Developer Documentation

To publish games on Starcade, follow these steps:

1. Create a Bitobit account at bitobit.it/register
2. Apply to the developer program at /developers/apply with your studio info
3. Wait for approval — our team reviews applications within 48 hours
4. Set up your studio — once approved, complete the onboarding at /developer/onboarding
5. Create your first game from the Developer Portal at /developer

When creating a game, you'll need to provide:

• Title & description — the game's name and a compelling description
• Features — key selling points, one per line
• Platforms — Windows, Mac, Linux, Web, iOS, Android
• Price — set a price in EUR or leave at 0 for free-to-play
• Images — cover (store card), hero (banner), logo
• System requirements — minimum and recommended specs
• PEGI rating — if applicable

Your game starts as a draft. You can edit it freely until you submit for review.

Builds are the downloadable files for your game. For each build, you specify:

• Platform — Windows, Mac, or Linux
• Version — semver format recommended (e.g. 1.0.0)
• File URL — a direct download link to your build archive (ZIP, RAR, etc.)
• File size — in bytes, for display purposes
• Release notes — what's new in this version

You can have multiple builds per platform (different versions). Only active builds are shown to players. Toggle builds on/off from the Builds page.

After submitting your game for review, it goes through these stages:

We check for:

• Game quality and playability
• Appropriate content for the selected PEGI rating
• Working builds that download and launch correctly
• Accurate descriptions and screenshots

If rejected, you'll receive a reason and can modify your game and resubmit.

The Bitobit SDK is optional but recommended. It lets your game integrate with Starcade's platform features:

Available SDKs

All SDK endpoints are under /api/sdk/ and require authentication via Laravel Sanctum bearer token.

Authentication

Players authenticate via the launcher. The SDK receives a token automatically. All requests include:

Authorization: Bearer {token}

Key Endpoints

• Revenue is calculated automatically on each purchase
• Track your earnings in real-time from the Developer Portal dashboard
• Payout methods: PayPal or Bank Transfer — minimum threshold €50
• Configure your payout details in Studio Settings
• Earnings are tracked per game, per transaction

Sale vs Subscription opt-in

Every game is sold individually by default. Inclusion in the Starcade subscription is opt-in — your decision, made at any time after launch. Both channels can run in parallel: non-subscribers pay full price, subscribers play at no extra cost.

How earnings are split:

• Direct sale — 92% of every transaction goes to you
• Subscription — each month the total Starcade pool is divided equally per game in the catalogue (not per studio, not by playtime, not by popularity). Your per-game share is then multiplied by your 92% split. 3 games in the subscription = 3 independent shares per month.

Three common patterns:

• Sales-first — sale only for the first 4–12 weeks, then opt in. Maximises launch-window revenue (Game Pass model).
• Day-1 dual channel — sale + subscription enabled together at launch. Maximum exposure.
• Legacy revival — older title moved into subscription while keeping the sale option. Re-monetises games that have plateaued.

Note: a minimum lock-in period (3 or 6 months) may be introduced in the future to keep the per-game pool stable. Studios already in the subscription will keep their existing flexibility through any transition.