Kongregate announced that starting this summer they will open up Kartridge, which will be a new portal for indie game developers to showcase their games. The portal will allow developers to upload and host their titles without having to pay any entry fees.
Kartridge was announced via a post over on the official website, where it was revealed that Kongregate would be using the previous storefront as a way to help leverage the budding independent development scene that will sprout up through Kartridge.
Basically it’s going to work like a low-rent version of Steam Greenlight, just without the entry fees.
Introducing a new PC platform, designed to be different…
Kartridge, the community-driven, developer-centric platform is coming Summer 2018.
Sign up for the beta at https://t.co/VY15eCsV2p and get the latest news on the official @playkartridge Facebook & Twitter accounts. pic.twitter.com/i2jS1jUi2X
— Kartridge (@PlayKartridge) March 6, 2018
As a developer you’ll be able to showcase your talents and portfolio through your very own personalized profile page, and utilize user-friendly tools to upload and demonstrate your work.
Once you’re ready, you’ll be able to utilize the web tools to create a storefront and highlight the games you have available to sell.
There aren’t a lot of details about Kartridge right now, but I imagine leading into the spring, ahead of the summer launch, there will be a more detailed outline of how the system will work and what safeguards will be in place.
I can’t imagine that the service will open up and just let anyone publish anything, otherwise the story could end up getting flooded with a ton of shovelware.
Before entering open beta this summer, select developers will be notified about closed beta testing set to take place ahead of the launch.
As an alternative to Steam Direct and the now defunct Steam Greenlight, I can’t voice any objections to this new service. Anything to help streamline and broadcast worthwhile indie games is a service that many developers and gamers will likely find beneficial in helping them become aware of cool and interesting new projects.
