How players get your game
The player journey from your store link to playing offline, and what Depot checks along the way.
Players meet Depot on your store page, from a link you shared. This page walks through what they see, step by step, so you can explain it to them and know what to expect.
They open your link
Your page is at https://staging.depot.games/p/<studio>/<game> on staging. Anyone can read it without an account. It shows your art, description, platforms (from the builds on the page's channel), status, requirements and a button that depends on the page's access:
| Access | Button |
|---|---|
| Free | Sign in to get it free, then Get it free |
| Key only | Sign in to redeem a key, then a key field and Redeem key |
| Invite only | Invite only, with a note that you give access directly |
They sign in
The button takes them to the Depot sign-in page, where they sign in or create an account. Depot then sends them back to your page. For a free game, the claim happens as soon as they're back.
They claim the game or redeem a key
- Free: the game goes into their Depot library. Claiming twice does nothing new.
- Key only: they paste the key you gave them. If the key belongs to a different game, that game goes into their library instead and the page says so.
- Invite only: if you've granted them access or they've redeemed a key elsewhere, the page shows the game as theirs once they sign in.
The page then says You own this game.
They press Install with Depot
The page hands off to the Depot launcher with a link like this:
depot://game/game_0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef?v=1&channel=stableThe launcher accepts only this shape: a Depot game id, an optional channel name, and nothing else. It never runs a path or command from a link. It opens your game (adding it to the library if needed) and installs from the page's channel.
If the launcher doesn't open, the page offers the launcher download and asks the player to sign in there with the same account. The game stays in their account, so it's waiting in the launcher's library.
On staging, the signed launcher installer is available for macOS only. Windows and Linux installers aren't published yet.
The launcher installs it
If the player isn't signed in to the launcher, it asks them to sign in through the browser first. Then it shows the version, channel, download size and space needed, and that the build is signed by your studio. Pressing Install:
- Checks the release signature against your enrolled signing key.
- Uses the player's entitlement to get access to the encrypted build.
- Downloads the chunks, decrypts them and checks every file against the signed release.
- Stores an offline license for the game, for games that use the Depot SDK.
An interrupted install can be finished later without starting over.
They play
Play starts the game using the launch file you pushed. When the game quits, the launcher shows Play again. Once installed, the game plays offline.
Updates
When you move the channel to a newer release, the launcher shows Update ready. It checks on its own while the launcher runs (players can turn that off in Settings), and players can press Check for updates at any time. An update downloads only the chunks that changed. If an update fails or is interrupted, the previous version stays in place and playable.
Verify, repair and uninstall
- Verify files checks every installed file against what you signed. If something is missing or changed, Repair downloads only what's needed.
- Uninstall removes only the files Depot installed. Saves, mods and other files the player or the game created in the folder stay. The game stays in the library to install again.
Offline and revoked access
- A game that's installed keeps launching offline. Depot doesn't put runtime DRM in your game.
- If you revoke a player's entitlement, new downloads and updates stop at once. The copy already installed keeps launching.
- Games that use the Depot SDK can read the player's offline license to check the base game and DLC. See Offline licenses.
From the launcher or the CLI
Players can also get your game without visiting the page:
- In the launcher, a game you list in the catalog shows under Available to get. Free games have Get it free. Key-only games ask for a key.
- In the launcher, Redeem a game key adds any game a key belongs to.
- With the CLI, a player runs
depot login, thendepot redeem(it reads the key from standard input), then installs:
depot install --game my-game --destination ~/Games/my-game
depot update --destination ~/Games/my-game
depot verify --destination ~/Games/my-game