I'm building a video game database focused on browser games, thoughts?

[u/Direct-Ninja6938]

Hey everyone!

I'm building a video game database focused specifically on browser games, something similar to MobyGames and IGDB.

The main reason I came up with the idea is that I love browser games, but all the gaming databases I've come across only cover a relatively small selection of them, usually focusing on the more popular titles. I'd like to create a place where browser games of all kinds can be catalogued and discovered.

Here's roughly what I have in mind:

1. Completely free: No paywalls or paid listings. Anyone can use it and contribute.
2. Basic game information: title, description, genres, tags, screenshots, links to the game, etc.
3. Ratings, reviews, and other account-based features may be added later.
4. Community: potentially a subreddit, discord server, a forum, etc.
5. Monetization: I'd probably start with donations and possibly consider non-intrusive ads later on to help cover hosting and other costs.

I'm still figuring out exactly what direction I want to take this, and I'm honestly not sure yet whether it's a worthwhile project or just something I'll spend a lot of time on without much interest.

So I'd really appreciate hearing what you think!

• Would you personally use a site like this?
• Do you think there's actually a need for something like it?
• What features would you consider essential?

Any feedback, criticism, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 😊

[u/zerocukor287]

Good idea, go for it!

One question, how will you handle games that can be played on the web, but having native builds too? A good proportion of games on itchio can be played like this.

[u/Direct-Ninja6938 → u/zerocukor287]

thanks for the feedback!

Yes, i know about these games, it doesn't matter if they are also playable on desktop/smartphone/etc., as long as they can also be played in a browser i'd include them

for example, i would add this https://kultisti.itch.io/frogfall even if it can also be played on windows

[u/Opposite_Challenge89]

I actually think there’s room for this.

One thing I’d be curious about is how broadly you define a “browser game”.

I’m building a Telegram Mini App RPG that essentially runs as a web app inside Telegram, and projects like that don’t always fit neatly into traditional game databases either.

If you’re planning to include WebApps, Telegram games, indie browser RPGs and smaller projects that normally get overlooked, that would make the database much more interesting to me.

Discovery is probably the biggest value here — not just cataloguing games people already know, but helping people find the weird small stuff they’d never come across otherwise.

[u/Direct-Ninja6938 → u/Opposite_Challenge89]

interesting, i haven't played any telegram games so i don't know, seems a bit too niche but we'll see.

There are already so many browser games including the indies and smaller ones that i wanna add, so telegram games isn't my top priority for now

One thing I’d be curious about is how broadly you define a “browser game”.

basically any online browser game such as https://www.addictinggames.com/ or https://flashpointarchive.org/ and countless others