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Game not appearing in Most Recent or Search even after following indexing guide

A topic by Neonfire Studio created 4 days ago Views: 211 Replies: 16
Viewing posts 1 to 3
(1 edit)

Hello,
I published my game Knock, Knock around 24 hours ago.

I’ve carefully read the official Getting Indexed guide and followed everything:

  • Game is Public and Released

  • Cover image, description, and tags (chosen from suggestions) are present

  • Platform set to Windows

  • Game is downloadable (not just a placeholder)

  • No restrictions enabled

However, my game still isn’t showing up in Search or the Most Recent section. I’m also concerned because none of my recent games from the past few months. Including Astrotype and those released after it,  have been indexed. I can't remember if my very first games were indexed, but lately none have appeared in public browse.

I noticed that some games appear in the Most Recent section just seconds after release, so I’m wondering why my game is experiencing this delay.

Has anyone else experienced this delay or a similar issue? Could my account or games be silently flagged for manual review?

Any help or insights would be really appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Moderator(+1)

...You missed the part that says:

If you're selling your first project, then your page may be placed in our review queue. New sellers are reviewed before their projects are elgible for indexing. This proces may take a few days. Please contact us only after you've waited at least one day.
I believe that answers all your questions.

Thanks for your response! But I don’t think I’m selling my project as a paid game, it’s free. Also, I have already waited more than a day.
One more question: why haven’t my other games from the past few months been indexed either?

Moderator

I don't know, you have a bunch of them. It probably depends. Some of them look like they might not meet the minimum criteria.

(2 edits)

But what about my game, "Knock, Knock"? I don't care about other, but it's very important. Please do something, I am worried.

Moderator

That's the one you published two days ago, and now it's the weekend. Please wait.

(2 edits)

Thanks! If there’s any issue, will itch.io notify me, or should I reach out again later? How many days would you recommend I wait before following up? I hope it’s nothing serious, I’ve spent over three months developing this game, so I’m really hoping everything goes smoothly.

Moderator(+1)

I don't know. Please just give it some time!

Alright, thank you for answering my questions! I’ll wait a week and see how it goes.

Sorry for bothering again, but it's been two full business days now, and the game still hasn't appeared in the Most Recent section or in search results. I do understand it's best to wait a week and I said I would but I’m honestly struggling with patience due to some personal stress.

I know many games get indexed within hours, so I’m just wondering if there might be a specific issue with my game or account? If it’s still in queue, that’s totally fine, I’d just really appreciate knowing if everything looks okay or if there’s something I might need to fix. 

Or, if it’s been silently rejected or flagged, that’s alright too, I just want to understand what’s going on. Also, if there’s any workaround I should try, like temporarily setting the game price to $2 and applying a 100% discount, I’m open to that too, if it helps trigger indexing.

Or should I just wait a few more days? (If everything okay, then I am not worried)

Thanks again for your time and help!

Moderator(+2)

No, as explained in this unofficial FAQ longer waiting times aren't unusual. Two full business days is a very short time. For now manage your game page as you normally would. No workarounds. Please. Be. Patient!

Understood, thanks for the reply! I’ll be patient and wait it out. Appreciate your time!

(1 edit)

Hi again, and thank you for your continued help so far.

I wanted to mention something that may be relevant. In my game’s description, I initially included a disclaimer stating that the project was “not a copy of Night Knock” to clarify that the concept and design were original, even though some free assets overlap.

However, I recently came across the “Do not impersonate other creators or companies by uploading confusingly similar content” section in the quality guidelines. I now understand that even naming another game, especially one with a similar title or visual style could unintentionally trigger an automated flag or place the game into manual review. It might even lead to the game being rejected from indexing.

Out of caution, I’ve already updated the description and removed that line to avoid any confusion.

So I just want to ask:

  • Is there a way to know if the game was actually rejected from being indexed due to that original description?

  • And if it was already reviewed and then rejected, would updating the description like I did cause it to be re-evaluated automatically, or would I need to take another step?

I’m totally fine with waiting if it’s just under review, I just want to make sure I haven’t accidentally hurt the chances of it being indexed.

Thanks again for your time and support!

(+1)

dude same issue, ive had a game up since 2024 december and its not showing up anywhere. i dont understand why, if you got your case solved please tell me what you did

(1 edit)

Alright, I’ll let you know whenever my game gets indexed.


My guess is that some of your game pages might not meet the minimum criteria (e.g., screenshots, etc.). You can go through this topic carefully for more details.
As for mine, I’m hoping it gets indexed in a few more days, it’s only been 2 business days so far, and waiting 4–5 days is still reasonable.

Here’s a similar topic I’ve been following  from today😅 – https://itch.io/t/4970604/posted-a-new-version-of-my-game-and-been-a-week-still-... (He published the game 1 day before me.)