Who can get it
Choose whether players get your game free, with a key, or only by invitation, and change it at any time.
Every build you push is encrypted. A player can download and play it only if they own the game. Who can get it decides how a player comes to own it. You set it in one place: the game's store page.
The three options
| Option | Button on the page | How players get the game |
|---|---|---|
| Free game | Get it free | Anyone with a Depot account can claim it and play. Good for free games and demos. |
| Key only | Redeem a key | Players redeem a key you hand out, for example to alpha testers, press or backers. Free claims are turned off. |
| Invite only | Invite only | The page describes the game. Only players you grant access can download it. Free claims are turned off. |
In all three cases you can still give the game to specific players and issue keys. See Keys and access.
A free claim needs a Depot account, so players sign in before they get the game. Claiming is free and safe to repeat: a player who already owns the game keeps what they have.
Set it
Open the game's Store page tab. Under Who can get it, choose Free game, Key only or Invite only. Save the draft, then publish. See Store pages.
The setting is part of the page draft. It takes effect when you publish.
Change it later
You can change who can get it at any time. Change the setting and publish again. The publish dialog in the dashboard tells you what changes.
Players who already have the game keep it, whichever option you switch to. Switching from Free to Key only stops new free claims. It does not take the game away from anyone who claimed it.
Unpublishing the page also stops new free claims. Players who own the game keep it and keep getting updates.
To take the game away from a specific player, revoke their access. See Keys and access.
The base package
Each option works through the game's base package: the package that holds the base game. Depot creates it with every new game, so you don't have to.
- Free turns on free claims of the base package when you publish.
- Key only and Invite only turn free claims off when you publish.
A free page needs the base package turned on. If it is turned off, the dashboard says so and you can't publish the page as free until you turn it on in Keys & access.
If a script runs depot package create --name base, it takes over the base package Depot already made instead of failing. Scripts written before this change keep working.
Where the dashboard shows it
The game's header, the Games list and the Storefront section show who can get each game and the page's state. For example:
- Free · live: the page is public and players can get and install the game.
- Key only · live, unlisted: the page is unlisted and players need a key.
- Free · nobody can install yet: the page is up, but something is missing, such as a build on the install channel.
- Keys and invites · no store page yet: no page is published. You can still issue keys and grant access.
Games created before this model may be older public games. Anyone can install those without a Depot account, whatever you choose on the page. The dashboard marks them as older public games. Depot no longer offers this for new games.