Demos, early access and playtests

All three are on the Release tab of your game.

Free demo

A demo is a version of your game that anyone can play in the browser without buying.

• Upload the demo build as a new version, with Publish as soon as the checks pass unticked. It goes through the same malware scan and start-up check as every version.
• On the Release tab, choose it as the demo version.
• A Play the free demo button appears beside the Buy button of a game with a price, and on a coming-soon page. A free game shows no demo button, because everyone can already play it.
• On a coming-soon page the demo is shown once your first game has been approved by our team.
• The developer kit does not work inside a demo of a game with a price.
• The version players get in full can never be the demo. If you later make the demo version the live one, the demo ends.
• A demo is a browser build. Downloads are not offered as demos yet.

Early access

For a game that is playable but not finished. Tick the box and write what works, what is missing and what you plan. The game's page shows a notice with your note, and its card in the store shows an Early access badge. Reviews and refunds work as usual.

Playtest sign-ups

For a closed test with people you choose.

• Set the game to private under Sharing.
• Open sign-ups on the Release tab and share the game's address.
• People who open it see Join the playtest and can ask to join, with a short note.
• You approve or decline each request. An approved tester opens the game while signed in, with no key, and gets a message when approved. If the game has a price, a tester still needs to own it.
• Sign-ups are for accounts that are at least a week old. The sign-up form only exists on a private game's page; on a public game there is nothing to sign up for.
• You can remove a tester's access at any time. Closing sign-ups keeps the testers you already approved.