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How to Submit and Monetize Your Games on Y8.com
Submit your browser game through the Y8 Developer Portal: create an account and studio, add your game, complete its SDK requirements, then upload a build for review. To monetize it, integrate Y8 advertising and use an available payment route, Y8 Managed Partnership or AdSense for Platforms. Ads are optional; approval and earnings are not guaranteed.
This guide follows official Y8 documentation checked on 10 October 2026. A Y8 submission is separate from your Slapjam entry on itch.io. Make SDK changes in a post-jam distribution build, not in a locked judging upload.
1. Check publishing rights and browser support
Y8 states:
You must own the game or have the right to publish and distribute it.
Already published elsewhere? You can still submit. AI tools are allowed if you hold the required rights and meet Y8's quality and content rules. Copied, misleading, low-quality, repeatedly reskinned or mass-generated games may be rejected.
Supported formats include HTML5, WebGL and Unity WebGL. Test the devices you will select during submission; an export format alone does not establish compatibility. Remove external links and third-party or your own ads from inside the game. Studio social profile links are supported separately.
2. Create your account, studio and game
These real Developer Portal screenshots were captured on 11 October 2026 while creating an empty, unpublished Slapjam walkthrough draft. No files were uploaded and no review was requested. Sidebar metrics and SDK integration IDs are redacted.
Start at https://developer.y8.com/ and create a developer account. Every game needs a studio, including solo projects; you do not need a registered company.
Choose your studio name carefully: it must be unique, 4–32 characters, and cannot change once published. A new studio starts as Waiting for Approval. Use a PNG, JPG or GIF studio logo that is 175 by 175 pixels and no larger than 2 MB. https://docs.y8.com/studio/studio/
In My Games, create a game under that studio. Initially, you only supply its Game Name, so a finished build is unnecessary. Your Game ID is created with the record; your App ID is issued when you first open the game page. If it says Not yet available, reload to try issuance again. https://docs.y8.com/studio/create-game/
After creating the record, complete Basic Info with your game's actual title, description and instructions. Set the content-safety options to match the game, then save your changes.
3. Initialize the required SDK
Open SDK Initialization and use the portal's snippet with your real IDs. App ID is always required; Game ID is required for ads. https://docs.y8.com/studio/sdk-initialization/
JavaScript is the reference platform, with Unity, Construct 3 and Haxe wrappers. Follow your platform's installation instructions rather than treating one snippet as engine-independent: https://docs.y8.com/platforms/
Load the SDK from its CDN, never a bundled local copy: https://cdn.y8.com/minimal-sdk/2-0/y8.min.js
In JavaScript, wait for y8sdk.ready before initializing once during startup. Keep the portal snippet's emitReadyEvent handling for scripts that load before your listener attaches. Do not call SDK methods before initialization.
https://docs.y8.com/sdk/intro/
4. Add ads at safe breaks, if wanted
Publishing without ads is allowed, but your game's listed SDK requirements still apply. Place interstitials at natural pauses and make rewarded ads player-opt-in.
For JavaScript, use showAd, not adBreak. Pause gameplay and mute audio inside the before-ad callback; resume and restore audio inside the after-ad callback. Pausing before the request can strand gameplay if the request is skipped and neither callback runs.
Grant rewards only in adViewed, never adDismissed or beforeReward. In JavaScript's beforeReward(showAdFn), call showAdFn after consent.
Banners need per-game approval and directly hosted game files. Their API is JavaScript-only, not available through wrappers. https://docs.y8.com/sdk/advertising/
5. Test sign-in and ad edge cases
Run through a complete play session on each target device, checking loading, controls, screen fit and instructions. Fix problems before uploading rather than relying on review to find them.
Serve the build over HTTP, not file://. Test anonymous play because automatic sign-in is unavailable outside a Y8 page. Show save errors visibly rather than silently losing progress.
Localhost needs no sign-in origin setup. Register LAN, mobile or tunnel addresses in Development Origins when testing sign-in; entries expire after 30 days. https://docs.y8.com/sdk/local-development/ https://docs.y8.com/studio/sdk-initialization/
Check that dismissing a rewarded ad grants nothing, watching one grants exactly the promised reward, and a skipped or capped request leaves the player able to continue. Draft/review interstitials and banners automatically use house/test ads; real ads follow approval and release, with separate banner approval.
6. Upload the build and work through review
Open Builds for your game. The photographed form shows a ZIP drop zone and Upload Build button. Match Game scaling to your build: 'Adapts to any size or aspect ratio' or 'Scales to fit a set aspect ratio'. Development Version and Patch Notes sit above Add draft build; Request Review is a separate step, not publication. Upload the same build you tested, and retest after SDK or ad changes before requesting review. https://docs.y8.com/studio/overview/
Y8 reviews every game for loading, performance, browser and screen compatibility, gameplay, controls, instructions, SDK/ad integration and policy compliance. Read the game's Feedback tab, fix issues, upload a corrected build and submit again. Submission is not automatic publication.
7. Compare YMP and AFP before monetizing
Y8 states:
Developers receive 50% of eligible advertising revenue earned from in-game ads.
That is not a fixed payment per play or a promise that every ad request earns money.
| Route and verdict | Who pays you | Payment terms |
|---|---|---|
| Y8 Managed Partnership (YMP): choose Y8-managed payments. | Y8 manages ads and pays you. | 50% of eligible in-game ad revenue; minimum $100 PayPal or $500 bank transfer. |
| AdSense for Platforms (AFP): apply only if eligible. | Apply for or connect Google AdSense through Y8; Google pays directly. | Check applicable AFP/Google terms, not YMP payment minimums. |
Published share and YMP payment minimums: https://developer.y8.com/
AFP eligibility is not approval. Under YMP, balances below the payment threshold carry forward.
8. Monitor revenue and request payment
Monitor your Revenue Report yourself. For direct Y8 payments, you need a valid invoice. Y8 normally processes an eligible payment within 10 business days after accepting a complete, valid invoice, not simply after upload or publication. https://developer.y8.com/
Keep review questions in Feedback and use developers@y8.com for technical or payment issues. Publishing, serving an eligible ad and receiving a payment are separate steps, so track each rather than assuming one guarantees the next.
Y8 is a Gold sponsor of Slapjam.