This week we passed 200,000 games on itch.io. That’s well, that’s a ton of games. Truly more than one human can play in their lifetime. So how do you find which games are your jam? Well let’s take a look at some of the tools we have on the site to help you parse this avalanche of content.
One of the things I’m proudest of at itch.io is how much curation we do. We’re out scouting every day for brand new games to feature. But where do these awesome games live? Short answer: everywhere. One of the easiest places to find new games is right on the front page. This is the most frequently updated place on the site as we throw new games up there as we find them. There are also a few algorithmically filled modules (look for the Fresh Games and Recommended for You sections) and even one for upcoming game jams.
If you’re into recommendations that move a little slower, you can check out this very blog! Every week we post our Recommendations. 2-3 games per week make the list and I share some of my thoughts on what I think makes the game interesting. On top of that we also have weekly write ups that can be anything from posts like this to interviews with some of our favorite developers.
More infrequently than that is our email digest. These go out bi-weekly and are a collection of everything on the site. They have some of our favorite games, blog posts, game jams, and discounts all delivered straight to you.
Finally is our rarest curation element: The itch.io Selects Bundles. These only happen 3-4 times per year, but each is a collection of 6-8 games offered at a discount. These bundles are our way of shining light on cool games while making it even easier to pick them up.
If you’re more interested in finding your own games than checking out the ones we pick out, tags are going to be your best friend. What are tags you ask, rhetorically? Well my totally real friend, tags are attached to projects by their developers as a way to help communicate what’s in the games themselves. This may seem obvious but punching in your favorite genre or idea into the search bar at the top of the site will bring up all of the games tagged with, let’s say horror, first person, or cute. You can also refine your searches by adding multiple tags (in case you really want a cute, first person, horror game).
If I was pressed I’d say our following feature is the one I’m most surprised isn’t more utilized. When you go to any game page you can follow that game’s creator. It’s a nice little button in the top right hand corner of the page that will alert you whenever that person publishes a game, updates a game, reviews a game, or adds a game to a collection. This can look like a lot of different things. Some folks who curate content on their own have collections of interesting projects. You can also find out when your favorite developers add new games to the site so you’re always up to date. These tools are flexible enough that I’m sure more uses are possible than I’ve even seen.
How do you find out about games? Let us know in the comments below.
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So glad to be here. Thanks for everything itch.io! <3
Thank you so much for itch.io and for the amazing site it is. Here's to 200,000 more!!
itch.io is the best indie gaming site ever made.
thanks :)
Long live itch.io and indie game design in general
Tom Sykes at pcgamer.com regularly posts about interesting games he finds on the web, some outside itch, but most are hosted here. I play almost every one he writes about.