A New "Pay What You Want" Service to Launch September 26
One unique game to be showcased every 96 hours at www.indiegamestand.com; register now and get 2D platformer Chester for free!
IndieGameStand, an innovative new website that will showcase handpicked independent games at discounted prices, will officially launch on September 26, 2012. In the style of shopping sites like Woot, Groupon, and Free App A Day, IndieGameStand will feature one game every four days, giving players easy access to creative games while providing independent developers with unique ways to sell and spread the word about their offerings. A sneak preview of the service can be viewed at http://www.indiegamestand.com. Plus, those who register with the site over the next two weeks will receive a free copy of Chester, a unique 2D platformer from indie developer Brilliant Blue-G.
Upon the service's September 26 launch, a different independent game will take the spotlight every 96 hours, making IndieGameStand a destination for a steady stream of high quality, little-known games that might otherwise struggle to find an audience. 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.
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.
IndieGameStand was conceived by the staff of The Indie Game Magazine (http://www.indiegamemag.com), an editorial site that has covered independent game development since 2009. "We created IndieGameStand to put a spotlight on indie titles that provide fantastic experiences, but may have been passed over by the mainstream gaming public. This site is about supporting all of the fantastic and worthwhile indie developers out there," says co-founder Mike Gnade. "IndieGameStand isn't just another game bundle. We feature one game at a time, so people don't have to 'rebuy' games they already own to get a great deal. And we've spent months building out our service to be flexible and accommodating for developers, providing them with tools to promote and upsell their game that other indie game bundles don't offer."
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. More details about how IndieGameStand works, a list of frequently asked questions, and a sign-up form for developers are currently online at http://www.indiegamestand.com. Visitors who register with the site will receive an email notification when the first featured game goes on sale on September 26 and a free copy of Chester.
