itch.io

Validating the interview costs $3, which is deducted from your first withdrawal, so yes, they usually only validate it at that time.

It's also strange that it shows "waiting for validation" since it normally appears as "on file," but perhaps it's because you contacted them for support.

You can check the status here:

https://itch.io/user/settings/seller/tax-information

Once you complete it, it's filed and the status will indicate "on file" or something similar. With that, you can start selling on Itch, but the interview is only valid when you request your first withdrawal, not before.

This same problem was addressed some time ago because Godot supported multi-threading in web games years ago.

Read this:

https://itch.io/t/2025776/experimental-sharedarraybuffer-support

However, from what I've read from various people, it's best not to use multi-threading, as sooner or later it will cause compatibility issues with different users.

Itch is a self-publishing platform.

When you create a project page and publish it, that page can be seen by people who can then buy, download, or play your game.

The problem lies in visibility. People can find your project if they have the link, either because you provide it or because they see it elsewhere, like on Google. Many people use Itch's internal search engine to find games, but the dilemma is that Itch doesn't show you all the projects created within the platform.

If your project appears in Itch's search results, it's said to be indexed. If your game doesn't appear, then it's not indexed.

For example, if you go to https://itch.io/games now, you'll see "(1,343,636 results)," meaning that Itch's search engine has that number of indexed games, but in reality, it has twice as many games created. And if you search, for example, for all games that are "FPS," it will only show you the games that are indexed.

Being indexed helps people who use Itch find you more easily, but Itch doesn't index all games.

If you're not indexed, your page is still public and can be visited and promoted, but you simply won't appear in Itch's internal search results.

Another term is "quarantine." Quarantine occurs when the algorithm detects something wrong with your project and decides it could be harmful. In that case, anyone who tries to download your game will be warned. Unlike being indexed, which simply means you don't appear in Itch's internal search results, being in "quarantine" is an active measure that alerts your users that Itch believes there's something wrong with your game.

It's not directly prohibited by the rules, since in theory you're targeting a different group of people and you're not doing it to gain visibility. I also don't recall reading any admin posts prohibiting or advising against it, so in theory, you shouldn't have any problems complying with Itch's quality guidelines.

However, there are many objections from a logical standpoint. Your game effectively becomes two separate games; that is, you have to make two updates, maintain two separate development logs on separate pages, and if someone leaves a positive comment or downloads your game in one language, it won't affect the statistics of the other page. This reduces your potential impact. For example, between Spanish and English, you might get 1,000 visits, which would allow you to appear on the first page. But by splitting the game, you now have 700 visits in English and 300 in Spanish. Therefore, neither of your versions will appear on the first page because you're dividing the visibility of the two projects.

https://itch.io/t/3946704/handling-multi-language-itchio-page

I recommend you post in the section for offering/requesting help:

https://itch.io/board/10020/help-wanted-or-offered

Does the “Other” payout get redirected to Payoneer automatically after linking it, or does it require manual action from support?

From what I've read on Discord, when you select "other," it's because you can't use PayPal or Payoneer and need to request an alternative method like bank transfer. On Discord, when this happens, the payment takes much longer, and Itch can't always process or will transfer funds.

I understand that a manual correction from the Itch staff is needed.

Try this:

Go to the bundle:

https://itch.io/my-purchases/bundles

Find the game in question and download it from there. Now, the game should appear in your library.

https://itch.io/my-collections

What do I think happened?

When you buy a bundle, Itch doesn't automatically add all your games to your library, so it's possible it didn't generate the key that proves you own the game. If you download it from the bundle page, it should then be associated with your library, and it should work.

Note: Projects in this bundle are hidden in your library by default until you first access them in order to avoid flooding your library. You can return to this page at any time to access any projects you wish to show in your library.

If this doesn't work, it's best to contact the developer directly in the comments section of that game's page.

https://itch.io/t/4120453/unofficial-search-and-indexing-faq

The problem is that this model isn't profitable right now. Video games are a very saturated market, and the limitations you initially set don't seem realistic to me, in the sense that adhering to them would reach a wider audience or generate more profit than a game without those limitations.

EDIT:

I just read your other messages, and it seems you're talking about creating a site where you sell hosting with those characteristics.

The problem is, what do you offer in return?

Unless you have users (And somehow, you pay money to the developers for the people who play.), it's very difficult to offer something that will attract developers to create content with those limitations.

Can you make a good game within these parameters? 

Yes

Would you bother trying if you could make money off of it?

It depends. If you tell me there's a budget to pay for development, then it would simply be another job. X hours of development equals Y value, period.

If your question is whether I would create something with those limitations, expecting the game to magically monetize, then the answer is no. I don't see the connection between those limitations and generating money compared to a web game without those restrictions.

Lo más probable es que debido a la actualización que hiciste, el algoritmo ha marcado tu juego para ser revisado por el staff. 
Dependiendo de cuan ocupado esté el staff, esto podría tomar desde unas pocas horas hasta incluso un mes, así que 5 días no es algo extraño.

No hay mucho que puedas hacer, salvo esperar  y si sospechas que hay un error, tratar de contactar al staff.

https://www.renpy.org/doc/html/screen_actions.html#tooltips

The most popular is Ren'Py; it's open source, free, and easy to use if you want to create a visual novel.

The downside is that if you want something more complex than the basics, you have to write Python code.

The upside is that, being so popular, it's full of tutorials and people willing to help you with any questions.

If you're looking for something that's more text-based and less graphical (though you can still include graphical components), I recommend focusing on "interactive fiction" instead of "visual novels," and there you can try Twine, which allows you to create content similar to "choose your own adventure" books.

My first game on Itch was Forsaken Isle, which I bought 11 years ago. I think I came to Itch because I saw a video talking about that game; at the time, I didn't even create an Itch account.

 I am curious to know if everything is in order. I have thoroughly searched the website for information on this matter, but I have not found anything.

https://itch.io/t/4120453/unofficial-search-and-indexing-faq

This topic has been covered in dozens of posts, to the point that I've personally stopped replying to most of them, especially because there's always some bitter person who arrogantly demands answers and presents their point of view, speaking ill of Itch and the people we try to help. I'm not saying that's you, I'm just explaining why I've stopped answering these kinds of questions.

Short story. Every time you upload a project, an algorithm determines whether it needs human review or not. If your project needs review, you simply have to wait for a staff member to review it. The time this takes varies because it depends on the staff's workload, so it could be a day or a month, and there's nothing you can do about it.

Personally, I usually tell people to wait at least two weeks before assuming there might have been an error. If you believe there was an error, you should contact support (no, this forum is not answered by staff, so it doesn't count as a way to contact them). You can post your ticket number in the forum and politely ask the moderator to notify the staff. However, this only works if there was actually an error. If your game is simply still on the review list, it will normally remain on that list until the staff has time.

Frequently Asked Questions: There is no way to bypass the algorithm, and its operation is kept secret to prevent malicious actors from exploiting it. Every time you create a project or upload an update, the algorithm will evaluate your page.

Certain factors increase the likelihood of having to be reviewed by the staff, such as it being your first project or it being a paid project.

Is that a thing other stores have as a feature?

Most online stores keep a record of your purchases, sometimes limited to a certain time period, but it's common for them to do so.

On Steam, in your wallet section, you have an option to review your past purchases. On GOG, there's a section called "Orders History" that lists all your purchases and how much you paid.

Go  "account setting" -> "Data export" -> "Request data export".

Itch generates an .html file with all your account information.
In that HTML file, look for the "purchases" section.

EDIT: 
To associate each payment with a specific game, you will need to check the "purchases" ID against the "Owned products" ID.

It's more complex than that; certain types of games do benefit from the traffic generated within Itch.

You also have JAM, and in addition to hosting your game, you can run web games, create a website, and more. Many people publish on Itch because it's a platform that makes publishing and selling your game easy.

However, in most cases, Itch doesn't work as a platform for promoting your game. If you search other posts, you'll see that this has been discussed many times, and if you want to generate traffic, you need to create your own marketing strategy.

The games featured, from what I've heard, are handpicked by the staff, and as far as I know, the number of views doesn't matter, since it's not a top list, but rather a staff recommendation.

In other posts, it's been recommended that you mention Itch on the social media platforms they use. That way, the people who select the featured games will notice your game, and then, if they decide it should be featured, they'll do so.

I don't have control over when my product is approved or indexed, but when it is approved, it should at least appear in the recently added section, right?

No. The "Newest" tab tends to get saturated very quickly because hundreds of games are published on Itch every day.

Right now, the latest game appearing on the first page of the "Newest" tab has only been published for about two hours. This means that games published yesterday or even this morning are no longer on the "Newest" page.

A game that needs to be reviewed by the staff can take days or weeks, so no, you won't appear on the "Newest" tab.

but I just want it to be briefly visible in the relevant category when it's published or approved

This is different. When someone searches for a game by category, Itch ranks the results using an algorithm (which is, again, secret), but as far as we know, popularity and the date of the last update play a role.

Also, when you search by category, you reduce the number of people competing with you.

If you advertise effectively and your page receives a lot of traffic, even if you published it days or weeks ago, you might appear near the top of a category (This also applies to the homepage)

As far as I know, "newest" is ordered by when you publish, not by when Itch indexes you.

The algorithm doesn't deindex everyone, and since you have no control over when you'll be indexed, the only recommendation is to create a marketing strategy that doesn't rely on being indexed.

Or is there a review process every time I submit a new asset?

This topic has been discussed several times on the forum.

As far as we know, every time you create a project (whether it's just an asset or a downloadable game) or update an existing one, an algorithm evaluates whether your page should be inspected by staff.

If the algorithm determines that your page requires manual review, it will deindex it until a staff member reviews it and manually reindexes it.

To prevent malicious actors from exploiting this, the algorithm's operation is secret, and obviously, there's no way to circumvent it.

From what little has been said, certain factors are riskier than others, such as paid content, new accounts, etc. However, the fact that your account already has previously approved content doesn't guarantee that your new content won't have to undergo manual review.

In the top right corner, where your avatar appears, click the arrow -> settings and uncheck the option that says

"Show content marked as adult in search & browse"

This forum is answered by the community, not the staff, so it's very likely that staff members will never see your message here.

Also, any issues related to your account must be resolved by contacting support through the email address associated with that account.

That being said, the staff doesn't always reply. It's possible they denied your request but didn't notify you (this is a possibility), or they may not have been able to respond yet. It's best to wait a couple of weeks to be sure.

When you request a storage increase, you must justify it. They don't grant it simply for asking; you must provide a brief and clear explanation of why you need it and demonstrate that your game is indeed optimized to avoid unnecessary space. If you don't meet these requirements, the staff may not authorize the increase.

If you use Butler to upload your game instead of the website, your limit will automatically increase to 2 GB. This is instantaneous, and you don't need to contact support.

NOTE: I assume you made a mistake and are referring to the upload limit, not the download limit. There is no limit to downloads.

I think there's some confusion.

Itch only allows you to add a "collaborator" as an "administrator," meaning they can edit the page and the game.

As far as I know and have read, Itch doesn't have a system for listing the "collaborators" who have helped you; in other words, it doesn't have a system for crediting other users.

What I've seen is that it's always done manually. You create a table on your page where you list the people who helped you with the project, with a link to their profiles.

Contributors can create a collection of games they've worked on and then add that collection to their profile. But all of this has to be done manually.

Try using the Itch app

Itch, as such, only accepts US dollars. It's a US-based store, and you must use a card that allows purchases in the US.

An alternative is to use PayPal, which usually accepts local cards with local currency and then converts them to dollars.

Sometimes, a developer might sell their game on Itch but not use Itch for payment processing. In those cases, they can change the currency, but this only applies to those specific projects.

This forum is answered by the community, not the staff.

Try contacting the staff on Discord, but don't share your personal information like your email address, as the staff will ignore it. Instead, share the support ticket number you receive. This way, the staff may be notified and be able to expedite your ticket.

This forum is answered by the community, not the staff.

Regarding your question, it's best to try contacting the staff directly. From what you've described, it seems to be a bug, but it's the first time I've heard of it. I'm more inclined to think it's a misconfiguration.

Itch allows two ways to get paid. One is where Itch is the seller. In this case, it doesn't matter how people pay; all the money goes to Itch, and you then have to withdraw it from Itch.

The other way, and from what you've said, I think this is the one you have, is where you collect payments directly from customers. In this mode, Itch doesn't receive the money; instead, you receive it based on your settings.

I've never used "direct to you," so I wouldn't know the options, but if my hunch is correct, you might have a PayPal account set up and you've forgotten about it. It's best to try checking the payment settings of your accounts.

Steam is a completely separate company from Itch, and they do not share information.

If you want to sell on Itch (using the collect by Itch option), you must complete the interview they provide. This step is entirely separate from any other tax processes or interviews you may have with other companies.

I just checked your first link, and it's a game marked as "adult" that accepts donations.

I recommend you read this post from the administrator:

https://itch.io/t/5149036/reindexing-adult-nsfw-content

As far as I know, it's not possible.

When you make a project public, there's an algorithm that evaluates it (exactly what that algorithm evaluates is a secret). If that algorithm determines that your game needs manual review, it will deindex it and place it on a staff review list.

There's not much you can do to avoid this, except run your entire promotional campaign without considering that you'll be indexed.

This error usually occurs due to problems with your internet connection, and there are many possible causes.

If you're using a VPN, it might be too slow or unstable.

It could be a problem with your firewall blocking connections or an issue with your browser's cache.

It could also be an ISP problem.

I recommend (if possible) that you try using another PC without a VPN. If the problem persists, then it could be a problem with your ISP or the hardware you're using for your internet connection.

If you don't have the same problem on the second PC, then something must be misconfigured on your PC.