Gog.com starts indie game submission tool to rival Steam Greenlight

One of the biggest digital distribution platforms for games, Gog.com, has announced that it will be opening up a submission service for indie games. This puts the service in direct competition with Valve’s Steam and its Greenlight initiative. The submission tool can be checked out from the indie portal on GOG.com. The tool helps developers submit their game and speak to Gog.com about the release.

Some of the ideas being employed by Gog.com for its indie game submission seem to be far from the industry standards. For example, the company will be paying developers an advance on royalties for their games. This is an especially unconventional move since most of the time indie studios are paid at set intervals after their games go on sale. Check out the video made by Gog.com that showcases some of the experience that other indie developers have had with the service:

Among these developers are Kan Gao, creator of To The Moon; Calvin French, creator of The Real Texas; Lars Doucet, creator of Defender’s Quest and Anne and Ville Mönkönnen, creators of Driftmoon. These developers talk about how Gog.com’s policies are friendly for developers and gamers.

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“We’ll tell you exactly what we think about your title,” said Gog.com in its announcement. “We know our users’ tastes, and we do our best to present them with a selection of DRM-free games they’ll enjoy. We review all submissions and pick those that offer the qualities our users value most, such as gameplay depth, originality, and a high level of polish.”