A new indie-focused download service where you pay what you want? Sounds pretty great actually. You know what’s even better? You get a free game just for signing up before the service launches.
Started by The Indie Game Magazine, IndieGameStand (launching on September 26th) is a game spotlighting service at heart. They compare themselves to sites like Groupon and Woot and that seems pretty accurate as they’ll rotate in (and out) a new, hand picked (and DRM free) independent game for download every four days once they’re up and running.
For developers, IndieGameStand fills a void left by larger services, like Steam, that can be difficult for the creators of “small” or unusual games to get on to. Even after a game’s 96-hour featured window has passed, game details will remain on the IndieGameStand website along with links to the developer’s website and other storefronts that sell the game, which will help smaller developers gain visibility and grow their communities. Alpha and beta builds will also be featured on the service, allowing developers to gather valuable user feedback and raise funds toward a game’s completion.
The company also says that 10% of what you decide to pay for a game (remember it’s ‘pay what you want’) will automatically go to a charity of the developer’s choosing. So you get a game and a warm, fuzzy feeling when you make your purchase- what’s better than that?
With “pay what you want” pricing, consumers can decide exactly how much to pay for a game and be confident that their money will go straight to the developer who made it. At launch the site will accept PayPal, Google Checkout, and Amazon Payments, and 10% of each game’s sales will be donated to a charity of the developer’s choice. All of IndieGameStand’s featured games will be downloadable and DRM-free.
More than fifty developers have already signed up to have their games showcased on the service, including Spiderweb Software, Cipher Prime, Digital Eel, Magical Time Bean, Headup Games, and Zachtronics Industries.
If you’d like some more info about the IndieGameStand and how it works, go ahead and click here.
Like Woot?! *packs up bags, decides to move to a forest or desert with no electricity, cable, etc.
I don't use Woot…often…, but I have friends that do. And I actually really like the idea behind this, for games. Might have to check it out, but my backlog is expanding way too fast right now…