It’s been a while since we’ve had a fresh digital storefront to compete with the likes of Steam and GOG, with itch.io the only real one of note. But there’s a new kid on the block, called Kartridge, that’s actually older than it looks. Why? Because it’s backed by Kongregate, one of the stalwarts of the Flash gaming era of the 90s and early 2000s.
Kartridge has been in the works for some time, and last week’s launch signifies the start of the site’s open beta, according to Kongregate CEO, Emily Greer.
Currently, there are over 250 games available from 100 or so “founding developers”, including Asymmetric (West of Loathing), Positech Games (Production Line) and Dinosaur Polo Club (Mini Metro).
Windows and macOS are supported platforms — sorry Linux folks.
While described as an “open platform” for developers — games can be uploaded right now — Kartridge has an “editorial team [that] will work closely with selected developers to implement curated badges within many popular games”.
One significant point of difference with Steam and GOG is that developers will get “100 [per cent] of revenue earned on their first [$US10,000] in sales”. It’s not mentioned what the revenue split is from that point onwards, but for comparison purposes, the industry standard is 70/30, in favour of the developer. itch.io is the exception, allowing developers to set their own ratio.
Hopefully, Kartridge can shake things up for players and developers alike, though it’s got a long way to go before it’s butting heads with Valve’s juggernaut.
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