Just give me the list bro. If I haven't seen the "features" just tell me what they are so I can decide.

Do not delete criticism.

What features are there that aren't website basics?

Funny survival game!

Dummy island has launched! It is 60% off for the weekend!

https://thecatgamecomapny.itch.io/dummy-island

Listen, there are no features. They are website basics.

I saw the features. But I won't forget the casino ads. Btw newest and most popular post buttons are not a feature.

I clicked the link, was bombarded with casino ads, I saw the UI and unmoderated platform, I didn't know what the goddamn buttons did. I closed the site.

Listen buddy. You haven't changed sht that actually matters. If you are changing something it should be the UI.

Well if you are asking this so you can figure out your own future job. Don't choose game development, because it is very unsure that you will have a job even now and AI will probably replace all the junior coders and developers in the future.

AI won't make slop forever.

Games can indeed travel trough word of mouth but that is pretty rare. Instead promotion should be done all along the development journey for example you post updates about your game and make people want to get it. This way you don't have to promote heavily on launch and you have a smooth landing into the itch io algorithms.

Although if people like the game it doesn't need promoting. My game ThereIsSomeoneInTheAttic was very well received. It was a weekend project and I didn't promote it at all but people liked it and put it in their collections and now it's getting like 5 views and 1 downloads daily without any further promoting.

But you can't use the wishlist to get games that aren't available yet.

ok hun

You are the og

I have noticed that there are a lot of people trying to take the promotion of games out of itch io onto another platforms. This is of course normal and asking for tips for your game development journey is fine. 

As a long time developer I have made some perceptions about marketing. Firstly life isn't fair. Your posts on platforms can't get thousands of views and that is completely fine but there are alternatives for algorithm based platforms. A good example from a "fair" platform is reddit where your post is shown equally to many people and if they like it, it moves up in the popularity.

Some people have thought that these normal marketing strategies weren't enough and they have made their own places for promoting games. I have made one thread for promoting games to the general itch io community thread so I have a little bit of experience in these types of sites. There are some good sites that actually look good and have features that make them stand out and they are not just landfills of trash. 

ON the other hand there are those landfills that aren't sustainable in the long run. 

HERE IS MY STANCE FOR ONCE AND FOR ALL. IF you are making a site for promoting games, know that the likelihood that it will succeed is very slim, because people are there to promote games, not find games so the games there can't get much clicks or downloads. Some people have taken this feedback great and actually improved their sites but some people haven't and can't comprehend what is wrong with their doings and why they don't have any success.

That is great then

I am not tearing you down. I am giving feedback and telling why it's hard getting users

There are reasons for this:

1.They weren't meant to be for promoting

2.They didn't have ads of online casinos upon entry

3.They had advanced algorithms and features

4.They had millions of dollars for marketing

5.They had polished exteriors and smooth UI 

Like dude seriously if you want to be taken seriously at least take the casino ads down.

Sounds good!

If you promote it with a title:

a new Social site to promote your projects

can you expect people not to use it as a promotional place? I don't think you get the point that I am making. 

Well are they made for only promoting games? They have content that people actually want to see.

Hey! This sounds wonderful but you can't be fair for everyone. If you mean that new games would be put up on the front page, that is already happening on itch io. If you have thousands of games on your website and hundreds are posted daily, you can't be fair to all of them. That is just a sad truth and that is how it is. 

Here are things that I think could work:

-Personalized feeds that recommend you games that you could like without looking at it's popularity

-Resources for promoting games and communities integrated to the platform such as on itch io

-Quality ratings. Your game could get boosted in the algorithm by quality. Games could get quality points such as starts given by the gamers, moderators or AI reviewing the games 

This seems just like a release announcement but I am here to inform you that you can get it for free on launch if you do one of the following!

1.repost one of my posts about dummy island on my X

2.Post to the #DummyIslandLaunch or #DummyIslandLaunch2025 on X

If you do one of the following, you will gain access to the free dummy island and you can claim it for 3 days after the launch!

Twitter or X link in my account!

Sounds good!

When your site grows to about 1000 submissions people can't go try every game so only the top or newest games are getting boosted.

The site looks great and well polished but these types of sites rarely work. Your site is full of people promoting games but no people who actually want to buy/get games. 

Your site seems better than the last guy trying to do this type of site.

Sites like these do not usually work

When you think that people would be interested in your game. Generally speaking that means that the game looks good and isn't just a prototype made with unity boxes.  It also has to have something cool or unique about it.  For example if it is a horror game it has to have some sort of unique mechanics, because there are already so many horror games out there. 

And another thing. If you want your game to succeed on launch, you have to start marketing at the very beginning. If you start promoting your game on launch it's not enough because you need a steady flow of people buying your game to make the success sustainable. You have to build a community for the game trough posts, memes, ads, devlogs and maybe offering some sorts of rewards for playtesters. 

If you mean that are there people that you can help you with marketing? Sure there are and if you mean that you would do some gigs? Sure that would help. A little networking is never bad. But the effectiveness of that is not very good. 

This sounds pretty vague but for game developers it's important to build a community. This means that you gather people around you that will buy your games consistently. The trick to getting your community is to make people excited about your projects. If you'r game is called "Boring ball game", it's more unlikely that anyone will support that.

When you build a community, you don't have to market that much in the future because those same people are always there to support you. 

Good luck in whatever you do! 

I agree. But if I was you I would make a game development community. Not just for self promotion and there people could discuss topics, network and ask for feedback for their games. 

Oh... I see now. Thanks for clarifying!

Would people looking for games to play go to your website for promoting games? I think there are only people to promote their games. Maybe 1 guy of 10 000 visitors will click on your game link out of pity. 

This is nothing personal. It's great that you have tried to create a free pass for game developers but these sites never work. I have seen subreddits for promoting but the people visiting there are just promoting their own thing so the posts there barely get any engagement/link clicks.

Yeah you definitely should obey the rules

These types of sites rarely work. Your site is full of people promoting games but no people who actually want to buy/get games.

I am not sure but I think windows and linux are not the same thing. Correct me if I'm wrong

It's not that simple. Your gamedev journey is highly personal. You need publicity to get funding, money, publicity for your game, etc. You have to figure what marketing and promotion strategies work for you best. Your game is probably so different from other's so their advice won't probably work for you. 

But reddit and other platforms that show posts equally without needing a following are good start for promotions though.

I have had games that flop with maximum efforts in marketing and hits on the popular page with barely an update on X. Your game's fame highly depends if people like your game.

There is someone in the attic is on sale now! Go and get it for 50% off!

https://thecatgamecomapny.itch.io/there-is-someone-in-the-basement

Ts dead. No hate. The game is cool though.

I am making a horror game that meant to be ready to launch on the October sale but I missed it. It is not ready and will not be for weeks.

I can help

https://thecatgamecomapny.itch.io/there-is-someone-in-the-basement

There is someone in the basement