Hi itch.io team and community,
I’m posting here because my LD57 game Cave Escape has been public for several days now — fully set up, marked public, and correctly tagged — but it’s still completely missing from search results and tag listings, even when searching by exact name.
This is despite the fact that:
- It’s browser-playable and downloadable
- Has over 260 views, 140+ browser plays, and 2 ratings
- Is currently in the Top 6 JAM entries and Top 11 overall by number of ratings
- Has a proper cover image, screenshots, full description, and tags
- Visibility settings: public, not unlisted, not flagged NSFW
Despite all of that, it still doesn’t appear in search results, can’t be found by title, and doesn’t show up under any of the tags it uses (platformer, pixel-art, ludum-dare-57, etc.).
As you can see from the analytics, nearly all the traffic is coming from a single external source (LDJam) — there's barely any organic discovery through itch.io itself.
Why this matters:
The majority of traffic for jam games comes in the first 3–5 days. I’ve already had over 260 visits and 144 browser plays, and players are actively leaving feedback — but without organic discoverability on itch.io, growth hits a wall. People are really enjoying it — I'd love for more players to be able to discover and experience the game too.
I’ve already contacted support, but figured I’d also post here in case others have faced something similar or if any mods are around and could take a look.
Link: Cave Escape. LD57 by Flingeris
Thanks in advance for any help or advice. Really hoping to get this resolved while the jam is still fresh!
