So this is interesting, a game client got a listing on Steam without #Valve knowing the makers of the games #marketplace were working to get their app out there using #greenlight. Which popped up on April 1st, a day known for hilarious pranks and jokes, etc. Hence our hesitation, so we waited, to see all of this is legit.
Itch.io is a well known open marketplace for indie games. According to the “About” page, if you created a game, you can easily upload it, set the price, then sell through Itch.io. Easy.
itch.io is an open marketplace for independent digital creators with a focus on independent video games. It’s a platform that enables anyone to sell the content they’ve created. As a seller you’re in charge of how it’s done: you set the price, you run sales, and you design your pages. It’s never necessary to get votes, likes, or follows to get your content approved, and you can make changes to how you distribute your work as frequently as you like.
itch.io is also a collection of some of the most unique, interesting, and independent creations you’ll find on the web. We’re not your typical digital storefront, with a wide range of both paid and free content, we encourage you to look around and see what you find.
The creators of Itch.io have a new desktop client called Itch available for Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Which of course has gone a step further with a listing for Itch on Steam Greenlight, with hopes of “gaining votes, likes, or follows” to get their content approved to make it onto Steam. Which is contrary to their “About” section, trying to launch an app for a games marketplace on another games marketplace.
Apparently it has been fun to add the Itch client on Greenlight for April Fool’s Day, which is why you are hearing about this so late. But it seems Itch is legitimately trying to get their app available on Steam. Which does not have the capability to make purchases of games from Itch.io’s library, so users will just be able to launch, manage, and update your games.
So in a manner of technical terms, the Itch client is an indie game management service within a commercially viable online storefront.
One way or another, the installer works well on Linux and we easily installed the deb package. There obviously an AUR listing as well for Arch users. So leave a comment and let us know how you make out with the client.
