What should I do before I launch my browser game?
Check that the game opens fast on a phone over mobile data, works after a restart, has a title, description and share image, and runs on a host you control. Then prepare a cover, a one-line pitch and a short clip, and decide where you'll post and when. Do the checks on the live link, not the copy on your computer.
Updated October 10, 2026. Written by Foundplay, a game discovery platform for free browser games. Foundplay also sells Boost, a paid promotion for games, and this guide says where it fits. The advice before that part works without it. All guides
The game
- A stranger can start playing without signing in or reading a manual.
- It loads in a reasonable time on a slow connection. Throttle the network in your browser's developer tools and see.
- It works on a phone in portrait and landscape, or it says it needs a keyboard.
- Restart and pause work, and nothing carries over wrongly between rounds.
- Sound starts after the first tap, since browsers block it before that.
- The console has no red errors, and the game has an ending or a reason to play again.
The page
- A title that says what the game is, and a description in one or two sentences.
- A share image, usually 1200 by 630 pixels, set with Open Graph tags, so links show a picture on X, Discord and Slack.
- A favicon, a viewport tag and a language attribute.
- Foundplay reads the page's title, description and preview image to fill in your listing. Its title limit is 60 characters and its one-line description limit is 120, so write the short versions first.
The host
- The link uses https and stays the same. A custom domain lets you change hosts later without changing the link people have.
- File names match exactly, including capital letters, since most servers care and your computer may not.
- You know your host's bandwidth and request limits, and what happens when a post sends a crowd.
- A bad deploy has a way back: keep the previous build.
Browsers and devices
- Chrome, Safari and Firefox on a computer.
- An iPhone and an Android phone, one of them a few years old if you can find one.
- A private window, to see what a first-time visitor sees.
Rights
- Fonts, music, art and code libraries all allow public release in a free game.
- Anything made with an AI tool follows that tool's terms.
- The game isn't a copy of a commercial game. Foundplay lists fan games with a label and doesn't sell Boost for them, and rights holders can ask for a takedown.
- If you add analytics or ads, you know which privacy and consent rules apply where your players live.
The first day
Pick the order. List the game on Foundplay and itch.io on launch day, then post in one community at a time over the next days. Foundplay's own new games come out in drops at 6 AM and 6 PM Pacific, but a game you submit yourself goes live right away. Post when you can answer comments for the first few hours, and set aside the day after for the top bug.
How Foundplay can help
Foundplay is a game discovery platform for free browser games. It doesn't host games: every listing sends players to the creator's own site.
The free listing
Listing a game is free. Paste the link where people play it at /submit, check the details and publish. The game goes live right away, and Play sends players to your own site.
Once the checklist is done, list the game. Foundplay checks that the link loads and passes its safety checks before it lists the game; the safety page explains them.
Boost, the paid option
Foundplay sells Boost, so it has a reason to want you to buy it. The free listing works without it.
If you are planning a launch week, Launch adds the home page and the spot next to similar games to the genre pages and search that every plan has. With a smaller budget, start with Starter ($5 for 50 plays in 3 days). Run either after the checklist is done, since a boost sends people to whatever the link shows at that moment.
The Launch plan costs $100 for 1,500 plays in 7 days, which works out to 6.7¢ a play. Where it shows: its genre pages, search results, next to similar games and the home page.
A play is a counted click on Play from a sponsored spot, the same way public play counts work: once per game per network a day. Every sponsored spot is labelled Sponsored, and the share of plays not delivered by the end of the plan's days is refunded automatically. Foundplay can't see what players do after the click. Fan games and copies of commercial games can't be boosted. A game has to be listed before it can be boosted. List it first, or start a Boost and add your play link there, and Foundplay lists the game for free as part of the same flow.
For scale, Foundplay's own visit counter shows an average of 4,500+ visitors a day over the last three full days, and 600+ games are listed. It updates every few minutes.
More free ways to find players are in the full guide.
Questions
- How early should a browser game be online before launch day?
- A few days. Deploy the real build, test it on devices and fix address problems before anyone arrives. A game that goes live the minute you post leaves no time to fix a bad deploy.
- Do I need a custom domain?
- No, but it helps. A game on a host's address works. A domain you own lets you change hosts without changing the link people have saved or shared.
- What size should the share image be?
- 1200 by 630 pixels is the usual size for link previews. It has to read when small, so use few words and a clear subject.
- Does Foundplay review my game before it goes live?
- A game you submit yourself goes live right away, after Foundplay checks that the link loads and passes its safety checks. Moderators can remove a listing later.
- Does the time of day matter for a launch?
- Post when you can answer comments for the first few hours. On Foundplay, games the site adds come out in drops at 6 AM and 6 PM Pacific, but games you submit are listed immediately.