Publishing guide

Any game that runs in a web browser can go on ArcadeForest. You upload a build, we check it, a moderator approves it and it goes live on its own address.

What to upload

• A .zip file with index.html at the top level (or inside a single folder), up to 300 MB.
• Or a single .html file — perfect for jam games and small prototypes.
• Everything the game needs must be inside the upload: scripts, images, sounds, fonts. Games cannot load files from other websites.

Cover image

• Every game needs a 16:9 cover, at least 1280×720 (1920×1080 is ideal), PNG, JPEG or WebP up to 5 MB. You add it on your game’s page before uploading a build.
• Show the game itself — its world and characters — with the title large enough to read on a small card. Avoid small text and busy borders.
• Click the most important spot to set the focal point: square thumbnails and the play screen of portrait games are cropped around it.
• Portrait (phone-style) game? Add an optional 9:16 cover (at least 720×1280) for the play screen.

Unity WebGL

• File → Build Settings → WebGL → Build. Zip the output folder (the one containing index.html, Build/ and TemplateData/).
• Compression Gzip or Brotli both work: we detect the compression of your .unityweb files and send the matching Content-Encoding, so browsers unpack them natively. “Disabled” works too but downloads are bigger.
• Turn on Name Files As Hashes (Player Settings → Publishing Settings). Hashed files are cached by browsers for a year, so returning players start instantly; without it they re-check every file after 5 minutes.
• Keep the default template or a minimal one; the game should fill the window (Player Settings → Resolution and Presentation).

Godot

• Project → Export → Web. For Godot 4, turn Thread Support off (single-threaded export) — threaded builds need special headers that embedded players cannot use.
• Name the exported HTML file index.html and zip the folder.

Other engines and frameworks

• Phaser, PixiJS, Three.js, Babylon.js, Construct, GDevelop, PICO-8 and plain HTML/JS all work — export for web and zip the folder.
• Saves in localStorage / IndexedDB work and stay private to your game.

What we check

• Antivirus scan of every file, and a file-type whitelist (no executables or server scripts).
• A test run in a headless browser: does it load, does it show something, does it try to reach other websites.
• A quick human review against the Content Policy. Updates to approved games are reviewed too.

Rules of thumb

• Only upload games you have the right to share. Copying someone else’s game, characters, assets or brand is not allowed.
• No ads, trackers, external links that leave the game, or requests for personal data inside the game in this phase.
• Make the first few seconds count — that is what players see first.

Publish a game