Recently I spoke with some young developers who were curious as to how they might get their game on some of the digital delivery platforms. I had to admit that I didn’t know and that the websites in question didn’t really tell you anything. So I thought that I would do some research, pull it together and give it to you straight. Here’s what I found out.

I contacted several of the larger portals including Steam, Impulse, GamersGate and Blitz1Up (who just recently opened a direct sell website) and Metaboli. After several weeks, of those five, GamersGate and Blitz1Up were the most forthcoming with information.

In fact Valve/Steam, Impulse and Metaboli all ignored my request for inclusion in the article altogether. If they’re going to do that to someone writing an article about how to get games on their platforms, imagine how they will respond to developers who actually want to do it.

(Last week’s article was on Gamersgate).

I’ve decided to break this up into a series of articles, each focusing on a specific digital delivery portal and so today is Blitz 1Up. At Blitz 1Up I spoke with Neil Holmes, Producer for the Blitz 1UP initiative who was also very forthcoming with information.

Blitz 1UP can offer support all the way from concept to submission. The scheme currently has limited availability for qualifying developers.

[GDN] What’s the submission process like for games?

[Neil] Upon an initial approach by a developer we review their game and provide feedback on the design and anything we think would need to be improved or changed if we were to move forward with it. From there, if both parties are happy with the feedback process we move to an internal green light meeting with the rest of the Blitz 1UP team. If the game passes through this then we move to contract negotiation. We’re more than happy to negotiate contracts on a game-by-game basis.

[GDN] How long does it take from initial contact to ready for sale?

It will vary from game to game depending on the work required to get the game ready and the number of types of portals that the game is going out on. It could be as short as a couple of weeks if the game is totally ready and only going through our store at Blitz1UP.com.

[GDN] What does the company look for in a game when it is submitted?

We look for games that are fun, interesting and have market appeal. We’re not looking for particular types or styles of games – just ones that we think have potential and exceed our quality bar. If you look at the games we’ve already signed you’ll see we have a wide variety of genres already.

[GDN] Are content ratings a factor in the decision? Will a game for 17+ have a harder time getting approved?

It might restrict which portals are prepared to take a given title, but we’re happy to discuss any type of game and judge them on their merits.