Submission guidelines
Every game and every new build is reviewed by a human before players see it. Here is what reviewers check, so you pass on the first try.
The review lifecycle#
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
DRAFT | You're still working on it. Only you can preview it. |
PENDING_REVIEW | Submitted. Needs at least one uploaded build. |
PUBLISHED | Live on the arcade floor. New builds are reviewed when you upload them. |
REJECTED | Read the reviewer's note, fix it, upload a new build and resubmit. |
SUSPENDED | Taken down by an admin. Contact support. |
Technical checklist#
index.htmlat the root of the zip, or inside a single top-level folder (it is detected and stripped).- Zip up to 100 MB, at most 300 MB unpacked.
- At most 2,000 files.
- Relative paths with forward slashes only: no absolute paths, no
.., no symlinks. - Hidden files and OS junk (
__MACOSX/,.DS_Store,Thumbs.db), source maps (.map) and markdown files (.md) are skipped, not rejected.
index.htmlloads the SDK and callsGemsArcadia.ready()once loaded.- The game works inside a sandboxed iframe: no
alert()/prompt(), no pop-ups, no top-level navigation, no cookies orlocalStoragethat the game can't live without (the sandbox has an opaque origin). - All assets ship in the zip. The game's Content-Security-Policy blocks third-party scripts, fonts, analytics and ad networks.
- Pause on the SDK's
pauseevent and keep audio quiet until the player interacts. - Playable with a keyboard; mouse, touch and gamepad are a bonus.
- Runs at a playable frame rate on a mid-range laptop and phone.
Coin and credit rules#
- A credit costs
coinsPerCreditcoins (1–5), shown on your cabinet. Pick a price that matches the length of a run. - Grant exactly one credit per successful insertion: on
{ ok: true }frominsertCoin(), or on acoinInsertedevent. - Only ask for coins when the player acts (pressing your INSERT COIN button, choosing to continue). No automatic or repeated charges, no timers that spend coins.
- Say clearly what a credit buys before the player pays for it.
- Handle every failure reason without granting a credit, and never lock the player in a "pay to continue" screen without a way out.
Content#
- Your own work, or assets you have the rights to (credit them in the game's description).
- No hateful, sexually explicit or illegal content; mild cartoon violence is fine.
- No gambling mechanics: coins buy play time, never random cash or coin prizes.
- A cover image and an honest description and genre.
Rewards and store page#
- Achievements are earned in play, never by inserting more coins, and their descriptions say how to earn them (hidden ones excepted). See player rewards.
- Scores are the player's real result for the run: one per coin, submitted at game over.
- Screenshots and trailers show the actual game, and the controls listed on the page match the game. See the store page guide.
After you're live#
Uploading a new build of a published game puts that build into review; the current build keeps running until the new one is approved. Watch your numbers in earnings and read the revenue share to see how payouts are calculated.