All I will add is that your comment regarding "market distortion" basically outlines the issue I have with Epic. I don't blame developers for taking deals (my beef is with Epic only), but I really think exclusives should be discouraged in every industry. Most of the biggest companies in the world used the same or similar strategies, so I really don't have high hopes Epic will make things "better" in the long run. I hope I am wrong about this though.
Anyway, I do want to avoid any further discussion since this topic can get very heated easily and I would be derailing this discussion.
Just to balance this out, I actually did stumble on this post by asking google if "Itch.io accepted AAA games" in hindsight it was kind of a silly question to ask (IMO) since it would go against what Itch.io *is*.
Bigger indie games I feel would give the platform the most leverage since I imagine Itch.io has this stigma that it's just for "amatuers" or for "small experimental titles". Maybe if enough people shop at Itch.io or even simply engage with the site, we could see game jams or events appear that give developers funding or resources to make/finish larger projects.
TwinEdge
Recent community posts
I know this post is old, but I somehow stumbled upon it and wanted to say a few things.
I'm a consumer, so I don't have a good idea of what it's like to be a developer, but what prompted myself to look into Itch.io more often was all the talk about developer revenue and my general distaste towards Epic (don't worry, I won't turn this into an EGS rant). I think discussing the advantages of Itch.io can leverage a lot of people, especially in the current video games climate.
Beyond that, just simply making great games and promoting them (as well as Itch.io) is all you really need to do. People are drawn to great games and they will generally go to any lengths to get them. I for one have been made aware of several great, interesting and weird titles just by mindlessly browsing the internet and watching content creators such as Vinesauce.
Lastly, I think Itch.io would benefit from having some more ambitious and larger games existing on the platform. While I do love all the little experiments and game jams on here, a typical "consumer" generally wishes to find more "complete" experiences they can invest some time into. I have already started to see some more titles like this appear on the platform during 2019 and I think that's great!
Anyway, I hope this info at least helps someone else out there who stumbles on this post like I did.
Edit: Another thing that may help is encouraging consumers to follow you on Twitter. I noticed that after following one indie developer, Twitter started to reccommend tons of other indies and the games they are working on due to proximity.