Game Jolt adds a Marketplace after 7 years onlineMay 15(AZINS) Well known as a hive of independent game-making activity, community site Game Jolt is now adding a marketplace. So what's already on Game Jolt, when did PewDiePie get involved, and how is its new store different from all the rest?

Providing a home for "the best, the weirdest, and the most interesting" free video games since 2008, Game Jolt has been a portal for everything from the fearlessly experimental -- alien city explorer "Bernband," train station art museum "Off-Peak," and desert pilgrimage "Sandstorm" among its best -- through to a cornucopia of fan homages inspired by recent hits "Five Nights at Freddy's" and "Undertale."

Generating enthusiasm for games and game-making wherever it can be found, whether on the site itself or elsewhere, Game Jolt has also become known for its frequent game jams or informal game development sessions.

And while a lack of commercial self-promotion has kept Game Jolt relatively undiscovered, it's attracted some high-profile attention over a seven-year span.

YouTube king Felix Kjellberg joined in for November 2014 game jam Indies vs PewDiePie, where community votes determined which entries were played by Pewds and co for their tens of millions of fans.

And Scott Cawthon, "Five Nights at Freddy's" developer, picked Game Jolt as the ultimate destination for his fervently awaited 2016 spin-off "FNaF World."

Now, having fostered a friendly community of makers and players, Game Jolt is adding a suite of storefront tools. "It all falls short if developers can't support themselves doing the thing they love," site founder David DeCarmine had said in April.

Game makers already have a clutch of options when it comes to selling their work -- the Apple and Android app stores; PC gaming sites like Steam, Humble, and Itchio -- but Game Jolt's marketplace means they don't have to move elsewhere until they really want to.

Two particular features help the new marketplace stand out.

First, and while encouraging a "pay what you want" model for players, developers can also choose how much of a percentage Game Jolt takes from any sales.

Fellow indie specialist Itchio did the same in 2015, but Game Jolt is ensuring its cut is both entirely optional and capped at 10% -- a stark contrast to the 30% levied by bigger stores.

Secondly, it's encouraging developers to be part of a virtuous circle: developers can cash out at any time, but spending store revenue on other games results in a direct payment to the other developer -- no further processing fees of any kind.

"This is an industry we all help to create," DeCarmine had said. "I'm really excited about the possibilities this will bring!"