This guide is for sellers on itch.io who want to know what buyers will see as they go through each step of the purchase process. itch.io is an indie game marketplace that lets anyone sell their game instantly. If you don’t have an account or a game for sale yet you can create one now:
There are several ways for a potential buyer to initiate the purchase process. The most common method is through a game’s page on itch.io. Other options include the embeddable widget and the JavaScript popup API. Regardless of the method used, all successful purchases lead to the game’s download page.
To sell a game on itch.io, you must add a payments account. This can be done from the User Settings page.
The purchase dialog can be opened by clicking the Buy Now button located on the itch.io project page. If the game is priced at $0 or listed as Pay What You Want, this dialog will appear when you click the Download Now button.
The purchase dialog contains several noteworthy components. The first thing you might notice is the input for the amount paid. All purchases on itch.io operate on a pay what you want above the minimum basis. The buyer is free to modify this field to an amount they deem fair. If you've set a default price on the Edit game page, this will be automatically filled in.
Located below the price input, you'll find the file list. If your project has any individually priced files, they can be selected from this list to automatically increase the buyer’s payment amount. For instance, in the example image above, a soundtrack is available if the buyer opts to pay $6 or more. Clicking this will set their purchase price to $6 if the amount they've previously decided on is lower.
After the file list, you'll see the tip buttons. These encourage buyers to add a little extra to their purchase with a single click.
Additionally, if the buyer wants to give the project as a gift, they can toggle the gift checkbox.
Lastly, we have the payment buttons. These can vary depending on the methods configured by the seller’s account, and can provide multiple options for the buyer. Depending on the option chosen, the potential buyer will be taken to the checkout page of the respective method. (For example, with PayPal, the buyer will be taken to PayPal.com to complete their payment.)
Upon successfully completing the payment, the buyer is either shown the form to send a gift if they selected the gift option, or they are redirected to their access page for their purchase.
Learn about payment options & VAT
A successful payment will generate a “Download Key”, which is a unique URL that grants access to the product that has been paid for. Here’s what it might look like:
At the top of the page, there is a detailed description of the transaction and any important information regarding how the download page functions.
It reads:
This page has a unique URL for your purchase. You can always re-download the latest files from this page. You should have also received an email with a link to this page. If you ever lose the URL for this page you can request it to be emailed to you from the support page.
As a seller, you can publish new files for your project and they will automatically be made available on the Download Key page. If you need to notify your buyers of a critical or major update, you can use the Send email functionality.
Learn about interacting with your fans
The download key page can include the following components:
Additionally, if the buyer doesn’t have an itch.io account, they are given the option to link their purchase to an account. An itch.io account is not necessary to purchase something, but it is recommended.
After purchasing a game, the buyer will also receive an email receipt containing instructions on how to access their purchase.
It might look something like this:
Thank you for purchasing ‘X-Moon’
You purchased ‘X-Moon’ for $6.00.
If you haven’t gotten the game yet, you can find it on the download page.
Your download URL is unique to your purchase. Please do not share it. If you ever lose access to the URL you can always re-request it on the itch.io support page.
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An itch.io account is not required to make purchases. Each purchase is associated with an email address. If a user has misplaced their purchase information, they can request it to be re-sent to their email address via the support page.
However, we highly recommend creating an account on itch.io. This allows a buyer to organize all their purchases in one place, and access their files in the itch.io app. Purchases can be found on the My Collections page and can be easily re-downloaded from there.
Hopefully this guide clears up any questions about how purchases on itch.io work. If you have any questions or concerns then don’t hesitate to ask from the itch.io support page.
