You finished the game. You clicked "export." The build folder is sitting on your desktop. And now you've been staring at it for three weeks because the question of where to actually put this thing feels like opening a whole new game you didn't sign up to play.
I've watched this happen to dozens of no-code creators. The game is done. The publishing is not. And somehow "figuring out publishing" keeps getting added to tomorrow's list.
Let me fix that. Here's every major publishing option, what it actually costs, who it's for, and the exact order I'd publish in.
The Paralysis Problem
Publishing anxiety is real, and it comes from a specific place: most no-code creators have heard about Steam and app stores, assume those are the "real" paths, and then get overwhelmed by the requirements and cost. So they do nothing.
Here's the thing, though. Steam and the App Store are not the right first move for most no-code games. Not even close. The platform that makes the most sense for your first release is one you've probably written off as a hobbyist playground.
Let's start there.
itch.io: Publish Today, For Free, Right Now
itch.io hosts over 900,000 games. It pays out millions of dollars to creators every month. And it costs exactly nothing to list your game.
Here's what publishing on itch.io actually looks like:
- Cost: $0 to list. You set the price: free, pay-what-you-want, or fixed price
- Revenue split: You choose. itch.io defaults to asking for a 10% tip but you can set it anywhere from 0% to 100%
- Time to live: 20 minutes if you have your export ready
- Formats supported: HTML5 (browser playable), Windows, macOS, Linux, Android APK
- Community: An actual community of indie players who specifically seek out experimental and unusual games
That last point matters more than people realize. itch.io players are not the Steam audience. They're not looking for polished AAA experiences. They're looking for weird, creative, original stuff. A no-code puzzle game with an unusual mechanic is exactly what itch.io players click on.
The HTML5 Advantage
Most no-code tools export to HTML5. GDevelop does it. Construct does it. GameMaker does it. That export drops your game directly into a browser, zero install required.
On itch.io, you can set a browser-playable game to launch inside the page itself. Someone clicks your link, the game loads in 10 seconds, they're playing it. No download prompt, no install wizard, no antivirus warning. This is the single lowest-friction path from "I made a game" to "a stranger is playing my game."
Why itch.io First
The honest argument for itch.io as your first move is that it lets you validate the game before you spend money or serious time on bigger platforms. Put it on itch.io. See if anyone plays it. See what they say in the comments. See if anyone pays for it.
If 50 people play it and say "this mechanic is confusing," you want to know that before you spend $100 on a Steam page. If 200 people play it and 40 of them pay $3 for it, that's signal. Now you know the game has legs.
Treat itch.io as your public beta that happens to also generate revenue.
Steam: Worth It, But Only Under Specific Conditions
Steam is where the serious PC game money is. It's also a trap for no-code developers who jump straight to it without an audience.
The real costs:
- Steamworks Direct fee: $100 per game, non-refundable (though you get it back as a $100 credit once you hit $1,000 in sales)
- Revenue split: Steam takes 30% until $10M in lifetime sales, then 25%, then 20% after $50M
- Store page requirements: Minimum of 5 screenshots, a trailer (strong recommendation), capsule art in multiple sizes, a written store description
- Review time: Usually 3-7 business days from submission to approval
What Steam gives you in return is access to 132 million active users and a discovery algorithm that, if it likes you, can send thousands of wishlists your way. The "if it likes you" part is doing a lot of work in that sentence.
When Steam Makes Sense
Steam's algorithm is not kind to games with no launch-day momentum. If you release on Steam with no existing audience, no press, and no wishlist count, the algorithm will not surface you. You'll get a handful of sales from people who happen to search the right keywords, and that's roughly it.
Steam makes sense when:
- You have an audience already (newsletter, social following, Discord community) that will generate launch-day sales and reviews
- Your game fits a clear genre with searchable demand (platformer, puzzle, roguelike, etc.)
- You have time and assets to run a proper launch: trailer, screenshots, a real store page, maybe some press outreach
- You've validated on itch.io that people actually want to play this
Steam is not worth it when you're testing a concept, when your audience is primarily mobile players, or when you'd be spending $100 to find out nobody plays it.
App Stores: The Honest Picture
The app stores are where no-code mobile games go to be ignored at scale.
I say that not to discourage you but to set accurate expectations. The costs are real:
- Google Play: $25 one-time developer fee, 1-3 day review, 15% cut on your first $1M/year (30% after that)
- Apple App Store: $99/year developer fee, 1-7 day review, stricter guidelines, 15% cut on first $1M/year (30% after)
The discoverability problem on both stores is severe. The App Store has over 1.8 million apps. Google Play has over 3.5 million. Getting organically discovered without spending money on user acquisition ads is, for most independent creators, not realistic.
When App Stores Are Worth It
Mobile publishing is worth the effort when the game was designed mobile-first. Not "I'll port it to mobile too," but "I built this for a phone, the controls work with touch, the sessions are designed for 3-minute plays."
No-code tools can export to mobile. GDevelop exports to Android and iOS. Construct exports to both. Buildbox is basically built around mobile. But exporting to mobile doesn't mean your game is a good mobile game. Browser games ported to mobile as an afterthought usually feel terrible on a phone because they weren't designed for it.
If you've built a mobile-native game with a social hook (leaderboards, share moments, viral mechanics), and you have a plan for getting the first 500 downloads that doesn't rely entirely on organic discovery, the app stores are worth pursuing.
If you built a desktop puzzle game and you're thinking "maybe I'll also put it on iOS," skip it.
Browser and Web: The Underrated Path
Before you spend any money at all, consider this: you can publish your game on the open web for free in the next 30 minutes.
GitHub Pages, Netlify, and Vercel all host static sites (including HTML5 game exports) for free. You get a URL. The game loads. People play it. That's it.
Web game portals are also worth knowing about:
- CrazyGames: Pays revenue share on ad impressions, solid traffic for casual games
- Poki: Similar model, strong audience for browser games
- Newgrounds: Smaller but a dedicated community that takes indie creators seriously
The web path won't make you rich but it's the fastest path from "I made a game" to "my game has players." That matters for motivation, for feedback, and for proving to yourself that this is real.
What Your No-Code Tool Can Actually Export
Publishing options depend on what your tool supports. Here's the quick version:
- GDevelop: HTML5, Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux. Covers almost every platform
- Construct: HTML5, Android, iOS. Strong browser-game workflow, solid mobile export
- GameMaker: Windows, macOS, Linux, HTML5, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch (with license), PlayStation (with license). The widest console support in no-code adjacent tools
- Buildbox: iOS and Android focused. Mobile-first workflow with limited web export capability
Your tool choice shapes your publishing options before you even finish building. If you're two weeks into a GDevelop project and you're dreaming about App Store, you're in decent shape. If you built something in a web-only tool and you want to be on Steam, you may need to reconsider.
Check your export options early in development, not after the game is finished.
The Publishing Order I Actually Recommend
Here's the sequence that makes sense for most no-code game developers:
Step 1: Web/browser version (today, free)
Export to HTML5. Host on GitHub Pages or Netlify. Share the link. Get your first players. This costs nothing and takes 20 minutes. Do this even if you plan to go to Steam eventually. Having a playable URL is useful for press, communities, and getting early feedback.
Step 2: itch.io listing (this week, free)
Upload your HTML5 export or downloadable build to itch.io. Write a real description. Add screenshots. Set a price (pay-what-you-want is fine). Now you're in the itch.io ecosystem, discoverable to its community, and collecting real player data.
Step 3: Bigger platforms only after validation
If your itch.io page gets traction, if players are leaving comments, if you're making any sales at all, that's signal. Now it's worth thinking about Steam (if your game is desktop-oriented with genre appeal) or the App Store (if you can rebuild or adapt it as a mobile-native experience).
Skip Step 3 if you don't have the signal. Seriously. The $100 Steam fee is not the problem; the months of setup work and launch planning are. Spend that energy on finishing your next game instead.
One More Thing About itch.io
I want to push back on the perception that itch.io is a "lesser" platform. It's the platform where Celeste launched its prototype. It's where countless games that later became successful Steam titles got their first players. The itch.io community rate of "plays a weird experimental indie game and tells the creator what they think" is higher than almost anywhere else on the internet.
You don't graduate from itch.io to Steam. They're parallel options for different audiences. Many successful indie developers maintain both.
Stop treating the $0 platform like a stepping stone and start treating it like the community it actually is.
The Bottom Line
You finished the game. That's the hard part. Publishing is just logistics.
Export to HTML5. Put it on itch.io. Share the link. Get feedback. If it gets traction, spend the money on Steam or the app stores. If it doesn't, you've learned something cheap and you can apply it to the next game.
The worst thing you can do is let a finished game rot on your desktop because you were waiting for the "right" platform. There is no right platform. There's the one you ship on today.