I made a support ticket (#389073) about one of my books not being indexed.

I read the https://itch.io/docs/creators/getting-indexed page, along with the quality guidelines and creator FAQ.

The book was deindexed last year with the big deindexing event and I've since made several tickets. I really hope to get someone to look at my case this time around as the deindexing has plummeted my direct sale numbers. 

The book in question is meant for adults, and marked as such. And while there is some (slowburn) sexual content, it is not “content designed for sexual gratification.â€� 
All the art is non-sexual and while there is artistic nudity, it is all conveniently (artistically 😌) censored (so no private parts or female nipples are shown). 
~I wonder if the book is even NSFW considering I have a physical copy of it at my dayjob and at least 1 coworker has read it 😂

I hope my added explanations here can help to get it re-indexed. And if there are any questions, please do feel free to ask and I'll happily elaborate.

Thanks 💜

Hi,

my game TapZenith has been public for a while but still does not appear in itch.io search or browse.

I have checked the project settings:

• Visibility is set to Public
• “Unlisted in search & browseâ€� is disabled
• The game has a cover image, screenshots, description, tags and genre
• It is an HTML/browser game with a valid uploaded build
• Downloads are enabled

The game page is: https://tapzenith.itch.io/tapzenith

I already contacted itch.io support and received ticket #391062, but I have not received a response yet.

Could someone please check whether the project is waiting for manual review or if there is anything else preventing it from being indexed?

Thank you.

I’ve had a ticket opened for almost a month: 382382. It was for a refund.

itch.io has eventually asked the developer for a solution: the developer had none and accepted the refund immediately, which they’ve asked to itch.io. Since then, I can’t get any answer from itch.io… nor a refund.

I had to open a file on PayPal, and they’ve issued a refund automatically. Now, I wanted to know: can my account be penalised? Can itch.io close it or something? I’ve sent a mail to ask them that and to keep them up to date, but I don’t really know if I should expect an answer since they’ve been mostly ignoring me so far.

Thanks in advance for your help.

I am completely ready to launch the first playable prototype of my game but my build is currently 1.05 GB, which just slightly exceeds the standard 1 GB upload limit.

I have already submitted an email request to support asking for a bump to 3 GB, but since this file size limit is the only thing currently blocking my launch schedule, I wanted to post here to kindly ask if someone could look into my ticket.

My Support Ticket ID is: #391885

Thank you your assistance!

It seems like the credit cards aren't blocking payment for adult items anymore, so what's the holdup now, on allowing me to buy them via itch?

Ideally, I'd like to have all the adventures be available on a single project page—Witch Adventures, we can call them collectively for now—and have each pack available on that page for its own price. So if each pack is $3, you could buy them all for $24, is what I'd like to be the case. Since you generally play as one witch type, I imagine people would want to just buy the pack that corresponds with the witch type they're playing as.

However: "The minimum price for a file should be greater than the minimum price for the entire project." I can't sell all of them individually on the same project page and have the buy-them-all price be $24.

How would you go about doing this in the cleanest way? Just make 8 project pages, one for each pack?

Not shown here: https://itch.io/devlogs/major-update

Not shown here: https://itch.io/devlogs

This is the major devlog published (NSFW): https://bunify.itch.io/bunny-hero-works-part-time/devlog/1628471/new-release-ver...

I'm not asking to be featured, I'm not asking about Most Recent (which also gets skipped), my game is indexed and can be searched. I'm asking why the devlog listing does not even contain my devlog entry.

I read every post and guidelines posted by itch, including community posts made here to figure out the problem. 

The update is enormous in size and content, I waited over 40 days between releases, I released a completely new chapter, thousands of dialog and hundreds of new renders, a complete major update and rework, including animated scenes and events. This time I worked so hard the file doubled in size with legitimate content. The patreon players already loved it and ratings keep steadily rising above 4.5. I'm describing every single variable I've isolated to figure out this insane troubleshooting session with no light of hope in sight.

A bit of transparency would be nice. I'm not trying to rig the system, far from it, I'm just depressed that I worked so hard just get completely ignored (even the simple listing of my devlog is invisible, skipped entirely). Yes, I'm already working on external marketing, this is not about "just keep working", it's about troubleshooting something that is clearly wrong here with my itch page. I'm requesting support (which I already did previously and got ignored). It feels like I'm manually banned and I don't even know what I did wrong or what I can do to fix.

I'm about to scrap the whole game, the whole account and start from scratch a new project because apparently something about my current project is tainted or bugged on itch. There is a stain somewhere and It's impossible to identify where, so the only real actionable solution is to burn the whole project and create another. This is how this situation is making me feel.

I described the problem. Looking forward to a real actionable solution. 

Kind regards.

I think this is some kind of automated prevention mechanism, but if 2FA doesn't work correctly I would have expected an answer for my mail to support, to be honest, or another reasoning in the warning, wanting me to use 2FA. It's just a technically wrong message here when 2FA is the reason to restrict my account in the first place apparently. Overall it's just confusing and frustrating.

Warning says: "Your account is temporarily restricted from posting. Please consider adding two-factor authentication to avoid any issues in the future."

Is there something I can do myself or do I have to wait until someone reacts on the support site?

Link to my game: https://trustill.itch.io/loss-of-faith

I'm hoping to understand why and what I can do. Did I not meet needed standards? Was there problems with what I submitted? etc.

I have a suspicion that possibly someone flagged them for being low-effort AI slop. Which, aside from having AI- generated narrative, I don't think applies. There's a lot of writing and thought that went into the characters, setting, and lore. I didn't just go "hey AI, make a story, make no mistakes", these narratives have a lot of hand-crafted hooks and characters, multiple playthroughs before I was happy with them.  And  engineering that went into how to preserve character agency, it even has this lovely tree-style branching system, card and dice rolls for some of them. a hell of a lot of work went into it. I'd hate to be disqualified because of the type of AI-based text gameplay that it is. Happy to explain what those games are and aren't.

Hi, I've read the "Getting indexed on Search & Browse" guide before posting this.

My game Loop 14: Do Not Rewind was published 2 days ago and is still not appearing in Search or Browse pages.

• Project link: https://nullframe-games.itch.io/loop-14-dont-rewind
• Files are uploaded and downloadable (Windows build)
• Page has a description, screenshots, tags, and cover image
• Pricing is set to "No Payments" (free)
• Account age: ~60-70 days

I've double-checked the requirements in the guide and everything seems correct, but the project still isn't showing up when I search for it by exact title. Could someone take a look?

Thanks! please index my game.

Thank you

I can't buy the game, it says declined and I don't know what to do, I need help

Hi everyone,

I’m working on a website focused on mobile game information and game mods, and I’m interested in creating an itch.io project page alongside the website.

For developers who publish mobile games or game-related projects on itch.io, what information do you think is most useful to include on the project page—such as supported devices, game features, screenshots, installation instructions, or performance requirements?

I’d also like to know whether keeping detailed game information on a separate website and linking to it from the itch.io project page is generally a good approach.

Thanks!

There is nothing in my email asking for a new verification, and I'm a new user so I don't know if there's something in my settings I should be checking. To my knowledge I've received no message indicating there's a restriction or ban on my account. Any idea why this is happening? It's not the end of the world but I'd like to be able to communicate with the people who make games on here. >:[

ETA: I've tried shortening my comment, the original had images so I tried removing one of them, and I tried both replying and posting as a new comment. No dice.

I published my game 4 days ago, but it still hasn't been indexed yet. I followed all the guidelines, but I still can't find it through the search bar.

Game link: https://mr-igame.itch.io/sovereign-of-desire

This is my 3rd game, and my 2nd one had the same issue before too. Could you pls check it for me? Thanks a lot.

I'm the host of the IndieCon V2 game jam:

https://itch.io/jam/indieconv2

The rating period has already ended, but the Results page is still showing:

“The results are not available yet, come back later.�

It has been stuck like this for approximately 12 hours.

The jam currently has:

• 19 submitted projects
• 217 ratings
• 20 projects rated

I've already contacted itch.io support.

Support Ticket: #391798

It looks like the automatic results calculation may be stuck.

Could an admin please check the jam and manually trigger/recalculate the results if necessary?

Thank you!

An executable of my game was released on July 24th, yet the page remained unindexed. I’ve read the Content Creator Quality Guidelines, Getting Indexed on Search & Browse and Unofficial Search and Indexing FAQ. I believe I’ve set up the game page and related details correctly.

There's a piece of information that might be helpful and similar to the situation of other users: before the release, my game had a published page for months. It wasn't indexed because there was no downloadable executable. That was fine, it's how the indexing is supposed to work. But now, even with this and other conditions being met, the page remains unindexed for 2 weeks.

There is no indication that the page is in quarantine or anything similar, at least not an indication visible to a user.

The page is accessible via a direct link (which is how I’ve been promoting the game so far), and the devlogs are indexed normally.

I emailed support about 14 days ago but haven't received a reply. My ticket number is 385564.

Is the game's page going through the normal process? Is there anything unusual? Or did I do something wrong without realizing it?

params: expected type "table", got "nil" 

I've never seen this error before, and no matter what content I change, I get this error. I also get this error when I try to upload files to a new project.

Any help or assistance?

I read the getting-indexed help page mentioned and have everything set to public with no access restrictions (that I can see), but still nothing is found when browsing/searching for ‘word2word’. I can only get to my pages via the link below. There were some initial page views but I think they came from direct links in social media posts and from an announcement on the forum.

The main page is https://purplepup.itch.io/word2word

Has anyone else had this problem seemingly go on so long and was there a (simple) solution? Is anyone in support able to take a look?

Many thanks, in advance.

Hi Itchio Team

I published my game demo Sensei’s Inbox about 30 days ago and it is still not indexed. Link: https://hentai-saga-studio.itch.io/senseis-inbox

I’m ready to release a big update but still waiting for indexing. My ticket is  391478

I know the team has a lot of tickets to handle, so if anyone from the itch.io staff has a free moment, I’d really appreciate it if you could take a quick look at the page.

Thanks in advance!

Saga Studio Team

I submitted my tax interview (Form W-8BEN) 35 days ago, and the status is still stuck on "Pending validation". I also opened a support ticket regarding this issue (Ticket ID: #386559), but haven't received a response yet.

Could someone from support please take a look at my ticket and help review/approve the status? 

Thank you!

I do have views and downloads mostly coming from other platforms where I've shared the link. 

I know the itch.io mentions that indexing can sometimes take a while, especially for new accounts/pages, so I've been waiting to see if it would resolve itself. I also checked the page again to make sure it follows the rules and that there isn't anything obvious that could prevent it from being indexed. I've already contacted support as well

If any of the admins had time, I would be happy if someone took a look at it or helped.

Here's the page:  https://mordstar.itch.io/survival-horror-soundtrack-pack

Thanks!

Hi, my comments are currently being held for moderator approval. I have already contacted support using the email address connected to my account, after waiting for several days. Its been over 1 week by now, but unfortunately no reply yet.

Ticket ID: #384417

I’m posting the ticket ID here in case a moderator can forward it to the admins.

Thank you!

Set to Public (not draft/restricted). Complete page with a description, screenshots, and downloadable file. No policy-violating content

The project has now been live for two weeks, but it still does not appear to be indexed. If there is anything preventing the page from being indexed, I would appreciate any guidance on what I need to fix.

Project link: https://unchinth.itch.io/sci-fi-facility-builder-pack-1-foundation

Thank you for your time.

• https://blobsmith.itch.io/blobsmith (paid tool, $9.95, currently on sale)
• https://blobsmith.itch.io/blobsmith-lite (free, browser-playable)

Both have cover images, files/browser build, tags, and pricing set, and payments work (Collected by itch.io mode). The AI generation disclosure is filled in honestly (AI-assisted code only; no AI-generated art).

Checked logged-out: neither project appears in search (even by exact title), tag browse pages, or the newest-tools feed — so I assume the first-project seller review from the ‘Getting indexed’ guide is still pending.

Is the review still in the queue, or is something on my end blocking indexing? Happy to fix anything. Thanks!

And how does this correlate to NSFW content, which got all churned up awhile ago. Both of my projects are NSFW, does that affect the indexing? How? I don't know. There's no modern documentation that I can find at all which properly explains the whole idea that I have to wait for my project to be indexed, and that it might not ever be indexed. Because the old guidelines that exist are the same standard  ' make your page look good don't be a jerk ' type of thing that they've always been.

Well I've been doing that for almost ten years on this site but now my projects suddenly aren't being indexed. What's happening, what do I do?

Ticket ID: 388866 (opened about a week ago, no reply yet)

After uploading a full unique remake of Barbarian Fall game, all 12 projects on our account stopped appearing in search and browse. 

Traffic went to zero. It looks like the account has been given a "suspicious" status.

Could an admin check which indexing criterion we are failing and what we need to change?

Thanks.

My use case: I'm looking to host a Game Jam for an online con and would like to include a widget displaying the Game Jam entries on the con website. 

Appending .xml appears to only work for /browse pages and doesn't work for the game jam submissions pages (i.e. https://itch.io/jam/business-card-jam/entries.xml doesn't work) nor for collections (even public ones.)

The Oauth API seems to let you get a list of a user's collections, but not the games within a specific collection. https://itch.io/docs/api/oauth

I've seen some folks pull it off with bundles (e.g.https://randombundlegame.com/) but I am unclear on what they did to pull it off.

I'm looking for some clarification about how itch.io's search and tag ranking works, because I'm seeing behavior that I can't explain.

My game: https://goonerunleashed.itch.io/yes-i-am-a-furry

The game was quarantined for review and came out of quarantine around June 4th. Since then, I've noticed two things:

1. My weekly impressions dropped dramatically (from roughly 600k/week before to around 20–30k/week now).
2. More importantly, my game now appears extremely low in tag browsing and search results.

The game is:

• marked as Adult
• completely free (no donations)
• updated every 2-3 weeks
• accompanied by regular devlogs
• currently has 278 ratings with an average score of 4.46/5

The strange part is that the game appears to be indexed correctly, but it can be found if you know the exact title and its ranking seems unusually low.

For example:

• when browsing relevant tags, my game is almost always near the bottom of the results
• when searching for the title, I have to type at least "yes i a" before it appears, and even then it shows around 24th place behind many unrelated games.

I'm not asking for my game to be manually promoted or ranked higher. I'm simply trying to understand whether this behavior is expected after a game comes out of quarantine, or if there might be something affecting how my project is ranked.

I opened a support ticket about a month ago (#381030) but haven't received a response yet, so I thought I'd ask here in case someone can explain how the ranking system works or whether this is something that staff should look into.

Has anyone experienced something similar after being re-indexed?

Thank you.

I've read through the Getting Indexed guide (https://itch.io/docs/creators/getting-indexed) and gone through every requirement, and I still can't find my game in Search or Browse. Searching the exact full title while logged in with adult content enabled in my account settings returns no result.

My game: https://bisuketdream.itch.io/darling-touch (adult content, 18+ gated)

Here's why I believe the page should be eligible for indexing:

• Visibility is set to Public
• Neither "Disable new downloads & purchases" nor "Unlisted in search & browse" is selected under Public access settings
• Pricing is set to "No payments". All files are free and no donations are accepted
• A cover image is uploaded
• The project is both downloadable and playable in the browser, with real content (not a placeholder)
• Adult content is marked correctly and the 18+ gate displays
• The AI generation disclosure is completed
• Tags are accurate to the project and not spammed

The page has been public for about a year and was appearing normally in Browse until around August 5th. The only change I made recently was uploading a new build (v0.8.0) on August 1st. No changes to pricing, tags, classification, or visibility settings.

Is there something in the requirements I've misread, or another eligibility condition I should check? Happy to correct anything on my end.

Thanks