You published your game on itch.io, but it doesn't show up when you search for it. This is one of the most common problems new itch developers run into. itch.io's founder has called it "the most frequent pain point new developers have publishing content on itch.io." There was a real fix in October 2026, but there are also several ordinary reasons a page stays hidden. This guide covers both, using itch.io's own documentation.
Published is not the same as indexed
itch.io treats these as two separate steps (Getting indexed on Search & Browse):
- Published: the page is public. Anyone with the URL can open it, it's listed on your profile and your followers see it in their feeds.
- Indexed: itch.io also shows the page on its Search and Browse pages, which it calls the discovery pages.
A page can be published, fully playable and still not indexed. That's not a ban. It just means the page isn't eligible for discovery yet.
What changed in October 2026
On October 20, 2026, leafo (Leaf Corcoran, itch.io's founder) posted October updates on indexing. The main points:
- The old system was too cautious. itch runs classifiers and heuristics on every published or edited page to decide whether a human has to review it before it can be indexed. leafo wrote that over the years this produced "a lot of 'false positives,' legitimate projects that were stuck waiting for review," and the team didn't have the staff to clear the queues.
- The rules were rewritten. The team "substantially" changed its classifier rules, fixed bugs that wrongly flagged pages, and made review requirements "much less strict."
- About 215,000 pages were released. That happened in the week before the post, and itch's total number of indexed pages went "well over 2 million." In the same period, itch suspended or banned more than 10,000 accounts that were distributing malware and spam.
- Developers still don't see why a page isn't indexed. leafo said he hopes to make "the specific reasons why a page might not be eligible" clear soon, but that "there will always be a bit of mystery" because spammers try to reverse-engineer the system.
- No publishing fee is coming. itch "will not be doing" a Steam-style paid publishing fee. In a reply, leafo said there are no plans for a refundable deposit either.
If your page was stuck in review before mid-October, check again now. Some developers in the thread said their projects started appearing in search after the update.
The checklist
Go through these in order. The baseline requirements come from itch's indexing guide.
- Search for your full title. If the game shows up, it's indexed, and your problem is ranking rather than indexing (see below). If your title is one letter or a single common English word, itch notes it may be "difficult or impossible" to find. Consider a more specific name.
- Check that the page is public. On the edit page, under Visibility & access, select Public.
- Check your public access settings. Choosing "Disable new downloads & purchases" or "Unlisted in search & browse" opts you out of indexing.
- Upload a cover image. Pages without one aren't indexed.
- Make sure there's something to play or download. The page must be purchasable, downloadable or playable in the browser. Empty placeholder pages aren't indexed. A devlog is the exception: devlog posts are indexed even if no files are uploaded.
- Check NSFW settings. If the project is marked NSFW, only logged-in users who've enabled NSFW will see it.
- New seller? If you just created an account and your first project is paid, the page goes into a human review queue. itch says it generally reviews these within a few business days, and sharing the page as usual can help prioritize it.
- Wait a day. Some indexing happens asynchronously. After an edit, itch suggests checking back in about an hour. If an automated check flagged your page, wait at least a day before contacting support.
- Review the quality guidelines. itch can remove pages from discovery for things like tag abuse, misleading content and reskins. That includes "excessive amounts of automatically generated or AI-generated content." If you used AI, tag it accurately in the AI Disclosure section and say in the description what the AI did.
- Still missing? Contact support. Use itch's support page. Don't post individual review requests in the indexing thread, which leafo asked people not to do.
What not to do
itch is explicit that you should not try to get around indexing restrictions by creating new accounts or deleting and re-creating pages. That "can be flagged in our system as suspicious activity and may result in more delays" (guide). Its quality guidelines also forbid re-creating a page with mostly the same content to give it a "boost."
Indexed but nobody finds it?
That's a ranking problem rather than an indexing one, and itch's guide is candid about it:
- Search is optimized for direct title searches. Your description text and tags "will not become search queries" for your project.
- Tags feed the browse pages, not search. Fill in every metadata field accurately, including tags, multiplayer support, languages and accessibility, so the game shows up in more browse views.
- "Most Recent" isn't a launch plan. itch calls it "a very bad place to launch your project" because hundreds of games can arrive in a day.
- Outside traffic helps. Devlogs, followers, collections and real people visiting from outside itch can lift a game on the browse pages.
Don't rely on one storefront
Your itch page keeps working by direct link even while it isn't indexed, so share that link right away. It's also worth having a second home for the game that isn't tied to one site's search queue.
Peerless is a curated store for indie and AI-native browser games. Each listing moves through statuses you can see in Creator studio: Draft, Submitted, In review, Changes requested, Approved and Published (publishing overview). If a reviewer asks for changes, you get a note explaining what to fix. The same browser ZIP you uploaded to itch usually works, and Peerless isn't exclusive.
Publish your game on Peerless · Where to publish an AI-made game
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between published and indexed on itch.io?
Published means your page is public and reachable by URL, from your profile and in followers' feeds. Indexed means itch.io also shows it on its Search and Browse pages. A page can be published without being indexed.
How do I check if my itch.io game is indexed?
Type your game's full title into itch.io search. If it appears, it's indexed. Very short or generic titles, like a single letter or one common word, can be hard to find even when indexed.
Did itch.io fix its indexing problem?
On October 20, 2026, itch.io's founder said the team had substantially retuned its review classifiers. About 215,000 previously blocked pages were released over the previous week, and review requirements became much less strict. He called it an experiment that the team is watching daily.
Should I delete and re-upload my game to get indexed?
No. itch.io says deleting and recreating pages or making new accounts can be flagged as suspicious and delay indexing further.
Do tags or description text help my game show up in itch.io search?
Not in text search. itch.io says search is optimized for direct title searches, and tags are used for browse pages, not search queries.
Official references
Use these for current platform requirements and a deeper technical reference.