GamesDiscord and Telegram games playbook
Outpost lays out each platform's verification and discovery requirements for your Discord Activity, Telegram Mini App or Reddit game, then drafts posts for communities that actually play together. Receipts for every step, $0 extra spend.
01 · DISCOVERY
Players rarely search for these games. They join because a friend launched one in a server, a group chat or a subreddit. Discord surfaces verified Activities through its App Directory and discovery surfaces; Telegram lists main Mini Apps in the Apps tab of search and may feature those that accept Telegram Stars in its Mini App Store; Reddit's Devvit games run inside subreddits. The first players come from communities the developer seeds directly, and growth comes from each play session exposing the game to everyone in the room.
Someone launches the game in a shared space, others join without installing anything, and the group decides in a session or two whether it becomes a regular thing. Monetization comes later through platform payment systems: Discord premium apps, Telegram Stars for digital goods, and Reddit's Gold and Developer Funds. Social features (invites, shared progress, turn notifications) decide whether one session becomes many.
02 · CHANNELS
Ranked 5 (essential) to 1 (optional) by the research for this industry.
Unverified Activities can only launch in servers with fewer than 25 members. Verified Activities can be played in any server and can enable discovery once they meet Discord's content and policy requirements, including a public privacy policy and terms.
Setting a main Mini App adds a 'Launch app' button and lists the bot in the Apps tab of search. Digital goods must be sold in Telegram Stars or Telegram cannot show the Mini App to mobile users, and Stars-accepting apps may be featured in the Mini App Store.
Devvit Web games run inside subreddits with free hosting, and developers can earn through Reddit Gold and Developer Funds. A game that fits a subreddit's culture can become part of that community's routine.
Your own Discord server, showcase servers and gaming communities provide the first sessions. Server owners who adopt the game become its distribution.
r/WebGames and itch.io pages give a playable web version visibility outside the chat apps, if your distribution deals allow it.
BUSINESS MODEL · LIVE
The same channel can be a strong fit for a paid game and a poor one for a free one. Each line below is a rule or rating from Outpost's knowledge base, with its source; your own plan is built from your answers.
HTML5 (browser-played) games on itch.io can only take donations; to sell access the project must be set to Downloadable.
itch.io offers three pricing modes per project: no payments, $0-or-donate (a suggested donation that can be skipped), and paid with the set price as a minimum that buyers may exceed.
Reddit Devvit games can sell in-game items priced in Reddit Gold after meeting eligibility, completing verification and accepting the Earn Terms; every product is reviewed by the Developer Platform team during app review; no rule on paid random items was found.
itch.io's quality guidelines tell creators to avoid sponsored installers and ads that block play until the player acts, and itch never puts ads on creator pages.
Discord apps and Activities can sell durable and consumable one-time items and user or server (guild) subscriptions; a Discord developer support article reportedly requires that, from 7 Oct 2024, paid features in supported regions also be offered through Premium Apps (price-parity wording not re-read).
itch.io has no general in-game purchase system; its 'sub-products' API sells add-ons through itch's checkout for redemption on the developer's own site or service.
Telegram Mini App games must sell digital goods only in Telegram Stars, or Telegram will hide the app from mobile users.
Apple Arcade games are played by subscribers without ads or in-app purchases, so an ad- or IAP-funded design does not fit Arcade.
On Apple's stores, credits or in-game currency bought through in-app purchase may not expire, and unlocking features, game levels or in-game currency must use in-app purchase, except where Apple's link-out entitlements (3.1.1(a)) apply or on the United States storefront, where buttons and external links to other purchase methods are allowed (Guideline 3.1.1).
Discord Activities launch on web/desktop by default; iOS and Android must be enabled in the portal, and mobile builds should respect Discord safe-area insets, with orientation locks (portrait, landscape, unlocked) set through the SDK or portal defaults.
Discord Activities route all network traffic through the Discord proxy: external URLs must be configured as URL mappings (requests to unmapped hosts fail with blocked:csp), only WebSockets are supported for realtime (no WebRTC, no WebTransport yet), and cookies must be scoped to {clientId}.discordsays.com with SameSite=None Partitioned.
A Discord Activity is a developer-hosted single-page web app in an iframe that must use the Embedded App SDK, and user authentication needs the developer's own server to exchange the OAuth code for an access token.
Appearing in Discord's App Directory and App Launcher requires the team owner to complete identity and app verification and meet the Discovery criteria listed in the Developer Portal; verification also unlocks monetization.
Read from Outpost's knowledge base on Nov 8, 2026; every line links its source.
03 · YOUR FIRST MONTH
A sample month. Your own plan is built from your audit, stage and goal, and paid options only ever appear as optional boosts.
Week 1 · days 1–7
Week 2 · days 8–14
Week 3 · days 15–21
Week 4 · days 22–30
04 · WHERE TO BE LISTED
Costs are as published by each destination when the research was reviewed; check before you pay for anything.
docs.discord.com
Games that run as iframes inside Discord voice and text channels; verified apps can enable discovery.
Free to build; monetization needs a verified team in the US, EU or UK and $100 earned before first payout
core.telegram.org
Web apps inside Telegram, launched from bots, links and the Apps tab.
Free; digital goods must use Telegram Stars
developers.reddit.com
Games that run inside subreddits with free hosting.
Free; earnings via Reddit Gold and Developer Funds
discord.com
Your own server plus developer and showcase servers for first sessions.
reddit.com
Visibility for a playable web version, where your deals allow it.
itch.io
A home page and HTML5 build for players outside the chat apps.
PC STORES · LIVE
For PC games already on Steam: what Epic offers and asks, from Epic's own pages where they could be read.
Epic Games Store developers keep 100% of the first US$1M net revenue per product per calendar year (resetting each 1 January from 2026, applied automatically), then 88/12.
Epic First Run is an opt-in 6-month Epic-exclusive window paying 100% net revenue; it is open only to new games not previously released on another third-party PC store, and afterwards the standard 100%-of-first-US$1M then 88/12 terms apply.
Epic lets games use their own or a third-party payment solution for in-app purchases, keeping up to 100% of that revenue.
Epic requires multiplayer games sold on other PC stores to support crossplay with them, and products added to its publishing tools after 9 March 2023 to enable Epic achievements if they offer achievements on other PC stores.
Listing on Epic Games Store is paid. $100 per product plus local taxes; not refundable but recouped after $1,000 on EGS. Developer keeps 100% of the first $1M net revenue per product per year (resets every Jan 1 from 2026), then 88/12, applied automatically to Epic-processed payments. A separate opt-in 'Epic First Run' gives 100% for a 6-month exclusive. Free alternative: itch.io or the Microsoft Store PC path (free)
05 · SEARCH DEMAND
Primary search
discord activities
720searches a month
DataForSEO Google Ads, US/en, Oct 2026: 720/mo. Related: 'discord games' 2,900/mo, 'telegram games' 2,400/mo.
Comparing: show why you
Learning: answer with guides
Learning: answer with guides
Ready to act: make it easy
06 · AVOID
Unverified Discord Activities can only launch in servers with fewer than 25 members, which caps growth at small friend groups. Verify before you promote.
Telegram requires digital goods to be sold in Stars and says it cannot display non-compliant bots or Mini Apps to mobile users.
Poki's web-exclusive terms count Discord and YouTube Playables as web. A portal deal can block your Discord plans, or the other way round.
These platforms spread through shared sessions. A single-player game with no invite moment gets played once and forgotten.
07 · WHAT OUTPOST DOES
Lays out Discord verification and discovery requirements, Telegram's Mini App setup and Devvit terms, and what each asks of you
Drafts the listing text each platform requires from your confirmed facts, for you to paste in
Prepares posts for communities that play together, within each one's rules, for you to post, with a receipt once each is live
Flags conflicts between platform plans and portal exclusivity before you sign anything
Publishes a page for your game on your own site, so searchers and AI assistants can find it outside the platform
Every action Outpost takes gets a receipt: the live URL, a timestamp and what it drove, or “nothing yet”.See how receipts work
08 · QUESTIONS
Unverified Activities can only launch in servers with fewer than 25 members. After verification they can be played in any server and can enable discovery.
Once all requirements are met and you enable discovery, Discord says it can take up to 30 hours for the Activity to appear on discovery surfaces.
Not for digital goods. Telegram requires digital goods and services to be paid in Telegram Stars, and says non-compliant Mini Apps cannot be shown to mobile users.
Setting a main Mini App lists your bot in the Apps tab of search, and bots with a main Mini App that accept Stars may be featured in the Mini App Store. There is no guaranteed path to featuring.
Yes. Devvit Web games run inside subreddits with free hosting, and developers can earn through Reddit Gold and Developer Funds. Terms change by half-year, so check the current ones.
The one where your players already spend time together. Discord suits friend groups in voice; Telegram suits large chat communities and mobile-first audiences; Reddit suits games built around a subreddit's interest.
Often yes, as a second store once your Steam page is working, if your game meets Epic's rules: Epic Games Store developers keep 100% of the first US$1M net revenue per product per calendar year (resetting each 1 January from 2026, applied automatically), then 88/12. Epic First Run is an opt-in 6-month Epic-exclusive window paying 100% net revenue; it is open only to new games not previously released on another third-party PC store, and afterwards the standard 100%-of-first-US$1M then 88/12 terms apply. Epic lets games use their own or a third-party payment solution for in-app purchases, keeping up to 100% of that revenue. Epic requires multiplayer games sold on other PC stores to support crossplay with them, and products added to its publishing tools after 9 March 2023 to enable Epic achievements if they offer achievements on other PC stores. Listing on Epic Games Store is paid. $100 per product plus local taxes; not refundable but recouped after $1,000 on EGS. Developer keeps 100% of the first $1M net revenue per product per year (resets every Jan 1 from 2026), then 88/12, applied automatically to Epic-processed payments. A separate opt-in 'Epic First Run' gives 100% for a 6-month exclusive. Free alternative: itch.io or the Microsoft Store PC path (free) Epic First Run is irreversible for its six months, so Outpost asks you to confirm it before planning it.
10 · EVIDENCE
Every fact on this page comes from one of these sources.
Unverified Activities limited to servers under 25 members; verified Activities playable anywhere and eligible for discovery; up to 30 hours to appear
Discovery limited to verified apps; public privacy policy and terms required; content restrictions
Verified app, team in US, EU or UK, $100 before first payout (registry)
Launch methods, main Mini App and Apps tab listing, Stars-accepting apps may be featured in the Mini App Store
Digital goods must be paid in Stars or the app cannot be shown to mobile users (registry)
Devvit Web games, free hosting, earnings via Gold and Developer Funds (registry)
Reddit ran a 2026 game development hackathon with Phaser (registry)
Discord and YouTube Playables count as web in exclusive deals (registry)
Last reviewed . Search volume: DataForSEO Google Ads, US/en, Oct 2026: 720/mo. Related: 'discord games' 2,900/mo, 'telegram games' 2,400/mo.
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