Blog on LootLocker, The Game Publishing Platform

Rewards That Reach Beyond the Game

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 07:00:00 +0000

Rewards are one of the most integral parts of LootLocker, living within many of our core features like Triggers, Leaderboard resets, Progressions, Catalog listings, Twitch Drops, and Reward Campaigns. Developers and publishers use them to hand out assets, currencies, progression points and platform keys across their games.

Until now, nearly all of those rewards lived inside the game. But today that's changing. Today we're adding three new reward types: Metadata, Discord Roles and Files, and a brand new way to notify your players of the rewards.

Introducing Error Reports: Ship Your Own Diagnostics With Your Game

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 08:00:00 +0000

While you are building your game, you have everything. Logs, breakpoints, a debugger, the ability to reproduce a problem on demand and watch exactly what happens.

The moment you ship, all of that goes away.

A player writes in to say their save did not carry over, or that a reward never showed up, and you are working from a description rather than data. On consoles the gap is even wider. There is no log file you can ask for and no practical way to get diagnostic information off a retail build. You are left guessing at which call failed, on which platform, for which player.

Introducing Playtests and Surveys: Own Your Playtest From Signup to Key & Beyond

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Games have been shaped by their communities since digital distribution made it possible. Early Access, modding, crowdfunding, open betas: the players who show up early are the ones who tell you what works and what doesn't, and they are usually the same people who become evangelists and tell everyone else about your game once it's launched (especially if you give them something exclusive for being an early supporter).

Playtesting sits right at the front of that. You can run one through Steam, the App Store, or Google Play, and plenty of teams do. But those platforms are built to hand out access. They are not built to help you learn who your testers are, ask them questions, or stay in touch with them afterwards. The playtest ends and the relationship ends with it.

Powered by LootLocker: How a Trusted Backend Partnership Is Helping Fast Travel Games Heist Their Way to the Top of VR

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Who

Fast Travel Games is a VR-exclusive game developer and publisher based in Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 2016 by industry veterans with roots at DICE, Rovio, and Avalanche Studios, the studio has built one of the most consistent and critically respected catalogues in VR, spanning original titles like Apex Construct, Mannequin, and Action Hero, through to published titles from partner developers across the VR ecosystem.

Their latest title, PAYDAY: Aces High, is an officially licensed VR co-op heist game developed in partnership with Starbreeze Entertainment, and is launching in 2026 on Meta Quest and SteamVR. It marks one of the most ambitious VR productions the studio has undertaken and one of the most high-profile entries in the PAYDAY franchise, which has engaged more than 50 million players and generated over $400 million in lifetime revenue.

Reward Players Everywhere with External Reward Campaigns

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Keeping players engaged outside of your game is becoming just as important as what happens inside it.

Players move between Discord, social media, newsletters, events, storefronts, and communities long before they launch your game again. The more touchpoints you create outside the game, the more opportunities you have to bring players back in.

That’s a big part of why we built our Discord bot Squire, giving developers and publishers new ways to engage with players directly through rewards, exclusive offers, and community-driven interactions.

Turn Your Discord Community Into a Commerce Channel with Squire Commerce

Wed, 20 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Since launching Squire earlier this year, we’ve continued expanding the ways game teams can connect their Discord communities directly to their player ecosystem.

With Squire, you can already use Discord to share news, distribute game keys, and launch claimable rewards that tie community engagement directly to player identity and in-game value. These features help turn your Discord server into more than just a chat channel, giving your team new ways to drive excitement, reward loyalty, and bring players back into your game.

Scheduled Maintenance — Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Tue, 12 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000

We will be performing security maintenance on Tuesday, May 19, 2026 to address ongoing CVEs and ensure our platform remains fully secured.

Maintenance window: 10:00–11:00 UTC (1 hour) Check your local time: https://everytimezone.com/s/99a80694

We aim to complete this work without any service disruption. The 1-hour window is being announced as a precaution to give us enough headroom to complete everything safely, and so you're aware in the unlikely event that something goes wrong during the rollout.

Postmortem: Data Loss During Database Migration

Fri, 08 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Date: 2026-04-28

Severity: P2 (Degraded Service)

Duration: ~3 hours degraded service; data recovery completed over the following ~2 days

Status: Resolved

A Note from the Team

Before anything else: we're sorry. Our customers trust us to keep their data safe and their services running, and on this occasion we let them down. The incident described below was ultimately caused by decisions we made, some of which unknowingly set off the chain of events that led here. We're publishing this postmortem in full so that our customers can see exactly what happened, what we got wrong, and what we are changing as a result. If you were affected and we have not already been in touch, please reach out via our support channels.

LootLocker Now Supports Stripe Payments

Thu, 07 May 2026 09:00:00 +0000

If you’ve been following the games industry over the past few years, you’ve probably seen the shift around third-party payments on mobile platforms. Between Epic’s ongoing battle with Apple and Google, and regulatory changes like the EU’s Digital Markets Act, developers now have more opportunities to offer purchases through third-party payment systems on the App Store and Google Play.

But while many payment providers handle the checkout flow well, they often stop there. They can process the transaction, but the entitlements players are actually buying still need to be managed somewhere.

Squire: Claimable Rewards in Discord

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Last month, we launched Squire, our Discord bot built to help connect your game’s players with your Discord community. Since then, we’ve been hard at work expanding what Squire can do, and today we’re excited to introduce a powerful new addition: Claimable Rewards in Discord.

Squire now lets you launch reward campaigns directly inside your Discord server, allowing community members to claim in-game rewards without ever leaving Discord. We’ve seen major games use this kind of campaign to drive meaningful community engagement, and now Squire makes it possible for teams of any size to do the same.

LootLocker Publisher Prefabs: White Label Login

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 09:00:00 +0000

One of our core goals at LootLocker has always been to make it easier for developers and publishers to build direct, durable relationships with their players regardless of game type or platform.

To push this even further, we’re introducing LootLocker Publisher Prefabs: production-ready Unity prefabs that package core LootLocker functionality together with fully wired UI flows that you can quickly style and drop straight into your game.

These prefabs are designed to help you:

Escaping the Google Play Games Walled Garden

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Authentication is the foundation of everything that happens after a player launches your game.

It determines who the player is, where they can play, and what progress, purchases, and entitlements follow them across devices, platforms, and games. Without reliable authentication, features like cloud saves, cross-progression, cross-commerce, player support, and long-term relationships simply do not scale.

For years, the industry has accepted that authentication is “solved” as long as players can sign in on a single platform. But in a world where players expect to move freely between PC, console, and mobile, that assumption breaks down quickly.

Connect, Engage, Reward: The New Publishing Playbook

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 09:00:00 +0000

How and why modern publishers should build loyalty, community, and cross-game ecosystems.

The Holy Grail of Publishing

Have you ever asked people in our industry to define the term publishing? Ask ten people, and you’ll get ten different answers. Well, I’m not going to pretend this essay will produce the snappy, definitive description that unifies us all, only to be crucified by my peers for ignoring a nuance. Let's avoid that trap, shall we?

Introducing Squire: Connecting Your Game to Your Discord Community

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 09:00:00 +0000

We are big fans of Discord.

Not only does LootLocker have a thriving Discord community of its own, our technology also powers one of Discord’s most popular Activities, Blackjack. And unless you’ve been living under a rock, you already know that Discord has become the de-facto hub for gaming communities where players gather, share feedback, organize play sessions, and engage directly with developers.

Yet despite its central role, Discord often exists in parallel to the game itself.

Investing in Pantaloon: Putting Our Money Where Our Mouth Is

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 09:00:00 +0000

LootLocker exists to help publishers build direct, durable relationships with their players, cutting through marketplace noise, platform opacity, and the endless competition for player attention.

That belief has shaped everything we’ve built so far: from unified player accounts and player insights, to broadcasts, rewards, and cross-game ecosystems.

But if there’s one thing we’ve learned working with publishers of all sizes, it’s this: Vision alone isn’t enough. Speed matters. Proof matters. Real-world constraints matter.

Introducing Presence: See What Your Players Are Really Doing

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 09:00:00 +0000

Whether you have one game on a single platform or a catalog of games spread across multiple platforms, it's always valuable to know how many players are actively playing without having to stitch together data from various platform dashboards (if that data is even available at all).

What if you could go beyond just knowing how many players are online? What if you could understand what they're actually doing in-game? Are they sitting idle in the main menu? Browsing the in-game store? Deep in a gameplay session?

Player Insights: Understand Your Players at a Glance

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Given where LootLocker sits in the overall tech stack of a game (authenticating every player who starts the game) it only makes sense that we surface some of the key insights that developers and publishers can use to understand how their games are performing and who their players are.

With Player Insights, you can now visualize essential player metrics directly in your LootLocker web console, giving you an instant overview of your game’s health and audience composition.

Here’s to 10,000 Games (and Counting!)

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 09:00:00 +0000

Five years ago, we started LootLocker with a pretty simple idea: give developers and publishers more control over their relationships with players.

Because let’s be honest, it’s still wild that a grandmother selling artisanal candles on Shopify has a more direct relationship with her customers than a developer selling their game on Steam or the App Store.

But today’s not about the problem. Today’s about the party.

Because there are now 10,000 games powered by LootLocker.

Introducing Broadcasts: A New Way to Reach Your Players

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 09:00:00 +0000

Today, we’re excited to launch Broadcasts, a new LootLocker feature that helps you connect with your players more directly than ever.

With Broadcasts, you can schedule and deliver localized messages to players across one or more of your games. Each broadcast can include text, images, actions, and custom key–value pairs, giving you control over how and where messages appear in-game, whether as a news ticker, a patch notes screen, or a dedicated message board. Broadcasts can also be hidden to the player, providing you with a great way to manage scheduled game configs.

Introducing Friends & Followers: Cross-Platform Friendships Made Simple

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 06:00:00 +0000

🎵 So no one told you game dev was gonna be this way,

Cross-platform dreams are there but your infra is D.O.A,

It's like you're always stuck in a solo life,

When your friends play on Switch, on Steam,

Xbox, or PlayStation 5, but... 🎶

Games today are more cross-platform than ever, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to play with friends across different devices. Supporting cross-platform friendships can be technically challenging, which is why many successful games end up building their own in-game friends systems—allowing players to connect, communicate, and coordinate without relying on platform services.

Connect Your Game to Where Players Hang Out: Introducing Discord Authentication

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 09:00:00 +0000

We’re excited to announce that Discord is now a supported authentication method in LootLocker!

Whether you're using Platform Login or Unified Player Accounts, your players can now log into your game using their Discord accounts, giving them a fast, familiar, and secure way to jump in. And for you, the developer or publisher, it opens the door to a host of powerful, community-connected experiences.

Why Discord?

With over 150 million monthly active users (and growing!), Discord has become the digital living room for millions of players. By integrating Discord authentication, you're meeting players where they already spend time, chatting with friends, joining communities, and discovering new games.

Powered by LootLocker: How LootLocker’s backend helped unleash Blue Scarab's bold new vision for the MMO genre.

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Who

Blue Scarab Entertainment is a Stockholm-based game studio founded by industry veterans including CEO Colin Cragg and CTO Enno Rehling, with deep roots in MMO development. Backed by investments by NetEase and Behold Ventures, the team includes developers from Battlefield, World of Warcraft, Age of Conan, Helldivers 2, and Star Stable Online.

Their debut title Equinox: Homecoming is an original Unreal Engine 5 MMORPG blending cozy escapism, horseback exploration, and true-crime storytelling and is out now on Steam Early Access.

Outage Postmortem: Slow Response Times and Loss of Service

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 13:39:52 +0000

On July 6th, LootLocker experienced a service outage that resulted in a complete loss of availability for all customers for a duration of approximately 50 minutes.

What happened?

At 22:03 UTC, an alert was sent to our on call engineers, informing them of response times being slow. This was due to our platform being overloaded from an unanticipated spike in simultaneous requests. This overloaded a key subsystem that manages internal service discovery and orchestration. In response to the degraded performance, our infrastructure automatically initiated scaling events to respond. However the infrastructure was unable to keep up with the traffic. We quickly manually scaled up our capacity, but that also did not have the effect we expected. We started seeing 502 and 503 responses at high volumes.

Why Studios Are Switching from PlayFab to LootLocker (And What It Takes to Migrate)

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 09:00:00 +0000

Microsoft’s latest round of layoffs last week has sent shockwaves through the games industry, with games being canceled, studios shuttered, and thousands of talented individuals let go. While the full impact on Microsoft’s Azure PlayFab backend isn’t yet clear, we’ve been hearing the same concern from developers around the world: they’re worried. Worried about what ongoing support for their games will look like, about what changes might be coming, and about relying on a backend with an increasingly uncertain future.

We're Updating our Pricing

Thu, 01 May 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Today we’re launching a new pricing model for LootLocker that better reflects the evolving needs of our customers and the changing landscape of the games industry.

Our mission has always been to lower the barrier to entry for using a backend to power your game. Over the past few years, LootLocker has grown, and so have the teams and titles using it, from solo indies to global publishers. To better support this broader spectrum of creators, we’re updating our pricing model to scale more flexibly with your project while still offering a free option for testing LootLocker or developing a non-commercial game.

Powered by LootLocker: How a Smooth Switch from Proprietary Backend to LootLocker Fuels an Ambitious Genre Revival

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 09:00:00 +0000

Who?

Vector Z Studios is a passionate team of developers, designers, and gaming enthusiasts dedicated to crafting polished, innovative gaming experiences. Their flagship title, Midair 2, revives the jetpack shooter genre with fast-paced, physics-driven gameplay in a striking sci-fi universe.

Features Used

Player Authentication (docs)
Unified Player Accounts (docs)
Progressions (docs)
In-App Purchases (docs)
Economy (docs)
Messages (docs)

The Story

Indie studio Vector Z is currently spearheading a fascinating renaissance of the dormant jetpack shooter genre – and they have picked LootLocker to drive their success from the backend.

Introducing Twitch Drops Integration for Every Game

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Today, we’re excited to launch our Twitch Drops integration into the wild!

LootLocker has always focused on bridging the gap between players and the content they own — and the systems that reward them. Supporting Twitch Drops felt like a natural evolution of that mission. Even better, we were able to build much of the functionality on top of the systems we developed for Unified Player Accounts, making the integration smooth and familiar for those already using LootLocker.

Outage Postmortem: Database Provider Issue

Mon, 17 Feb 2025 11:34:31 +0000

On Saturday at 22:29 UTC, our platform experienced an outage due to an issue with our database provider. The root cause of this outage was an expired SSL certificate on their end, which disrupted our ability to connect to their service. While this issue originated externally, we acknowledge that the absence of alerts within our monitoring systems prolonged the response time. We have since addressed this gap to ensure quicker resolution in the future.

Introducing Triggers 2.0: Rebuilt to Reward Your Players

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 09:00:00 +0000

We’re excited to announce the re-release of one of LootLocker’s most versatile features—Triggers! This feature has undergone a complete overhaul and is now fully integrated with the same cross-feature rewards system that powers all our latest features. Triggers let you create and manage in-game actions tied to specific rewards, opening up countless opportunities to engage your players.

What’s New?

In addition to a major upgrade in performance and stability, Triggers 2.0 are now connected to LootLocker’s unified rewards system, making it easier than ever to connect in-game actions with each reward type, like progressions, catalog items, or virtual currencies.

Introducing Metadata: Cross-System Custom Data Storage

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 09:00:00 +0000

At LootLocker, our ultimate goal is to provide a flexible game backend framework that supports nearly every use case. It’s an ambitious vision, especially considering the complex structures of modern games and the ever-evolving creativity of game & monetization designers. But we believe in a future where a platform like LootLocker can cover all the requirements of a game team, eliminating the need for additional services to fill the gaps between a game’s backend and its unique mechanics.

Introducing Feedback: Elevating Every Player’s Voice

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Game development and publishing used to be all about pouring your blood, sweat, and tears into creating a game in isolation and then releasing it to players as a finished product. Those days are long gone! Today, game development is a dynamic, two-way street where players have a significant voice. Whether it's reporting players in multiplayer games, flagging content in UGC games, or simply providing general feedback in Early Access titles, player input is invaluable. So invaluable in fact, that we've actually written about the importance of player feedback a long time ago.

Powered by LootLocker: Why Turborilla chose LootLocker and found a backend to match their ambition

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Who?

A leading mobile studio that serves up motorsports action to millions of players.

Features Used

Player Authentication (docs)
Unified Player Accounts (docs)
Player Storage (docs)
Progressions (docs)
White Label Login (docs)
In-App Purchases (docs)

The Story

Turborilla’s catalog of motorsports games have collectively been downloaded over 130 million times. Their latest mobile title Rally Clash has been showered with positive reviews by a vast player community, while drawing eager praise for the technical ambition and polish it delivers to smartphone devices.

Reward Groups: An Update to Leaderboards and Catalogs

Thu, 15 Aug 2024 09:00:00 +0000

We’re excited to share that our cross-feature Rewards system has received an update to now include grouped rewards. Following the successful launch of our new economy system last year, which included virtual currencies and catalogs, we have been working on improvements based on your feedback. Previously, you could grant rewards like currencies, progressions, and assets through progressions, leaderboards, and catalogs. Now, we are introducing Reward Groups to take this a step further.

Creating an Automated Merch Store for your Gaming Company

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Merch and swag is a great marketing tool to build the brand for your game or your company. It's free advertising as your colleagues or community wear your logo out in the public. If designed well, it can even draw more attention to your brand. Who knows, it could even become a piece of fashion!

While designing the best merch is hard, the often overlooked challenge comes from having to manage selling and fullfilling the orders from your community or team. This is the same issue I faced multiple times in previous game studios, and now at LootLocker. So, I went about and did some research and found a great (and totally free / low maintenence) solution using Gumroad as a storefront and Printful as the fulfillment solution.

Powered by LootLocker: Taking VR to New Levels by Replacing Proprietary Technology

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Who?

Fast Travel Games are an award-winning Stockholm VR developer and publisher founded by ex Rovio, DICE, and Mojang staff.

Features Used

Meta Authentication (docs)
Leaderboards (docs)

The Story

When Fast Travel Games needed a new backend that matched the quality of one of their most ambitious, popular VR games, they turned to LootLocker.

The team – headed up by veterans of Rovio, EA DICE, and Mojang – has seen its games showered with accolades and glowing reviews, taking prizes at the Meta Quest Awards, the A Maze festival, the Raindance Immersive Film Festival, and the Venice Film Festival. It is fair to say they know a thing or two about making seriously good games.

A Change for the Better: The Trends That Will Define Games’ New Era

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 11:00:00 +0000

We are undergoing one of the most profound periods of change in the game industry’s history.

Devastating layoffs have defined the headlines in recent months, as observers have tried to understand why we have seen quite so many studio closures. Many argue that a new reliance on pleasing shareholders is to blame, while others posit that the metrics on which success is measured have outgrown reality. Speak to those with their ear to the ground of the games finance space, and you’ll hear talk that now a five-fold return-on-investment (ROI) isn't enough to assert success – and that we are rushing towards a reality where expectations of 10x or 20x ROI really might become a new norm. That leaves a lot of capacity for very profitable games counting as ‘failures’, and might encourage a lot of moonshot pitches and pressure to overpromise. High sales in the pandemic certainly didn’t help, setting an impossible precedent for the realities of 2024.

Feature Deprecation

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 09:00:00 +0000

At LootLocker, our primary goal is to deliver the best product possible, which requires a laser-focused approach. This involves ensuring our expanding set of features and services align with our core product vision. Occasionally, we need to deprecate features that may hinder our progress.

Deciding to deprecate features is always difficult. These features were created to fulfill specific needs but may no longer be serving their intended purpose for various reasons. These could include market or industry shifts, lack of support for a certain technology, or the need for a total overhaul.

Leaderboard Scheduled Resets & Rewards

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Leaderboards are among the most popular features of LootLocker, known for their ease of implementation, simple management, and cross-platform compatibility. They're versatile and can be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from classic arcade highscores to time-trial events, and even ranking user-generated content.

Today, we're introducing new features to our Leaderboards: scheduled resets and rewards.

Scheduled Resets

You can now set up a reset schedule for your leaderboards, based on the cron job scheduler concept. This allows you to establish a reset schedule ranging from every hour to every year, with all variations in between. If you're unfamiliar with cron, check out this helpful guide. Here's a diagram that explains how it works.

In-App Purchases for Apple, Google, and Steam

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 09:00:00 +0000

In the 90s, when I began playing games, the only game-related purchase to consider was the game itself. It came in a colorful cardboard box, housing a CD or cartridge, or later, a blue or green plastic DVD case. These were adorned with enticing game art, hinting at the adventures that awaited once you booted up the game at home.

However, the advent of digital games and smartphones rendered physical copies nearly obsolete. Now, one simply buys the game and waits patiently for it to download before playing.

Introducing Unified Player Accounts

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 10:25:00 +0000

We live in a cross-platform, multi-device world, where players engage with games across different devices and platforms. A world where you might start playing a game on one platform - be it because you clicked on an ad for it there, or because it initially only released on that platform - but then want to continue playing on a different device or platform. As gamers we often take these things for granted. The game should just follow us around from device to device, platform to platform. We rarely think about the systems and technology behind making this cross-platform world a possiblity.

Our New Economy System

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0000

For those reading this blog post that are familar with LootLocker's development, you might remember us talking about a Multiple Currencies feature way back when we began development of an update to our initial currency implementation. During the development of this feature we realized that what we really needed to build was actually a lot more complex and that calling it simply Multiple Currencies wouldn’t do the scope of the feature justice at all.

Introducing Base & Hero Classes

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0000

A few years ago we launched our Character Classes & Heroes feature allowing you to define characters in your game, populate their default loadout, and then take things one step further by creating heroes based on those classes - each hero having their own exceptions. This is a hugely powerful system, made even more powerful when connected to our existing asset and player inventory systems.

Today we have launched a brand new user interface for this feature, making it the easiest it's ever been to manage classes and heroes in your LootLocker game. In addition to that we've also taken the opportunity to refine the feature, making it more intuitive for a first time user.

Unity Admin Extension

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Earlier this week we released the first version of our new Admin Extension for our Unity SDK. Our vision with this extension is to enable an even easier workflow by giving you a tool fully integrated with your game engine of choice (that’s right, an Unreal Admin Extension is also planned!) At the current stage of the Unity Admin Extension’s development, you can sign in with your LootLocker credentials to create, manage, and apply API Keys without having to ever leave the engine editor.

New Pricing in 2023: Hobby, Plus & Pro

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Updated on November 3, 2023: We've decided to move White Label Login into the Hobby Tier, meaning it's no longer a requirement that you've been legacied in, for you to have access to White Label Login.

Today we have updated LootLocker's pricing to better reflect the value that our platform adds to thousands of in-development and live games across PC, console, and mobile. We started building LootLocker with the vision of creating the next generation backend platform that serves as a hub for your game - both during development and when your game is live. Over the past few years we've added amazing new features like our User-Generated Content, Progression, and White Label Login systems to name a few. We've also made improvements across all APIs, SDKs and the web console to make sure LootLocker is not only powerful, but the most accessible backend platform as well.

Powered by LootLocker: Helping a serial collaborator turn creative ideas into polished games

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Chirag Chopra is the founder of Lucid Labs – the only Indian game studio to have a game published on Apple Arcade. His new game, Bloom, is a puzzle game with an experiential story that “doesn’t make any sense”.

A classic startup story

Chirag Chopra is 31 years old, and runs Lucid Labs from New Delhi, India. He has a Master’s Degree in Game Design and eight years of development experience.

The creation of Lucid Labs is a story of passion and determination. Chirag and a few classmates had created a game called ROTO for a 24-hour game jam. It proved promising enough that he and his team wanted to develop it into a full game.

Launching on Steam with Steamworks & LootLocker

Fri, 18 Aug 2023 09:00:00 +0000

If you’re building a PC game, chances are you’re planning to launch it on Steam at some point. After all, it’s the most popular platform on PC and recently hit a record of 10 million concurrent players online. Why is it number one? Well, Steam has been the defacto digital PC publishing platform for the last two decades since it started allowing third parties to publish their games.

It doesn’t hurt that it has millions of active users across the world, giving you the chance to sell your game to each and every one of them. And it has lots of community features like forums, reviews, wishlists, and a user-generated content (UGC) and in-game item marketplace, which help developers further engage with players and build a loyal fan base.

Introducing Organization Access Control

Thu, 03 Aug 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Today we have launched Access Control, a new feature that helps larger teams more securely delegate responsibilities to the web console and APIs by assigning roles to each user within an organization. Each of the three preset roles has limitations that ensure users with the role cannot access certain parts of the web console or API.

Organization Roles

The next time you go to your organization's settings (by clicking on your profile picture in the bottom left corner, then selecting Games and then Organization Settings), you'll see that each of your team's users has an assigned role.

Opening Up: The Future of Game Platforms

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 09:00:00 +0000

This piece was co-written by Will Freeman.

In the past, it was straightforward. Gaming platforms were hardware devices. We had consoles, PCs, and a scattering of handhelds. Developers made games for those devices, with the platforms (first-parties) and publishers holding the keys to success, exposure, and even release. Then came digital storefronts that served as platforms offering direct download, with Steam presenting the dominant model of blending point-of-sale and place to play. Mobile alternatives like the App Store and Google Play also threw their hats in the ring, as the console giants moved to digital with services like PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. What we didn’t realize at the time was that all of these platforms became – to a greater or lesser extent – walled gardens that place most of the power in the hands of those that host the platforms. A ‘walled garden’, in this case, refers to a closed platform, where the provider maintains restrictive control over what is hosted on the platform, and in many cases how that content is accessed, paid for, and even supported by different services and technologies. In many cases, walled gardens also lock players to the platform, blocking or limiting the likes of cross-play, cross-progression, and other cross-platform approaches.

How UGC Can Make Your Game a Long Lasting Hit

Tue, 04 Jul 2023 10:00:00 +0000

UGC stands for user-generated content and refers to any content that’s created by players, rather than by a game’s dev. So that’s things like custom maps, skins or even entire mods that change the core gameplay. GIFs, fan art, memes, and the like are also considered UGC. Games with built-in UGC or that are designed to support mods have become more and more popular over the last few years, with some substantially extending games’ lifecycles (and even bringing a new audience to the game well after its initial release). If you’re interested in adding UGC to your game, but not sure where to start, this article’s for you.

Defining the Game Platform of Today

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 13:00:00 +0000

In recent years the definition of what constitutes a ‘game platform’ has expanded significantly.

Today traditional platforms such as games consoles have been joined by all manner of new contenders. From individual games like Roblox to streaming services such as Netflix, via plucky underdogs including itch.io, there are now a great many interpretations of what a ‘game platform’ can be. This also means there is an emerging opportunity to redefine the game platform as a concept, and establish a model that hands more power back to developers and publishers.

Unreal Engine Server SDK

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 11:00:00 +0000

We are excited to announce the release of the long-awaited Unreal Engine Server SDK for LootLocker. This SDK can be used in conjunction with your dedicated server to securely communicate with the LootLocker backend platform. It is ideal for multiplayer and competitive games where server authority over the game is essential to maintain a fun and balanced experience.

In some games, it is acceptable for the Game API to communicate directly with LootLocker because any data modification on the client will not impact the gaming experience for other players. However, in other games, especially those that are multiplayer and/or competitive, allowing the Game API to directly manage players' inventories, wallets, progression, or scores can lead to other players ruining the gaming experience for the rest of the community. This is where using the Server SDK is recommended. With the Unreal Engine Server SDK, only the server can modify the data being sent to LootLocker, so everything remains secure and fair.

The Intersection of Blockchain and Gaming

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Blockchain and Web3 games are a popular (and hotly debated) element of the games industry incorporating blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. Recently we’ve seen lots of major game developers and publishers dip a toe (and sometimes quickly remove it) into the world of blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). And with some industry insiders telling us it’s the future of gaming, and others saying it’s nothing new, it can be tough to know who’s right.

Powered by LootLocker: Helping to get an educational game off the ground

Thu, 16 Mar 2023 10:00:00 +0000

The Cyber Choices Challenge is a 2D platformer with an unusual theme – educating players on the UK’s Computer Misuse Act of 1990 (that’s the originality box ticked.) We spoke to the game’s creator to get the backstory.

Super Metroid meets Cybercrime 101

We all know roughly what is and isn’t legal online. But how many of us know precisely where the line of illegality is drawn and what the penalties are? To take it a step further: how many teenagers know the legal ins and outs of cybercrime?

The Power of Progressions

Thu, 16 Feb 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Building a fun, memorable, and beautiful game is critical for success. You know that. But once your player’s bought and downloaded your game you still need to keep them interested. After all, the more they play, the more likely they are to give you a positive review, tell their friends, and (if it’s available) buy in-game content or DLC. The industry calls this retention.

Progress = happy and engaged players

You can build retention in lots of different ways, like with a compelling narrative, social features (playing with friends gives people a reason to keep going), or by providing a sense of accomplishment. And one of the most powerful tools in your retention arsenal is progression – the way players get rewarded as they move forward through a game, either by levelling up, or with in-game currency or loot boxes, new gear or abilities, and so on. For example, you could offer unlockable stages, each with its own star rating (like Angry Birds), or an RPG-like leveling system where completing quests unlocks new gear or skills.

Lessons from Fundraising Successes and Failures

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 10:00:00 +0000

(If you're only interested in charts and numbers, scroll down to Our Seed Round in Numbers!)

When any founder shares stories of growing their startup, it can be tempting to focus only on the positives.

Those moments where a vast investment was secured or the team hit a milestone in building our core technology are absolutely worth sharing – they can be inspiring and motivational for others building up a business. But in truth, making a startup a success involves a lot of persistence, rejection and failure – and those more difficult moments are so often where the most useful lessons can be learned. Yet seldom do people highlight these challenging times.

A Look Back at 2022

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Can you believe it’s already 2023?

In some ways it makes total sense as we've had an action packed year here at LootLocker (and we’ve traveled around the sun another full orbit). On the other hand, 2022 flew right past us. I guess time passes quickly when you’re having fun, right?

2022 was another banner year for LootLocker. We have a lot to celebrate, so let’s get things rolling:

A Growing Team

Last year, we more than tripled our team size, going from three to ten members. We brought on a game developer, Johannes, to strengthen the connection between our technology and our customers. He's been busy creating guides, videos, and supporting our community on Discord. Additionally, we recruited amazing backend engineers from companies like Mojang, DICE, and Lush, as well as a fantastic frontend developer to enhance our web console experience. This also meant for our first team all-hands in Stockholm, which we celebrated in October.

Powered by LootLocker: Gaming for Ukraine

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Stugna is a military game with a difference. Every dollar the game makes goes towards helping the Ukrainian military. We spoke to the developers, BidOn Games, to learn more.

A war game with a real-world cause

Stugna is a single-player shooter and war sim, available on Android and iOS.

We caught up with Vlad Fedorenko from BidOn Games to learn more about Stugna’s background. He explained to us that their game’s name comes from a very specific piece of military hardware.

The Unreal Engine SDK 2.0 is Here!

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 05:00:00 +0000

We’ve told you about LootLocker becoming a Unity Verified Solutions Provider. Well, now I’m excited to announce ANOTHER(!) SDK release. This time we give you the Unreal SDK version 2.0. We have rebuilt it from the ground up to be more effective, efficient, and fun to work with. This update has been a long time coming, and along with it we’ve also started improving our Unreal Engine documentation.

We’ve been hard at work developing this new SDK over the past few months to make it even easier for game developers to integrate LootLocker into their Unreal Engine games. Has there been some LootLocker feature you have yet to be able to use yet in the SDK? Good news then, 2.0 of the SDK now supports all the features LootLocker offers. With this new SDK, you can take advantage of all the powerful features LootLocker offers, including assets, progressions, leaderboards, inventories, and more.

What Will Power the Metaverse?

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 23:00:00 +0000

By now, it’s become hard to miss talk of the metaverse. Like so many emerging technologies before it, it has become the subject of a ferocious wave of hype.

Much of that hype is nothing more than well intended excitement about the future. Yet at the very same time, hype tends to misrepresent the reality of its subject matter’s potential, sometimes prompting innocently unrealistic expectations from the general public. That’s something we saw with virtual reality, when a little too much was promised before it was ready, leading to over-expectation followed by disappointment. Over time VR has matured to the point where it can absolutely deliver, but it certainly had its own battle with managing the expectations hype established.

Environment Merge: The Tool to Rule Them All

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Today, we are excited to announce an upgrade to our Environment Merge tool, a core feature of the LootLocker platform. If you're new to LootLocker, this feature might not be familiar to you, so let's take a closer look at what it is and why it's important for building and running your game.

LootLocker is now a Unity Verified Solution!

Mon, 05 Dec 2022 14:00:00 +0000

Hello there in the ether, my name is Erik. I joined the LootLocker team three months ago to focus on SDK development so that we can readily integrate our game changing platform into your favorite game engine. And now I get to announce this new milestone: Unity has approved the LootLocker SDK as a Verified Solution!

What does this mean?

The great engineers at Unity have spent time putting our platform and SDK through its paces. They can now verify that our SDK performs as promised, and is ready to integrate with your game to unleash your full potential.

A new era: How Stadia’s demise could be the start of something great

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 21:00:00 +0000

In September 2022 news broke that Google is shutting down Stadia, their cloud-gaming service. After making the official announcement, Google immediately closed the Stadia store and stopped all in-game transactions. Players will lose access to the almost 300 games available on Stadia in mid-January 2023.

The good news is that Google will refund players for games and any add-on content they’ve bought, as well as hardware like the Stadia controller. That doesn’t help developers though, many of whom had no idea that the shutdown was coming. Lots have ploughed huge amounts of time and money into upcoming and existing games on the platform, and will have been counting on future revenue from it. The demise of Stadia is even more of a pain because of the extra people-hours many devs have spent porting their games to its technology, and getting through Google’s stringent certification process.

Powered by LootLocker (update): Hokko Life hits the big stage

Fri, 11 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Hokko Life is now available on all the major consoles. And we could barely have written a better success story: a cutesy life sim game, from a solo developer, with a backend powered by LootLocker, topping charts and hitting the big time.

A story we’re very invested in

We can’t really pretend to be impartial here. Robert Tatnell is a developer we really root for. He’s the mind behind the one-man studio Wonderscope – based in Stockholm, in an office that happens to be right next to LootLocker HQ. We wrote about Robert when his game first released on Steam early-access, back in June 2021.

Essential Law for Game Devs: A game dev’s guide to data privacy

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Please note: since writing this piece, Tim has moved on from Sheridans.

If terms like GDPR, PECR, and COPPA fill you with an uneasy sense of dread, we get you. The world of data privacy compliance can feel intimidating, and at a glance, appears packed with bewildering jargon and less-than-welcoming acronyms.

However, if you're a developer, founder or studio head, understanding data privacy compliance isn’t just key to the success of your games. It’s also about respecting your users – and it’s a legal obligation. Fortunately, it need not be as intimidating as it first appears.

Pitching Publishers the Right Way

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Lots of game developers want a publisher to help finance, market, and distribute their game. And that means approaching and pitching publishers (or investors). But it can be tough to know how to do that in the right way. Don’t worry though – we’ve been talking to Johan Toresson, “chief say-that-again officer” at Raw Fury, to get the lowdown on how to do just that.

Before the pitch

Why pitch at all?

Well, it depends on what you need, and what you’re set up to do yourself. “If you have the time, money, and people to self publish,” says Johan, “why not do it yourself?” But if you don’t, or you’d rather just spend your time making games, finding a publisher could be the way forward. They can also give you access to audiences and networks that you might not be able to find on your own. After all, just releasing a good game doesn’t guarantee tons of players and success.

LootLocker's First Company All Hands!

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Last week the entire LootLocker team assembled in Stockholm for our first biannual company all hands. The week was packed with group working sessions, delicious food, and most importantly social activities.

So, what did we get up to? Here are some highlights.

Every morning the entire team assembled at Ersta Diakoni, a beautiful 170 year old mansion sitting atop a cliff overlooking the entire Stockholm. As a remote company, we want to use our limited in-person time together as both a way to socialize, but also to discuss broader topics that would be difficult to achieve over a video call.

Powered by LootLocker: The jamming team who exemplified ‘power in numbers’ at Together Jam

Fri, 16 Sep 2022 07:00:00 +0000

The third place prize at Together Jam went to Knight Rider: Arsenal – a collaboration between two different dev teams, with members from around the world. In the final part of our three-part blog series, we get to know the jammers of Dynamite Stew and Team Melon.

High-quality indie games, and lots of ‘em

So far, we’ve written about two games from Together Jam – our winners, Xena: Trial of the Gods, and our runners up, Felix the Cat and his Wonderful Clones. So you probably already know the story of the jam itself. But if not, here’s how it went down:

Powered by LootLocker: The brother-sister team that took two awards at Together Jam

Wed, 14 Sep 2022 12:00:00 +0000

Vertigod Games took home both the second place and ‘best animation’ awards at Together Jam. In the second of this three-part blog series, we hear the story behind their Cuphead-inspired game: Felix the Cat and his Wonderful Clones.

Jamming together with games based on classic TV and movies

If you’ve read our first blog in this series, you’ll know that Together Jam was a summer 2022 game jam, created by Game Jolt, LootLocker and G4, and supported by NBCUniversal.

Powered by LootLocker: The game that pleased the Greek gods to win the $25,000 first prize at Together Jam

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 09:00:00 +0000

Brazilian indie developers SheePixel took home the top prize for their game, Xena: Trial of the Gods. In the first part of this three-part blog series, let’s get to know our Together Jam winners.

When a game jam meets iconic TV shows and films

Together Jam was an event created by Game Jolt, LootLocker and G4, and supported by NBCUniversal who, for the first time ever, unlocked their more prized IPs to the general game developer public. It ran in late June, 2022, and had a massive prize pool of $50,000. Our goal was to create a game jam that had never been done before, and we’d say we pulled it off.

A CFO’s Guide to Building a Financially Sustainable Studio

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 12:00:00 +0000

For any game studio to go the distance, it needs a robust financial strategy.

Creativity might be the passion that powers your studio, but if you want to keep making more games, grow your team, and establish a sustainable, lasting operation with a bright future, thinking strategically about cash flow, funding and where to spend your money is critically important. In other words, thinking financially powers your creative potential.

For one, making great games that are played by large audiences almost always costs money. Furthermore, any game company has financial obligations, from paying your staff to respecting tax law. Sure, those things aren’t what many aspiring developers consider when dreaming of a career in games, but again, understanding them – or working with somebody that does – is critical to any studio that wants to succeed.

Powered by LootLocker: Keeping score when influencers and game devs unite

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0000

MoonRunner is a German game studio with a difference – they make games in collaboration with social media influencers. Their latest mobile game is MontanaBlack’s Kylo Rescue (also available on iOS). We caught up with the team at MoonRunner to find out how this works and how LootLocker helps.

Harnessing influencer power

Making games with influencers has proved to be a smart idea for MoonRunner. In just four years, they’ve achieved over two million downloads. So what’s it like to work in this way?

ScoreSpace: taking game jams to the next level

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 11:00:00 +0000

In 2018, Khaalid Booker (KB for short) created the ScoreSpace game jam, an event where devs build games with a high-score feature in just 72 hours. It isn’t just any game jam though – the participants rate the games themselves, with the top three going to streamers for testing and feedback. ScoreSpace then works with the developers to port their games to mobile and finesse the gameplay, before releasing them as “ScoreDrops” where players compete for the high scores (and prizes) over 48 hours.

And the 2022 Together Jam Winners Are…

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 11:00:00 +0000

Nearly a year ago we pitched an idea for a game jam to the folks at NBCUniversal, G4tv, and Game Jolt. A game jam to celebrate all the amazing development talent around the world. And a game jam to give them the opportunity to make games based on real intellectual property, with a significant cash prize.

Something like this had never been done before in such an open and accessible way. Or with a combined team of people as passionate about gaming and emerging game developers as we were. So it wasn’t long before Together Jam was born.

What Elon Musk Can Teach Us About Game Development

Mon, 11 Jul 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Elon Musk. Tech entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Twitter memelord. Oh, and richest human on the planet. Last year he took YouTuber Everyday Astronaut on a tour of the Starbase rocket factory in Texas and again in his latest video looking specifically at SpaceX's Raptor 2 engine. In both interview he talked about a five-step first principal design process he uses for his revolutionary orbital rockets and to achieve his oh-so-simple ambition to make humanity “a multi-planetary species”. As game developers, we might not be aiming quite so high (both literally and metaphorically). But there is still a lot we can learn from Elon’s process and apply to our everyday work.

Why player feedback could be the strongest tool in your arsenal

Thu, 30 Jun 2022 09:00:00 +0000

Player feedback is vital when it comes to designing a successful game. It can help you improve the gameplay experience and find bugs, and see your game from different, more objective, perspectives. And it can save you wasting time and money fixing things that don’t need fixing. But getting that feedback can feel like a huge task in an already overwhelming development process. Don’t panic though – we’re here to tell you how to collect, manage, and evaluate feedback both before and after you release your game.

Powered by LootLocker: Bringing order to Kaiji craziness

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Oluwapelumi Ayeni wanted to create the kind of 3D Kaiju game he thought was missing from the mobile games market. This was a huge undertaking for a solo developer. With some help from LootLocker, Kaiju Brawler 3D is now available to play on Android and iOS.

The allure of monster mayhem

Oluwapelumi, also known as Xadegamer is a 24 year old solo developer – born in Nigeria but now living and studying in the UK. After releasing a couple of mobile games, Party Ballon and Veggie Dash (both now unpublished) through his studio Xadetechnologies, he wanted to move on to make Kaiju Games.

Powered by LootLocker: Helping solo developers push past their ‘limiting beliefs’ and make great games.

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 05:00:00 +0000

People often assume that only the best developers in the biggest companies can make games. We know this isn’t true, but sometimes it takes an epiphany for aspiring developers to realize they can just…do it. And what they go on to create, with limited time and money, is often remarkable. Ben Mora is a perfect example of this.

Putting a childhood dream into action

Ben’s a 33-year-old solo developer from the Kansas City area. He created his game ‘Super Spartan Bros’ in just 20 hours. Pretty impressive, huh? But Ben’s no veteran. He only started making games in 2020.

Essential Law for Game Devs: Introducing Tim Repa-Davies

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 09:00:00 +0000

When aspiring game developers first start to dream of a career crafting video games, they likely imagine days spent building engrossing worlds, shaping assets in art tools, or coding innovative new mechanics.

Video game law? That’s something that probably doesn’t come to mind quite so much. And if it does, it perhaps isn’t seen as particularly exciting or relevant to the creative side of making games. After all, law is just an admin function unrelated to the process of actually making games, right?

Holding Out for a Hero - How to Use Character Classes and Heroes

Fri, 27 May 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Hopefully you’ve already seen our post demystifying assets. If not, we suggest you read it first before you continue. Don’t worry, we’ll wait.

All done? So now you’re an expert on assets, we’re going to take a look at how you can apply them to another core concept of LootLocker – character classes and heroes.

Hang on, what are character classes?

Character classes let you easily create different player character types – rogue, mage, warrior, or priest, for example. You can then set the default assets each one comes with (also known as the default loadout), as well as the types of assets they can use or equip. So a warrior could have a sword by default and only be able to equip plate armor. Whereas a mage would come with a staff and robe, but wouldn’t be able to use the warrior’s weapons or armor.

Announcing Together Jam!

Wed, 25 May 2022 12:00:00 +0000

If you've been following our blog for a while now you will remember late last year we (quietly) announced that we would be hosting a game jam together with Game Jolt, NBCUniversal, and G4 in 2022. Well, the time has come for that game jam to be officially announced!

Come Together

Welcome to Together Jam, a game jam to highlight the emerging game developers around the world. The game jam will run from June 17th until July 3rd, 2022 over on Game Jolt. What's so special about this jam is that we've worked closely with NBCUniversal to give everyone access to some of their classic characters from TV shows and movies. More on that below.

Fast Travel Games: Getting VR Publishing Right

Mon, 23 May 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Right now, in 2022, the opportunity for game devs in virtual reality is tremendous. But once you’ve made your VR game you need to get it published. Before we look at that process, however, it’s worth framing the opportunity. So let’s rewind back in time a little.

In the years that followed 2016’s sensationally popular Oculus Rift Kickstarter, most of the conversation about VR was framed by hype. A lot was promised and predicted, but it didn’t always have too much to do with actual reality.

Powered by LootLocker: Helping solo developers build games for community events

Fri, 20 May 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Ryan is a 20 year old, self-taught developer from the UK. He created the game ‘Catch Up!’ as part of an itch.io game jam. These events are full of talented solo developers, making wildly creative games. So a tool as easy to use (and affordable) as LootLocker comes in extremely handy.

Developing a festive spirit

The Game Jam that Ryan entered was called Secret Santa 2021. Not familiar with Game Jams? They’re group events where lots of developers are challenged to each make a game from scratch within a short space of time often based on a secret theme revealed at the start of the jam.

Making the Most of Your Assets

Wed, 18 May 2022 03:00:00 +0000

Assets are an important part of LootLocker. In fact, they can literally take your game to the next level. But what exactly are they, and how do you use them? Here’s a quick overview to help you get on the front foot with all-things asset.

Explaining assets

In simple terms, an asset is an item you can connect to a player – something they can earn, buy, or just have. So that’s things like weapons, treasure chests (which are full of other assets), or currency, for example. Players store assets in their inventories, but they’re not always tangible items – a respawn point counts as an asset, for example. That means they can also be things that your game reads but the player doesn’t know exists.

LootLocker’s $2M seed round, and what it means for game developers around the world

Wed, 11 May 2022 12:30:00 +0000

Here at LootLocker, we’re thrilled to have closed our latest seed financing round, which saw an amazing, experienced group of investors put over $2 million into the company and our backend technology for games.

What that means, first and foremost, is that we can do even more to support and empower the thousands of developers that use LootLocker across hundreds of brilliant games. In fact, we couldn’t have done this without those game developers. You’ve already helped us greatly improve our backend technology, motivated us to deliver the quality your games deserve, and let us understand how we can best meet your needs. The numbers of you that use LootLocker also showed our investors how much interest there is in a technology like this. We can’t thank you enough!

Why the Smartest Developers Choose LootLocker

Tue, 10 May 2022 09:00:00 +0000

We might not be the biggest or most flashy backend service out there. But we can confidently say we’re the only one that really knows, and looks after, our users. So if you’re not sure which backend to choose, here’s why LootLocker is the only choice for building, launching and running the best games out there. In fact, we’re so confident in our product that we won’t start charging you for it until your game’s successful. Even if you’ve already launched it.

Powered by LootLocker: Helping young developers find out who’s the best at falling into honey

Tue, 03 May 2022 06:00:00 +0000

We caught up with Jonah from JCWYT (pronounced ‘jay-see-wit’) – creators of the game FOOAAAHH! (pronounced ‘foo-wah’). Jonah told us all about his journey into game development, his honey-splatting game, and why he chose LootLocker to help him make it. Make sure to check FOOAAAHH! out yourself on their website.

The game-making background of a self-taught teen

Jonah is 15 years old. He’s from Seattle, Washington. And he’s a game developer who describes himself as ‘really bad at programming’. He works on JCWYT projects with his friend Callum, and gets occasional outside help from some surprising places.

We're Supporting the ScoreSpace Game Jam

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 15:00:00 +0000

We're excited to announce that we will be sponsoring the upcoming ScoreSpace Game Jam which begins on April 29th over on Itch.io!

We met up with the founder of ScoreSpace Khaalid Booker ('KB' for short) at GDC earlier this year and immediately clicked over what we were both doing. It didn't take long before we agreed to support ScoreSpace and provide our leaderboard services for the games being produced through the game jam.

Indie Game Developer Resources 2022

Wed, 20 Apr 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Game development is probably one of the most challenging forms of software development - having to bring together realtime gameplay, art, animation, effects, and all the other systems that go on in the background - all while worrying about performance. Not to mention having to design a fun and (hopefully) intuitive user experience. Kudos to all of you out there that setting off alone (or in small groups) to build games independently.

LootLocker on YouTube

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 09:00:00 +0000

In addition to all the guides, documentation, and API references we provide to make using LootLocker as simple as possible, we've also started creating YouTube videos to help walk you through integrating LootLocker into your games.

Our first videos are about leaderboards and player authentication, so check them out below. We have a lot more in the works, so stay tuned!

Make sure to like and subscribe and leave some comments with any ideas for videos you'd like to see in the future.

Powered by LootLocker: Helping a developer aged 15 (yes, 15!) to get his first game out on Android

Wed, 06 Apr 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Red Diamond is a one-man studio. A young man too. Arthur is one of the new generation who waste no time getting games designed, developed and released.

If you’re good enough, you’re old enough

Meet Arthur: an entirely self-taught game developer from Moldova. His first game, Into Space, is out now on Android. It’s a classic arcade shooter (a genre thirty years older than Arthur himself), in which you protect your spaceship from incoming asteroids.

Powered by LootLocker: Helping the new generation at Empty Box to keep their focus on creativity

Mon, 07 Mar 2022 08:00:00 +0000

The team at Empty Box are all aged between 21 and 24. They’re self-taught, dynamic developers whose latest game, NanoHive, is already a hit. They’re using LootLocker to keep their time free for the jobs they most enjoy.

New kids on the block

Empty Box is a team of seven developers, hailing from Denmark, Romania and elsewhere in Eastern Europe. They’re seriously impressive: their skills come almost entirely from self-teaching, they already have games out there that you can play today, and none of them were yet born when Tomb Raider 2 came out.

Getting Player Authentication Right

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 12:00:00 +0000

Verifying exactly who your players are unlocks a whole load of new game features and possibilities, many of which can dramatically increase the commercial success of your game. That makes getting it right critically important. However, what works for one game might not be ideal for another. Some will want to authenticate their players by having them login to a game-specific account, while others will not want to interrupt the time-to-game flow.

Inside the More Than 200 Games Powered by LootLocker

Fri, 18 Feb 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Games are LootLocker’s reason to be. Across our team we don’t just serve game makers – we also adore everything games are – because we also love to build and play them.

That enthusiasm and passion for games is what fuels the effort we put into developing a flexible, reliable, and intuitive cross-platform game backend. There’s little more rewarding to us than seeing LootLocker help a game meet and exceed its creative and commercial ambitions.

#GameToolsTuesday

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 11:00:00 +0000

Last week we created the #GameToolsTuesday hashtag on Twitter as a means to highlight and promote all of the different type of technology used to make building games easier and more accessible. Every Tuesday we plan to engage the community to share their favorite tools or tools they have built themselves.

View tweet

So, if you are building a tool - be it a small engine plugin or as an entire business - or using a tool that you couldn't live without, give the tool (or creator) a shoutout by tweeting @MyLootLocker with the #GameToolsTuesday hashtag!

Powered by LootLocker: How Robin went from Mad Max mods to creating his own motoring mayhem game

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 05:00:00 +0000

Robin from Nethash used LootLocker to help create Rust Racers – a game he says is “Mad Max, making tender love to Rocket League, while Fortnite watches from the closet”. Before using Lootlocker, Nethash were trying to build everything from scratch, with a tiny team.

Looking for a way out of development limbo

Robin had a vision for his full debut as a developer: a massively multiplayer, car-crushing vehicle combat game, set in a cyberpunk dystopian future. He had thousands of hours of practice, creating popular mods like Gmod Mad Max for games like Garry’s Mod.

A Look Back at 2021

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 12:00:00 +0000

Happy New Year, and "god fortsättning" as they say here in Sweden (which basically translates to "good continuation"). It feels very Swedish to celebrate that fact that life just continues. I guess if you don't celebrate that you might take it for granted, right?

2021 was an incredibly busy year for us at LootLocker. We began growing the team, released a whole load of new features, and travelled to the US to participate in Techstars. In fact, there's a lot more we've been working on but aren't quite ready to announce just yet.

How to Monetize Your Game With a Backend (Part 2)

Mon, 13 Dec 2021 19:00:00 +0000

A few weeks ago we went over the basics of what backends are, what you can do with them, and what kinds of monetization strategies are possible when using a backend-as-a-service.

This time, we want to take this topic a step further. Now, we’re going to chat about everything else your backend can do, and how to get your monetization right.

Let’s dive back in.

Quick recap from our last blog

If you missed our last article (or just want to brush up on your reading), you can check it out here. But here’s the TL;DR breakdown:

Powered by LootLocker: Hokko Life by Wonderscope

Tue, 30 Nov 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Game Name: Hokko Life

Genre: Life Simulator

Platform: Steam Early Access

Game Engine: Unity

After a long day at work or at school, it’s funny how many of the games we play are violent and fast paced; as if our body, mind, and soul aren’t already tired enough from the slog of daily life. You’d think after working hard all day we’d naturally want to spend time decompressing with a quiet, peaceful, and cozy game like Hokko Life. Well, clearly people do want this as Hokko Life was in the top charts when launched on Early Access earlier this year!

Godspeed by Barji

Wed, 24 Nov 2021 10:00:00 +0000

If you haven't seen already, we've been working with up-and-coming YouTube game developer Barji on a few videos these last few months. Barji has been building a speed running game called Godspeed and has been using LootLocker to support a variety of features in it, like Collectables and Leaderboards.

Not only are Barji's videos funny and entertaining to watch, they also demonstrate how easy it is to get started using LootLocker! Barji has made two videos so far and we look forward to seeing what comes next.

Techstars, it's a wrap!

Sun, 14 Nov 2021 23:00:00 +0000

Wow, time flies when you're having fun and working hard! With the program (officially called the Comcast NBCUniversal Lift Labs Accelerator, Powered by Techstars) now over, we're already looking back with nostalgia at everything we did over the last twelve weeks. It was a wild ride with a lot of long days and late nights, but we're extremely excited to have had the chance to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with other amazing companies.

How to Monetize Your Game with a Backend (Part 1)

Thu, 14 Oct 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Monetizing your games in the most suitable way possible can bring a game studio a myriad of gains.

It lets you grow your business, build out IP into a series, elevate the potential of your team, and keep you making more games. Today’s studios are somewhat spoiled for choice when it comes to how they make money. Whether you’re using in-app purchases, subscriptions, DLC or something else entirely, there are a wealth of options. Picking the right one for your game and audience is key here.

Progression & Rewards Video Tutorial

Wed, 29 Sep 2021 09:00:00 +0000

We've teamed up with Zyger again to show how quickly you can set up a progression system with rewards in your Unity game using LootLocker! Check out the video below and give it a like and subscribe to support Zyger's great work!

Powered by LootLocker: HellFight by Paku

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Genre: Rogue-lite / souls-like

Platform: Itch.io & Newgrounds

Game Engine: Unity

Today we are launching an ongoing series of blog posts called Powered by LootLocker where we will be featuring a variety of games built using LootLocker. As advocates for all types of games made by all sorts of people we want to use this series as an opportunity to highlight the variety of games and game developers using LootLocker, while hopefully increasing their exposure to the world.

We're hiring!

Tue, 07 Sep 2021 07:00:00 +0000

After a little more than a year in business we're looking to start growing our team. We've got several open positions listed that we're looking to fill as soon as possible.

Are you interested in joining an exciting startup whose mission is to help game developers achieve their dreams?

Are you passionate about creating the infrastructure that powers the games of tomorrow?

Do you like being part of a small, remote-first team that prioritizes quality of life over long work days?

How to: Weighted Random Selections

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 08:00:00 +0000

A few months ago I wrote about our latest asset context, Drop Tables. Drop Tables, like Loot Boxes, use a weighted rarity system to determine which asset(s) you are rewarded. Since building these features, I have been asked by several developers to outline the method I used to randomly select an asset based on predefined weighting. While I would like to take all the credit, I actually used a method I read about several years ago that was really smart. Since I can’t find the post any longer, I’ll attempt to explain it in my own words.

Techstars!

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 08:00:00 +0000

We are excited to announce that we have been invited to participate in the 2021 class of the Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs Accelerator, powered by Techstars!

You can find more information about the program and the other companies in our class in the official announcement post. It's a really international group this year and we're excited to be representing the Nordics.

LootLocker was selected from over hundreds of applicants, so we feel very special. As a Techstars company we will have the opportunity to grow faster and become more successful thanks to the mentorship and networking that the program offers. The program runs for 13 weeks, ending with Demo Day in early November.

Asset Key/Value Storage Templates

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 05:00:00 +0000

We recently launched a new feature called Asset Key/Value Storage Templates (quite a mouthful!) so I thought I’d write a bit about it and how it can be used to make your life easier.

But first, a little background.

As you may or may not know, one of LootLocker’s core concepts is the asset. Assets are items of property that can be connected to a player - something a player can earn, purchase, or possess. Assets are also extremely flexible and can be used in many creative ways, outside of their relationship to a single player. At its core, an asset is an empty shell looking to be assigned a context, complexity, and get populated with relevant data before being accessed by your game.

What to Expect When Your Game Turns Into a Viral Hit

Wed, 28 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Every game developer hopes to see their game hit the top of the charts. The thrill of seeing people play it on the train, glowing reviews in gaming outlets, and your own section on Twitch (the increased revenue doesn’t hurt, either!) But nobody really prepares you for success.

What happens when you get that surge of new players and become so popular that even non-gamers have heard about you?

With great success comes great responsibility. The more players you have, the more pressure you’re under to improve the game, add new content, fix bugs and keep the game alive. It’s a tough gig and one game can easily turn into an entire career.

BugSplat Partnership

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 14:00:00 +0000

We're excited to announce another partnership - this time with our friends at BugSplat! This partnership will make finding, diagnosing, and fixing crashes and game bugs a more integral part of the development and post-release process.

There is no such thing as a bug-free game, and now when games are being released earlier and earlier in the development process and transitioning to games-as-a-service it’s never been more important to react quickly to major bugs and crashes that impact the game experience.

Leaderboard Video Tutorial

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 15:00:00 +0000

We teamed up with YouTuber Zyger to show how easy it is to implement leaderboards in your game. Check out the video below and don't forget to smash that like and subscribe button to show Zyger some love!

Picking a Backend – Why It’s Vital, and How to Pick One

Thu, 10 Jun 2021 17:00:00 +0000

Backends are now vital to almost any game’s success. Building your own is a Herculean task. But there is another way, and it’s easier than you might imagine.

That’s a fairly obvious statement. Lavish visuals and meticulous game design are nothing without the likes of quality code and robust AI. But there’s another layer that sits behind everything else that’s equally important – particularly in the era of games as live entities.

Hokko Life Out Now!

Wed, 02 Jun 2021 16:00:00 +0000

Yay - it's launch day for another game using LootLocker! Today Hokko Life is launching on Steam and we couldn't be more excited for Wonderscope solo developer Robert.

Robert has been working on Hokko Life for many years and has poured his passion, soul, and personality into the game. Together with indie publisher Team 17 he has created an amazing game that lets you disconnect from all the chaos of real life and escape to the beautiful, peaceful town of Hokko.

Drop Tables

Tue, 11 May 2021 08:00:00 +0000

This week we are launching a new Asset Complexity called Drop Tables. The Drop Table Complexity provides logic for randomly selecting individual or multiple Assets from predefined groups based on their rarity weighting or tags. This can be useful if your game has a boss with specific loot, for example. To explain how Drop Tables work, I will set up a Drop Table Asset for one of my favorite bosses, Ragnaros from World of Warcraft. A version of this guide can also be found in our user documentation.

PatchKit Partnership

Fri, 07 May 2021 10:25:00 +0000

We are partnering with PatchKit, the white-label game launcher technology company used by publishers like TinyBuild and Bossa Studios. Through this partnership we will be integrating LootLocker’s cross-platform player management and live ops systems into PatchKit’s launcher technology.

While nearly all games launching on PC release through Steam and other game stores, many developers and publishers want the added freedom to distribute their games directly themselves. Thanks to PatchKit, this is now possible through their cloud-based distribution platform and light-weight customizable launcher tool. This partnership allows us to supercharge the PatchKit game launcher with LootLocker's cross-platform player accounts, messaging, microtransactions, and other live ops tools.

Leaderboards

Mon, 03 May 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Our brand new Leaderboard system is now live and accessible through the LootLocker Management Console and ready for integration into your game by using the latest Unity and Unreal SDKs! In addition to a fresh new look and functionality (more on that below) we have also begun the process of moving our frontend technology to a more modern stack, with React, NextJS and Tailwind CSS, and started building new features in Golang when possible for added responsiveness!

Indie Game Developer Resources 2021

Mon, 26 Apr 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Game development is an ever evolving process. Every year there are new trends, technologies, platforms, and techniques for building, distributing, and marketing your games successfully - not to mention having to build a company as well!

To help you out, we've scoured the internet over the past year and compiled the best resources to help you on your game development journey in 2021. We've broken down these resources into three sections, Company & Funding, Guides, and Websites. Not every link may apply to your needs, but hopefully there is something of value for everyone depending on where they're at in the development process.

EQU8 Anti-Cheat Partnership

Thu, 15 Apr 2021 08:00:00 +0000

We are excited to announce that we are partnering with EQU8 Anti-Cheat!

Experiencing cheaters and hackers in your game is the worst, and often wrecks the experience for other players, forcing them to stop playing your game entirely. Thanks to the amazing technology from EQU8, cheaters and hackers can be recognized sooner and be dealt with quicker. Together with LootLocker’s cross-platform player accounts and backend services, these players will soon be more effectively banned from playing and have their accounts, wallets, content, and leaderboard positions frozen temporarily or wiped permanently from your game.

A Splash of New Paint

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Today we are launching two well-needed updates to the LootLocker platform: a visual (and slight functional) overhaul to the LootLocker Management Console and the LootLocker Documentation websites! We've been working on these updates since the beginning of the year and are excited to finally see them live. Here's what you can expect to find the next time you login or view our docs.

Management Console

The next time you login to the Management Console, you will immediately see the new changes thanks to our new Home Screen that pulls together a lot of information about your currently active game, some useful links, the latest LootLocker news, and provides quick access to your other games.

(Some) Games Using LootLocker

Tue, 06 Apr 2021 09:00:00 +0000

We've been working full time with LootLocker for about a year now and we're happy to announce a handful of upcoming and released games that are running on our technology! As you may have noticed, we recently updated our homepage to include these games as a way to promote these awesome titles, as well as a way of showing examples of the diversity of game genres that can make use of our technology.

User-Generated Content

Tue, 16 Mar 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Late last year we soft-launched the ability for LootLocker users to support User-Generated Content in their games. User-Generated Content (or UGC) is a popular feature these days where games let their players create custom content that can be used in the game, like skins, items, or even entire mods to provide new ways to play the game. Of course, the most famous UGC-based game today is Roblox where players can create entirely new games on the platform.

Selecting the Right Backend for Your Game

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Since game backend-as-a-services began appearing on the market several years ago, competition has become quite fierce. Several backend services have been purchased by larger companies, while other backends have had to shut down. There are now 5 main backends to pick from, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Here is a breakdown and comparison of the most popular backends that will hopefully help you decide which backend is right for you and your game.

LootLocker Unreal SDK

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 12:00:00 +0000

Today we officially launched the LootLocker Unreal SDK, providing quick and easy LootLocker integration into Unreal projects via C++ or Blueprint. The SDK also includes a Demo Project that demonstrates how various API calls can be made - feel free to use these in your games!

Together with the SDK, we have also released documentation that covers installation, set up, and API calls for C++ and Blueprint. The documentation, along with other resources, can be found at docs.lootlocker.com.

A Look Back at 2020

Wed, 06 Jan 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Happy New Year!

2020 was a busy year for us at LootLocker as we officially launched the service and raised our first funding round. We've also been very busy on the product development-side of things, adding new features and overall improvements to the platform. Here are a few of the highlights from our 2020 releases:

User-Generated Content

Use LootLocker to let players securely upload custom game content, moderate the content, and then curate the approved content. With UGC becoming a more common feature in games, we are excited to provide a simple out-of-the-box solution for indies to take advantage of this popular feature.

Our Favorite Gaming Newsletters

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 19:00:00 +0000

There is a LOT of game industry content out there to consume these days, and it often gets overwhelming. From traditional media, to social media and podcasts it can feel nearly impossible to keep up with the latest news, trends, and happenings in the games industry.

Recently we have found that newsletters have been a really great way to get distilled and curated content sent directly in your inbox. Here are three of our favorites:

The LootLocker Mobile App

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 10:00:00 +0000

The LootLocker mobile App has been deprecated and this article is no longer relevant.

In addition to our new Unity SDK and recently overhauled documentation, we launched an official app! The LootLocker mobile app demonstrates how LootLocker features can be used in a game, and how the LootLocker Management Console can communicate directly with the game.

The LootLocker mobile app can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play Store links below.

Documentation Overhaul

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 11:00:00 +0000

We have spent the last few weeks completely overhauling our documentation to make sure it's as detailed and helpful as possible. This includes user documentation for every feature and step-by-step walkthrough for installing and setting up the Unity SDK.

Head over to docs.lootlocker.com to check it all out, or visit the links to specific sections:

If you have any feedback or questions, please don't hesitate to reach out via email or directly on our Discord.

LootLocker Unity SDK

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 09:00:00 +0000

This week we officially launched the LootLocker Unity SDK making it even easier to integrate LootLocker into your Unity project. The Unity SDK includes 3 elements:

The SDK, which also includes the optional Admin SDK
The SampleApp, which demonstrates LootLocker in action in an Unity scene
The TestScenes, which demonstrate each API in their own scene (Game/Samples/Scenes)

The SDK has been fully documented from installation, to set up, and usage with sample calls for every API endpoint. You can find this documentation, along with the rest of the LootLocker documentation at docs.lootlocker.com.

Gameye Panel: Backend for Indies

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 09:20:00 +0000

Last week we participated in the Gameye Industry Insights panel discussing game backends for indies together with Gamebreaking Studios. We had a lot of fun discussing the technology behind backends and why we believe all studios should harness the power of a backend (especially LootLocker!)

The panel session has now been uploaded to YouTube and embedded below - enjoy!

LootLocker Branding Guideline

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 09:00:00 +0000

We love our logo! It's colorful, fun, and memorable and doesn't take itself too seriously. That being said, we respect the design and always want to ensure quality. If you're thinking about using our logo for something please keep it tasteful by following this guide.

Logotype

The LootLocker logo comes in a variety of lockups. Above all, please do not edit, change, distort, recolor, or reconfigure the LootLocker logo.

Vertical

5 Things They Don't Tell You Before Starting an Indie Studio

Mon, 13 Jul 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Sorry for the click bait title!

Well, sorry-not-sorry, because it got you this far - and hopefully now you’ll continue reading. In a brief departure from our world of backend technology, this post is a modified version of a presentation I made at the Nordic Games Conference several years ago - a reflection on my learnings and, dare I say, wisdom accumulated from leadership experience at indie studios Poppermost Productions and Hatrabbit Entertainment. I thought maybe, just maybe, some of my reflections will help other entrepreneurs at various stages of starting or running their own studios.

LootLocker Public Roadmap

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 10:00:00 +0000

In case you haven’t already seen it, we recently released our public roadmap! The roadmap doesn’t cover everything we’re working on as we are constantly iterating on already existing features and making improvements to the management console. Instead, our public roadmap provides a transparent look into the direction of our technology.

The public roadmap also gives LootLocker users a chance to impact our development by voting on features that they would like to see developed sooner, or commenting on features that they have a question about or an idea for how it could be made even better.

LootLocker on Discord

Mon, 15 Jun 2020 11:00:00 +0000

At LootLocker we decided to use Discord as our primary communications platform for both internal and external conversations. Why use Discord - a tool designed for gaming communities - instead of Slack or Microsoft Teams?

Well, at LootLocker we believe in transparency, community, and most importantly staying as close to our game developers as possible. We love Slack and have used it together and in previous companies for many years now, but as a business-to-business company we always found it to be a frustratingly closed environment when working with external parties - be it contractors or potential clients. You would have to manually create and manage each account separately, and often pay for accounts just to give them the right amount of access to your company's internal communication.

Money in the Bank

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 07:00:00 +0000

We are very excited to share that we have completed our first funding round for LootLocker, bringing in around $250,000 into the company! Our new shareholders add more than just money to the company - these investors read as a "who's who" of Sweden's game industry elite with their decades of experience. We couldn’t be more happy with the insights these new investors bring to the company and look forward to working with them as we continue building LootLocker.

Game Backends: What and Why

Tue, 12 May 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Did you know game backends are not just for big budget free-to-play games, or mobile games with millions of dollars of VC money? That’s right - a game backend can be an important part of every game regardless of scope, budget, or team size. A game backend could make your next game even better.

So what is a game backend, and what do they do? Simply put, a game backend is a server that your game communicates with at different points throughout your game in order to save or retrieve information. For example, your game might call upon your backend whenever a player starts the game in order to collect information you have stored on the player, like their XP and level, or current game progression. Saving information in the cloud (as they say) is helpful for several reasons:

Who is LootLocker?

Mon, 27 Apr 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Before diving into the nuts and bolts of this blog - examining the core features of LootLocker, the benefits of a game backend, and case studies of the games using LootLocker - perhaps we should introduce ourselves first!

Behind LootLocker is Andreas Stokholm and Alexander Bergendahl.

Andreas is the CTO of LootLocker and have been developing backends for games and e-commerce platforms for the past 10 years. Most recently Andreas was a Backend Engineer at Avalanche Studios and a Senior Backend Engineer at Karma.

Hello World

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 10:00:00 +0000

And just like that, we exist!

Welcome to LootLocker, and the LootLocker blog! We built LootLocker to put the power of common game, backend, and live ops systems in the hands of every developer, regardless of team size and competence. Usually game backends are a scary word, only reserved for MMOs or large budget productions. They require developing from scratch or the tireless integration of different complex services — and even if you did end up setting one up yourself, you the developer were tethered to the backend for the rest of your life as you added new features to your game or wasted valuable time managing catalogus of assets or your player profiles.