.
• No sexually explicit material, hate, harassment, scams or malware. Violence and horror in games are fine.
• Private feedback is private: do not republish it to embarrass somebody.

10Help

Stuck, or think a decision about your game was wrong? Write to info@indiegamesshow.com — a person reads it.