Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are between you ("you," "your," or "User") and PlayIndies LLC ("PlayIndies," "we," "us," or "our") governing your access to and use of the PlayIndies website, web application, APIs, and any related services (collectively, the "Service").

You accept these Terms by:

• creating an account on the Service and clicking the box or button that confirms your agreement to these Terms (a "clickwrap" acceptance);
• accessing or using the Service in any other manner, including browsing the public pages of playindies.gg or playindies.com (a "browsewrap" acceptance).

These Terms take effect on the earliest of (a) your account creation, (b) your first use of the Service, or (c) the Effective Date listed above for users of the Service on that date.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not access or use the Service.

If you are entering into these Terms on behalf of a company, studio, agency, publisher, or other legal entity (each a "Business User"), you represent that you have the authority to bind that entity, and "you" refers to that entity.

2. Description of Service

PlayIndies is an online platform that connects independent game developers, publishers, and agencies ("Developers") with content creators, media, journalists, and press ("Creators") for the purposes of:

• listing and discovering indie games;
• distributing game keys for review, coverage, gameplay, and promotional purposes;
• running and applying to coverage campaigns;
• exchanging messages between Developers and Creators about specific games;
• gathering reviews, analytics, and audience data linked through authorized third-party platforms;
• providing news and education resources on indie games, development, and marketing;
• purchasing optional placements, subscription tiers, and add-ons that influence visibility and platform credits.

The Service is provided as a software-as-a-service application accessed through a web browser. PlayIndies does not sell or license directly to end users; we provide the platform that Developers use to deliver keys to Creators.

PlayIndies is currently in a soft launch period and is optimized for full desktop resolutions. Mobile and tablet experiences are limited; some pages will display a notice that mobile-friendly versions are still in development. Site administrators may temporarily disable individual pages or features for maintenance, in which case affected endpoints may return a 503 maintenance response.

We do not guarantee uninterrupted availability or any specific service level. Features, pricing, credit allotments, placement inventory, and rank systems may change as the Service evolves.

3. User Accounts and Responsibilities

3.1 Account Types

PlayIndies supports several account types, each with different functionality, permissions, and obligations:

• Creator — individual content creators, agencies, media, and press.
• Developer / Publisher — game developers and publishers listing games, distributing keys, and purchasing placements.

You may only register for an account type that accurately describes you or the entity you represent.

3.2 Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to create a PlayIndies account. Users under 18 (or the age of majority in their jurisdiction) must have permission from a parent or legal guardian. Some features — including paid plans, key distribution, payouts, and any feature involving age-restricted content — may require you to be at least 18. PlayIndies may, at its discretion, require age verification for any account.

PlayIndies does not knowingly collect information from, or provide accounts to, individuals under 13. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will promptly delete it.

3.3 Registration and Accuracy

When creating an account you must provide accurate, current, and complete information, and keep that information up to date. Providing false information, impersonating another person or entity, or misrepresenting your affiliation with a person or entity is a material breach of these Terms and may result in immediate suspension or termination.

3.4 Account Security

You are responsible for:

• maintaining the confidentiality of your password and any third-party OAuth credentials connected to your account;
• enabling and maintaining any security features we provide, including multi-factor authentication where available;
• all activity that occurs under your account, whether or not authorized by you;
• promptly notifying PlayIndies at support@playindies.com of any actual or suspected unauthorized access, use, or breach.

PlayIndies is not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to safeguard your credentials.

3.5 No Account Sharing

Each account is for the use of a single individual or, in the case of Business User accounts, a single legal entity acting through authorized representatives. You may not sell, transfer, lease, share, or otherwise assign your account credentials to any third party. Business User accounts may invite team members only through features expressly provided for that purpose.

3.6 Account Information Accuracy

PlayIndies relies on the information in your profile and connected accounts to operate features such as creator ranking, audience metrics, eligibility for key requests, and matchmaking. If your information is inaccurate, outdated, or fraudulent, PlayIndies may suspend, downgrade, or terminate your account, and may withhold or reverse any credits, placements, or payouts associated with the account.

4. Acceptable Use Policy

You agree not to do, encourage, or facilitate any of the following while using the Service:

• Illegal activity — violate any applicable law, regulation, sanctions program, or court order.
• Harassment and abuse — harass, threaten, defame, stalk, or target any individual or group, including PlayIndies staff, other Users, and Developers' or Creators' communities.
• Hate speech and harmful content — post or transmit content that incites violence, promotes hatred, sexually exploits minors, or is otherwise unlawful or violates our content policies.
• Spamming — send unsolicited bulk messages, repetitive key requests, fake reviews, fake engagement, or any form of platform manipulation.
• Unauthorized access — attempt to access any part of the Service, accounts, systems, or data not authorized for you, including by probing, scanning, or testing the vulnerability of the Service or by circumventing rate limits, authentication, or other access controls.
• Malware and disruption — upload, distribute, or transmit any virus, worm, trojan, ransomware, or other malicious code; or interfere with, degrade, or disrupt the operation of the Service or its underlying infrastructure (including Amazon Web Services).
• Impersonation and misrepresentation — impersonate any person or entity, falsely state your affiliation, falsify channel ownership, or misrepresent audience metrics.
• Intellectual property infringement — upload, post, or share content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, right of publicity, or other proprietary right.
• Reverse engineering and scraping — reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to derive source code from the Service, except to the extent such restriction is prohibited by law; or use any automated means (bots, scrapers, crawlers) to access the Service except through interfaces we expressly designate for that purpose.
• Key abuse — resell, redistribute, trade, gift, or commercialize any game key obtained through the Service except as expressly permitted by the Developer who issued the key; submit key requests in bad faith with no intent to produce coverage; or attempt to recover, copy, or share keys that have been recalled.
• Tier and credit manipulation — attempt to obtain message credits, key credits, placements, or rank advancements through fraudulent means, including chargebacks made in bad faith.
• Privacy violations — collect, store, or share other Users' personal information without authorization, or use the Service to send unsolicited communications outside the platform's intended messaging features.
• Anti-competitive scraping of campaign data — extract bulk data about Creators, Developers, campaigns, or pricing for competitive intelligence purposes.

PlayIndies reserves the right to investigate suspected violations, remove offending content, suspend or terminate accounts, withhold credits or payouts, and refer matters to law enforcement.

4.1 Game Keys Are Valuable Property

You acknowledge that game keys distributed through the Service represent real economic value (typically between US$5 and US$60 per key) and are entrusted to PlayIndies and Creators by Developers. Misappropriation, sharing, leaking, or reselling keys may result in immediate termination, forfeiture of credits and payouts, and civil or criminal liability.

5. Intellectual Property Rights

5.1 PlayIndies Property

The Service — including its software, source code, design, layout, branding, "PlayIndies" name and logo, rank systems, page templates, copy, and all other materials provided by PlayIndies — is owned by PlayIndies LLC or its licensors and is protected by United States and international intellectual property laws. Except for the limited rights expressly granted in these Terms, PlayIndies reserves all rights.

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to access and use the Service solely for the purposes contemplated by these Terms.

5.2 User Content

"User Content" means any content you submit, upload, post, link, or otherwise make available through the Service, including game listings, key art, trailers, screenshots, press kits, reviews, profile bios, channel data retrieved through OAuth, messages, and feedback.

You retain ownership of your User Content. By submitting User Content, you grant PlayIndies a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable license to host, store, reproduce, modify (for formatting, resizing, and presentation), display, distribute, and otherwise use the User Content solely as needed to operate, provide, promote, and improve the Service. This includes:

• displaying your game listings, profile, and creator metrics on relevant pages of the Service;
• including your User Content in featured placements you have purchased or that PlayIndies operates editorially;
• using anonymized or aggregated analytics derived from your User Content for product improvement and reporting;
• producing screenshots or marketing materials that include public-facing portions of the Service.

5.3 Third-Party Platform Data

When you connect a third-party account (Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Discord, etc.) you grant PlayIndies the right to access and use the data you authorize, subject to the relevant platform's terms. PlayIndies' rights with respect to such data are limited to the scope and duration that the third-party platform permits.

5.4 Survival of Licenses

The licenses you grant under Section 5.2 survive termination of your account only to the extent necessary for PlayIndies to (a) maintain backups and audit trails for the periods required by law and our retention policies, (b) continue to display content that you previously authorized to be made public on third-party platforms or that has been incorporated into materials Developers or Creators relied upon in good faith, and (c) operate aggregated/anonymized analytics. PlayIndies will otherwise cease using your User Content after account deletion, subject to the timelines described in our Privacy Policy.

5.5 Feedback

If you provide PlayIndies with suggestions, ideas, or feedback about the Service, PlayIndies may use that feedback for any purpose without compensation or attribution to you.

5.6 DMCA / Copyright Complaints

If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, send a notice to legal@playindies.com. Repeat infringers will have their accounts terminated.

6. Payment Terms

6.1 Pricing and Plans

Some features of the Service — including Developer subscription tiers, placement add-ons (e.g., Mythic, Legendary, and Epic placements), additional message credits, and key credits — require payment. Current pricing is shown on the Pricing page within the Service and is incorporated into these Terms by reference at the time of purchase.

The free List Your Game tier is available to Developer accounts with limited features (no Creator analytics access, limited credits). Creator accounts do not currently incur charges for use of the Service.

6.2 Billing and Payment Methods

Paid plans and add-ons are processed through Stripe. By providing payment information, you authorize PlayIndies and its payment processors to charge the payment method on file for all amounts due, including recurring subscription fees, taxes, and any add-on purchases.

Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing cycle until canceled. You can cancel a subscription at any time through your account settings; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.

6.3 Mid-Cycle Tier Changes

If you upgrade your Developer tier mid-billing-cycle, your credit entitlements (key credits, message credits, placement eligibility) adjust immediately to reflect the new tier. When downgrading your Developer tier mid-billing-cycle, you retain all credit entitlements. Refunds for downgrades are governed by Section 6.5.

6.4 Failed Payments

If a recurring Stripe payment fails, your Developer account will be immediately downgraded to the free List Your Game tier. Active placements purchased under a higher tier may be paused or removed. You may restore your previous tier by updating your payment method and successfully renewing.

6.5 Refunds

Except where required by applicable law or expressly stated in a written agreement with PlayIndies:

• subscription fees and add-on purchases are non-refundable;
• unused message credits, key credits, and placement allocations are not refundable in cash and may expire as described on the Pricing page;
• chargebacks initiated in bad faith may result in account suspension and forfeiture of remaining credits and placements;
• if PlayIndies determines, in its discretion, that a refund is appropriate (for example, due to a billing error or an outage we deem material), we will issue the refund to the original payment method.

6.6 Price Changes

PlayIndies may change pricing for subscriptions, add-ons, and credits at any time. For recurring subscriptions, we will provide reasonable advance notice (typically by email and in-app notice) before a price change takes effect at your next renewal. Continued use of the paid plan after the change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the new price; if you do not accept, you may cancel before the next renewal.

6.7 Taxes

Prices do not include taxes unless explicitly stated. You are responsible for all applicable sales, use, value-added, and similar taxes, except taxes based on PlayIndies' net income.

6.8 No Sale of Goods

The Service is a software platform, not a goods retailer. PlayIndies does not ship physical products, and order-cancellation, return, and shipping policies typical of e-commerce do not apply except where expressly stated.

7. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law:

• Excluded damages — PlayIndies, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents, and licensors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or business opportunities, arising out of or in connection with the Service or these Terms, even if PlayIndies has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
• Aggregate cap — PlayIndies' total cumulative liability arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will not exceed the greater of (a) the amounts you paid to PlayIndies for the Service in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to the liability.
• Third-party actions — PlayIndies is not liable for the acts or omissions of any Developer, Creator, payment processor, OAuth provider, gaming platform, ad network, hosting provider, or other third party.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you. In such jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Service is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" without warranties of any kind, express or implied. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, PlayIndies disclaims all warranties, including:

• merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement;
• that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or free of viruses or harmful components;
• the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of any User Content, third-party data, analytics, rankings, audience metrics, or game keys distributed through the Service;
• that key inventory will remain valid, redeemable, region-unrestricted, or available on any particular platform.

You use the Service at your own risk. Any material downloaded or otherwise obtained through the Service is accessed at your own discretion and risk, and you are solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or loss of data resulting from its use.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the disclaimer of implied warranties; in such jurisdictions, the disclaimers in this section apply to the maximum extent permitted by law.

9. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless PlayIndies LLC, its affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, and licensors from and against any claims, demands, suits, actions, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to:

• your access to or use of the Service;
• your User Content;
• your violation of these Terms or any applicable law;
• your infringement of any intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or other right of any third party;
• your misuse, redistribution, or resale of any game key obtained through the Service;
• your acts or omissions in connection with any campaign, payout, or purchase made through the Service.

PlayIndies reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which case you agree to cooperate with PlayIndies' defense.

10. Termination

10.1 Termination by You

You may terminate your account at any time through your account settings or by emailing support@playindies.com. Cancellation of a paid subscription takes effect at the end of the current billing period; account deletion is processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable law.

10.2 Termination or Suspension by PlayIndies

PlayIndies may suspend, restrict, downgrade, or terminate your account, or any portion of the Service, at any time, with or without notice, if:

• you violate these Terms or any policy referenced in these Terms (including the Acceptable Use Policy);
• payment for any paid plan fails or is reversed;
• your account has been inactive for an extended period;
• we are required to do so by law, court order, or governmental authority;
• we determine, in our reasonable discretion, that your conduct creates a material risk to the Service, other Users, Developers, Creators, or PlayIndies.

10.3 Effect of Termination

Upon termination:

• your right to access and use the Service immediately ceases;
• pending key requests, campaigns, message credits, and placement allocations may be canceled or forfeited;
• outstanding payment obligations remain due;
• PlayIndies will delete or anonymize your personal data in accordance with the Privacy Policy.

10.4 Survival

The following sections survive termination: 4.1 (Game Keys Are Valuable Property), 5 (Intellectual Property), 6.5 and 6.7 (Refunds and Taxes for amounts already due), 7 (Limitation of Liability), 8 (Disclaimer of Warranties), 9 (Indemnification), 10 (Termination), 11 (Dispute Resolution), and any other provision that by its nature should survive.

10.5 Reactivation

Reactivation of a terminated account is at PlayIndies' sole discretion. Accounts terminated for material violations may not be reactivated, and the User may be permanently barred from creating a new account.

11. Dispute Resolution

11.1 Governing Law

These Terms and any dispute arising out of or relating to them or the Service are governed by the laws of the State of Washington, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply.

11.2 Informal Resolution

Before filing any formal dispute, you agree to first contact PlayIndies at legal@playindies.com and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least thirty (30) days.

11.3 Binding Arbitration

If the dispute is not resolved informally, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be finally resolved by binding arbitration administered by JAMS in accordance with its Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures. The arbitration will be conducted in English, by a single arbitrator, in Kent, Washington or another mutually agreeable location (or by video conference, where permitted). Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

11.4 Class Action Waiver

You and PlayIndies agree that any dispute will be brought in your or our individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, consolidated, or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims and may not preside over any form of representative or class proceeding.

11.5 Exceptions

Either party may bring (a) an individual action in small-claims court, and (b) an action in court for injunctive or equitable relief related to intellectual property, unauthorized access, or misuse of confidential information.

11.6 Right to Opt Out of Arbitration

You may opt out of the arbitration agreement in Section 11.3–11.4 by sending written notice to legal@playindies.com within thirty (30) days of first accepting these Terms. Notice must include your name, account email, and a clear statement that you wish to opt out. Opting out does not affect any other provision of these Terms.

11.7 Time Limit

Any claim must be brought within one (1) year after the cause of action arises, except where a longer period is required by applicable law.

12. Privacy Policy

Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy, available at playindies.com/privacy-policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By accepting these Terms, you also acknowledge our data collection, use, storage, sharing, and security practices as described in the Privacy Policy.

13. Modification of Terms

PlayIndies may modify these Terms from time to time. When we do:

• the "Last Updated" date and version number at the top of these Terms will be revised;
• the updated Terms will be posted at the same URL where they are currently published, with prior versions available on request;
• for material changes, we will provide reasonable advance notice — typically at least thirty (30) days — by email to the address associated with your account, in-product notice, or a banner on the Service. We may also require you to actively re-accept the updated Terms before continuing to use the Service.
• for non-material changes (clarifications, formatting, contact-info updates), we may post the change with the new effective date without separate notice.

Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of any change constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms. If you do not agree to the changes, you must stop using the Service and may close your account.

14. Third-Party Links and Services

The Service may link to or integrate with third-party websites, platforms, and services, including without limitation Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Discord, Stripe, Amazon Web Services, Google (Analytics, reCAPTCHA), Sentry, and SendGrid.

PlayIndies does not control these third parties, does not endorse them, and is not responsible for their content, terms, privacy practices, security, availability, or any acts or omissions on their part. Your interactions with any third-party service are governed solely by the terms and policies of that third party, and you access them at your own risk. PlayIndies' obligations under these Terms apply only to the Service.

If a third-party platform terminates, restricts, or changes its API or terms, PlayIndies may be required to change, disable, or remove the corresponding features of the Service without liability to you.

15. Force Majeure

PlayIndies is not liable for any failure or delay in performance of any obligation under these Terms to the extent caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to:

• acts of God, fires, floods, earthquakes, severe weather, and other natural disasters;
• pandemics, epidemics, and public-health emergencies;
• wars, hostilities, terrorism, civil unrest, riots, and embargoes;
• acts of governments, regulators, or courts (including changes in law, sanctions, and export controls);
• failures or interruptions of the public Internet, telecommunications, or power infrastructure;
• failures, outages, or security incidents of upstream cloud providers (including Amazon Web Services) and other essential third-party services;
• denial-of-service attacks, ransomware, malware, and other cyberattacks not caused by PlayIndies' failure to follow industry-standard practices;
• labor disputes, strikes, and supplier failures.

If a force majeure event continues for more than thirty (30) consecutive days, either party may terminate the affected portion of the Service or these Terms by written notice without liability.

16. Miscellaneous

• Entire agreement — These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any policies or order forms expressly incorporated by reference, constitute the entire agreement between you and PlayIndies regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements.
• Severability — If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect, and the unenforceable provision will be modified only to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable.
• No waiver — PlayIndies' failure to enforce any right or provision will not be deemed a waiver of that right or provision.
• Assignment — You may not assign or transfer these Terms or any of your rights or obligations under them without PlayIndies' prior written consent. PlayIndies may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of all or substantially all of its assets.
• Notices — Notices to PlayIndies must be sent to legal@playindies.com. Notices to you may be sent to the email address associated with your account or by in-product notice.
• Relationship — Nothing in these Terms creates any agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment relationship between you and PlayIndies.
• Headings — Section headings are for convenience only and have no legal effect.

17. Contact Us

For questions about these Terms or the Service:

• General support: contact@playindies.com
• Legal notices and disputes: legal@playindies.com
• Privacy inquiries: privacy@playindies.com
• Mailing address: PlayIndies LLC, 16915 SE 272nd St, Ste 100 #8036, Covington, WA 98042, United States