Browser publishing? W-8BEN ? EIN? [SOLVED]

(s corneil) #1

I was wondering what you guys do when you want to publish a browser game … ??? Only put it up on your own site ? Or try to get it published on some of the game sites (which ones & how ?). I’m not talking about mobile ; just web games …

(Jacob Albano) #2

Depends on what your goals are. If you’re looking to get ad revenue, Kongregate and Newgrounds are both good. If you don’t care about that, it doesn’t get any easier than itch.io. You can hook up a payment processor to allow your players to tip your game, or offer downloads alongside the browser build for free or for a minimum donation.

(Justin Wolf) #3

If you’re looking to get your game sponsored (and it’s good enough [otherwise, a waste of time]) throw it up on FGL. They’ll give you a review of your game, tell you what to fix/change, etc. Once accepted, it’ll be displayed to hundreds of sponsors and they can bid on your game, à la eBay.

You can self-sponsor and release to Newgrounds and Kongregate, as Jacob suggested, if you don’t feel confident the game will draw sponsor attention. Just make sure to toss some sort of ads on it prior to release. CPMStar is usually the go-to choice with web ads, but other sites might be just as good, if not better.

(Jacob Albano) #4

Good advice. I’ve never been confident enough in a flash project to put it on FGL, so I hadn’t even thought to mention it here.

(s corneil) #5

Thank you both for your answers !
But … Still not quite clear to me … :frowning:

  1. Do I just email sites like Kongregate, Newsgrounds, itch.io about the game (or upload it on their site, or something like that )? Or is this done another way???
    2) CPMStar = in-game ads ? So, this is something I set up myself ? And then … what ? They send it out to other sites ???
    3) Can you also have a web page with ads around the game ??? (but not on my own website)
    4) I had never heard of FGL before … Maybe for one of the future games ??? Sounds interesting !

Complicated business ! :slight_smile:

(Jacob Albano) #6

You can upload on any of those websites without anyone’s permission. Just create an account and add a new project. Newgrounds and Kongregate both display ads around their games, but itch.io doesn’t allow you that much control over your game page.

(s corneil) #7

Oh! Great !
Does it usually take a long time before a project is published on those sites ? And can they refuse ? :smile:

(Jacob Albano) #8

Newgrounds has a period where your game is rated by the community, and if it gets a low enough score it will be “blammed” and removed from the site. Not sure about Kongregate. Itch.io has no review process, and your game will only be removed if it’s reported for breaking site guidelines (basic restrictions on abuse, etc).

On all three, your game goes live immediately after submitting.

(s corneil) #9

Seems rather complicated for non-US dev’s … :frowning:

Anyone knows if a non-US dev really needs to apply for an EIN ? Seems a bit strange to me …

(s corneil) #10

So … The lack of replies either means nobody knows the answer, or, everybody in this forum is also a US national … :smile:

(B6ka) #11

You can also try to directly write to major game sites and ask for sponsorship. Create a website with screenshots and description say on tumbler and send them or maybe send them a demo (if you trust them). Uploading a game on a website like NG and asking for a sponsorship is a different thing :slight_smile: If you look at the websites they always have sections for developers and the contacts where you can send requests for sponsorship. Just take your time and do not publish the game before you get a sponsor :slight_smile:

(Jacob Albano) #12

I have no idea what W-8BEN or EIN means, but if it has anything to do with finances I imagine you’ll find better help elsewhere.

(s corneil) #13

W-8BEN is some sort of form non-US devs apparently have to submit to all US-based stores & websites that publish their games. It has to do with tax treaties and such between countries.

Newgrounds also wants an EIN (= “employee id number”) … And that’s what I find rather puzzling : it is a US id number… (I have something similar, but issued by my country, which isn’t the US).

So I just wanted to find out if someone had experience with that. I assume that people who make games also like to show them to others, and that not everyone on this forum would be from the US … :smile:

I’ll see if I can find out more in other places, and post the info here …

(Zachary Lewis) #14

Taxpayer Identification Numbers

Now you know what I know.

(s corneil) #15

Alright … So. If you’re not a US citizen, and you publish a game on a US games website (Kongregate, Newgrounds, …) they (= the games websites) are legally required to withold 30% of your profits (taxes).

If your country has a tax treaty with the US, you can mail a form W-8BEN to the US website you want to publish your game on, and no taxes will be withheld. You can check [here][1] to see if there is a treaty for your country … And this is a link to the [W-8BEN][2].

On the W-8BEN form you also need to provide a US taxpayerID. This can be an ‘EIN’ or a ‘SSN’ (if have lived/worked in the US before). See [link][3] provide by zachwlewis in the previous message for more info on how to apply for one.

HTH … :smile: [1]: http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/International-Businesses/United-States-Income-Tax-Treaties---A-to-Z [2]: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw8ben.pdf [3]: http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Taxpayer-Identification-Numbers-(TIN)