The Importance of Itch.io

 

The Importance of Itch.io

In following the recent events surrounding Apple and Epic Games and their battle for revenue shares, I wanted to take some time to examine what I deem the most influential marketplace for indie games of the 21st century, and that site goes by the name of itch.io.

What Exactly Is Itch.io?

Essentially, Itch.io is comprised of a similar makeup of other games marketplaces-think steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, etc.-yet it operates in a much more developer friendly manner (we will touch on specifics later). While other marketplaces claim to support their developers, the people who literally provide the content hosted on their services, many hold the grueling industry standards for things like revenue shares.

On March 3, 2013, owner Leaf Corcoran launched the site in direct competition with the massive overlords of the industry. While not entirely the same, Itch.io specifically holds its niche in selling indie games and hosting game jams, the small little upstart still managed to grow and currently hosts nearly 100,000 games. From what I can collect, it is easily the largest wholesale retailer for solely indie games out there.

So what exactly does Itch.io do differently?

Now let’s spend some time delving into the specifics. The industry standard, or the base market rate, of what percentage of sales go to the site/store hosts and not the developers is 30%. Take for example steam, who take 30% for the first ten million in sales for a game and gradually lower it to 20% the more you sell. Now itch.io, on the other hand, set their base rate at only 10% and give developers full control of how much they choose to split with the site. This means any developer can release a game on Itch.io and take home 100% of sales if they so desire. (funnily enough, as I was writing this piece they announced their first ever creator day, in which developers, musicians, and artists will receive 100% of sales for 24 hours)

What has come from this rate is a community of generous and supportive developers who are not forced into giving up what likely could be rent or food for the next month to put up a game. It has led to many even choosing to still give up a percentage of sales to support the site because of how mutually beneficial Itch.io treats its developers. Itch.io is a wonderful precedent for how taking away that staunch corporate greed can benefit everyone. 

Itch.io even allows buyers to support their favorite devs more, giving consumers the option to pay more for a gain to give additional revenue to those small studios.

 

Another important thing to note is that Itch.io provides games completely DRM free, meaning you don’t need any applications running in the background to run your library and have full access to the files of the games you buy. As we teeter closer and closer to the idea of having a Netflix like game service and not actually owning games, it is refreshing to see a company so stout in being consumer first. Hell, even the release of their desktop application back in 2015 was completely open source and without DRM, unlike the likes of steam and the Epic Games Store. I encourage everyone who has an interest in an indie game they see on steam to first check the itch.io storefront and give your support to the dev if it shows up on there too. 

The last thing I’d like to point out is Itch.io’s benefits to the consumer. In addition to the moral significance of providing support to developers, many games on Itch.io work on a “pay what you want pricing” scale. If set by the developer, you can choose to pay as little or as much as you want for a game. If you are low on funds you don’t have to break the bank for an experience, and if you want to show support you can as much as you want. Never have I seen a storefront in this industry so routinely provide benefits to both sellers and consumers alike. 

Store page for Tadpole Tales, a free game that is also on steam, but only has this name your own price option on Itch.io

Conclusion

In an industry that routinely leaves small developers struggling, sites like Itch.io represent a future for genuine collaboration between corporate and the ground level. By allowing these devs to gain a larger share of the sales generated by their own creations, Itch.io is one of the few bright spots in this often depressing industry.