Where to Launch an Indie Game: itch.io, Steam, Next Fest and Free Communities
Put an indie game on itch.io first, because a free page with a download or a pay-what-you-want price can go live the same day. Steam is the larger shop but is a calendar project: a per-game fee, paperwork, a review and a public coming-soon page for at least two weeks before release. Use Steam Next Fest and wishlists to build to the date, and share builds in game-development communities and on Show HN along the way.
Why do itch.io and Steam need different plans?
A game on itch.io is a page you control, which you can create in an afternoon and change whenever you like. A game on Steam is a release with a schedule that Valve’s own documentation spells out, and the schedule starts weeks before anyone can buy it. Plan the two as separate launches, usually the first as practice for the second.
The facts here come from itch.io’s and Steamworks’ own pages, read on 13 November 2026. Where a site blocked us, the entry says so.
Which stores and showcases carry an indie game?
The first three are places that sell or host the game. The rest are where people talk about it.
01 itch.io
An indie game store where you upload files, design your own game page and set a price from nothing up.
- Cost to list
- Uploading is free; you choose how much of each sale goes to itch.io, from 0% to 100%
- Pricing
- Free, paid, or a minimum price where fans can pay more
- Tools
- Analytics on views, downloads and purchases; download keys for promotions; sales and bundles
- Payment fees
- Processors charge their own fees; its page cites 2.9% plus 30 cents for most card and PayPal payments
Its open revenue share means the platform’s cut is a slider in your account settings. The payments page uses a default of 10% in its worked example. A free game costs you nothing, and a first paid game is a cheap experiment in whether strangers will pay.
You pick the colours, fonts, images and videos for the page, and the page shows nothing you did not put there. Spend your time on the first screenshot and a ten-second clip; those two decide whether a visitor scrolls.
02 Steam (via Steam Direct)
Valve’s PC store, reached by joining the Steamworks distribution program.
- Fee
- A fixed, non-refundable fee for each product, recoupable after the game earns a set amount; the amount is on its Steam Direct page
- Paperwork
- Bank, tax and identity checks that take 15–30 days
- Review
- A build and store-page check that takes 1–5 days
- Waiting rules
- 21 days between paying the fee and release, and a public coming-soon page for at least two weeks
Several of these clocks start when you pay or when the store page goes public, so the earliest release is at least three weeks after you pay and often later. Pay the fee when the store page is nearly ready, not at the start of development. The coming-soon page is where interested players can follow the game, and Valve frames it as a chance to practise how you talk about it.
Valve says it is primarily accepting games, and lists categories of other software it may accept. It also names things you cannot publish, such as applications with advertising-based business models, so read the rules page before you design monetisation.
03 Steam Next Fest
A recurring Steam event where players try demos of upcoming games.
- Editions
- Steamworks’ docs list February 2027 and June 2027 editions
- Rule
- The game must not release before the Next Fest edition ends; there are no exclusivity or demo-length requirements
- Deadlines
- Submit your demo for build review at least 3 weeks before, or 5 weeks if you want it live for press preview
- Register
- From the base game’s page, not the demo
Valve’s page says some developers join early to learn what players enjoy, and others choose the edition closest to release. Either way, the demo must be reviewed before the deadline, so the work starts a month and a half ahead.
Release the demo at least thirty minutes before the event starts, as the page advises, so you can fix a broken build before crowds arrive. The indie game launch checklist breaks this down.
04 Game Jolt
A site where developers share games and where players follow them.
- Our check
- Its pages are rendered by script, so our automated check returned nothing readable; confirm everything on the site
Treat it as an extra home for a build that is already on itch.io, not as a launch plan. Check its current upload rules and whether it still suits your genre before you invest.
If your audience is mostly on itch.io, a second page you cannot keep updated does more harm than good.
05 Game-development subreddits
Communities where developers share work in progress and ask for feedback, each with its own posting rules.
- Our check
- Reddit refuses automated fetches; read each subreddit’s sidebar before posting
- Fits when
- You can show a short clip and ask a specific question about it
Ask for feedback on one decision, such as the jump arc or the first minute of the tutorial, rather than asking people to buy. Developers answer questions faster than they respond to announcements.
Do not post the same clip in five communities on one day. Space posts out and reply to every comment.
06 Show HN
Hacker News’s section for things you made that other people can try.
- Rule
- Playable things only; blog posts, sign-up pages and newsletters are off topic
- Fits when
- The game has an unusual technical idea, or it runs in a browser
The guidelines say the work should be non-trivial and personal, and that it should be easy to try without sign-ups. A free itch.io download or a web build fits; a Steam wishlist link does not, because there is nothing to try yet.
Explain how a part of it works, such as procedural generation or the netcode, since that is what readers will discuss.
07 Post your build ideas (our board)
A free launch board with a gaming category, no account and no queue.
- Use
- A permanent page linking to the itch.io or Steam page, with comments
- Limit
- Four images at most; a small audience of builders more than players
Because the listing cannot show screenshots, describe the game loop in two sentences and put the first screenshot on the page you link. We make no promise about players.
If you are looking for a game to make, browse the gaming ideas other people posted, and the game development project ideas guide.
How do you put these on one calendar?
- Publish a playable slice on itch.io, free or pay-what-you-want, and collect comments for a few weeks.
- Start the Steamworks paperwork early, since the identity and tax step takes 15 to 30 days.
- Pay the app fee when the store page is close to done, which starts the 21-day wait.
- Put the coming-soon page up as soon as it is ready, and keep it public for at least two weeks.
- Register the game for the next Steam Next Fest edition that ends before your release date, and submit the demo for review on time.
- Post to the communities with clips throughout, then release.
The indie game playbook has the dated plan, and the browser game places to launch cover the case where the game runs on the web instead.
Frequently asked questions
Is itch.io free for developers?
Uploading a game and creating a page costs nothing. Its payments page describes an open revenue share where you decide what percentage of each sale goes to itch.io, from 0% to 100%, plus the fees charged by the payment processors. A free game has no sales and so no revenue share, though check the current terms.
How long does it take to release on Steam?
Valve’s page lists 15 to 30 days for the paperwork, 1 to 5 days for review, a 21-day wait after you pay the app fee, and a public coming-soon page for at least two weeks before release. Some steps overlap, but plan on several weeks at least, and more if the documents are slow.
Can I release my game before Steam Next Fest ends?
Not if you want to take part. Valve’s Next Fest page says a participating game must not release before that edition ends, while there are no requirements for exclusivity, newness or demo length. Registration is done from the base game, and the demo needs to be submitted for review by the stated deadlines.
Post your build ideas publishes this page and runs a free launch board that competes with some of the sites it names. Facts about other sites came from their own pages on the date shown above; terms, queues and prices change, so confirm on their sites before you decide. About the publisher.