About Rune

What Is Rune?​

Rune is a social gaming app with millions of people playing games together across iOS and Android. Players can enjoy a variety of amazing multiplayer HTML5 games on Rune's voice chat, creating lasting memories and sharing laughs! Our mission is to make mobile gaming more social and enable indie game developers to get their games in the hands of millions of players.

What Are Rune’s Features?​

With Rune, you can build a multiplayer game that reaches millions, while letting us handle the complexity! Here’s some things you don't have to worry about if you use Rune:

• Netcode
• Hosting Servers
• Accounts & friends
• Voice chat
• Matchmaking
• Version Mismatches
• Conflict resolution
• Spectating

Who Are We?​

We’re a small passionate team who love making and playing games together. Rune was founded by Bjarke and Sanjay, who were doing their PhDs together at MIT, but thought it would be more fun to drop out and build something together instead. They decided to start Rune one night at Sanjay’s apartment while playing board games (we were playing Codenames if you’re curious).

What Is the Benefit of Submitting My Game to Rune?​

Rune has millions of players so you’ll get tons of people playing your game and giving you feedback. Building a game is fun, but having tons of people actually playing your game makes it 10x more fun. We promote your game for free on our social channels and also provide valuable analytics and use feedback on your game. And don’t forget the bragging rights — Rune shows that you created the game and displays your stats. Next time you meet your friends, you can show them how you built a game with millions of plays.

Do You Host Game Jams?​

Yes! We host fun community events for all indie game developers regardless of experience level. Some of these events will also have prizes. See announcements channel on Discord or follow us on Twitter for the latest game jam.

Does Rune Have Ads?​

We don't show any ads and don't have any upcoming plans to add ads.

How Does Rune Make Money / Stay Alive?​

We'll soon provide ways for you as a game developer to earn money on your game on Rune. When you start making revenue, we will take a small piece of it to cover server and development costs.

Does Your Platform Integrate With Blockchain or NFTs?​

We don't integrate with blockchain or NFTs and have no upcoming plans to do so.

Getting Started

Which Game Engines Does Rune Support?​

Your game logic must be written in JavaScript/TypeScript, but your rendering code can use any engine that exports to HTML5. This includes all JavaScript-based engines, Unity, Godot, Defold, and many others. If you don’t know how to use Rune with your favorite engine, just ask us!

Does Rune Host the Games?​

Yes, we host the games for free. The games are hosted and cached all over the world to ensure the games load super fast!

Should My Game Support Both Mobile and Desktop Input?​

You don’t have to worry about desktop input. Anyone opening a link to your game on desktop will be directed to play the mobile version.

Is There a Benefit to Uploading a Game to Rune Right Away?​

Yes, like other social apps, it’s a massive benefit to be early. If you upload your game early, it’ll be much easier for you to make an awesome game that goes viral! We will be promoting your game for free, both inside the app and on our social media channels.

How Much Does Rune Cost to Use?​

Rune is free for all players and game developers.

Is There Any Way to Monetize My Game Through Rune?​

We're working on ways to help indie game devs monetize, but want to make sure we do it right. For now, you can win cash prizes in our game jams. Later on there’ll be more opportunities to monetize your games on Rune.

Of course, anyone uploading their game early will have a huge head start in building a global hit game. We will be promoting your game for free, both inside the app and on our social media channels.

Game Content

How Do I Make the Best Possible Game on Rune?​

We’ve talked with a lot of players in the Rune community and accumulated their feedback in Best Practices. Make sure to check it out!

How Do You Handle Inappropriate Content?​

We want to let you unleash your creativity while still avoiding content that's inappropriate for the players in the Rune community. We will make our own policy in the future, but until then we're following the Google Play Store Policy. For now, please make sure that your game adheres to Google’s guidelines on “Inappropriate Content”.

How Do I Report DMCA-Infringing Content?​

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") allows copyright holders or their agents to notify Rune about material they believe infringes upon their copyrights and ask Rune to remove it. You can see all the details on how to report DMCA-infringing content in our page on DMCA Notices.

Can I Use Network Requests / External Resources?​

Your game should not use any network requests or external resources. Avoiding these protect player privacy/security and guarantees that your game will keep running even if some external servers get shutdown.

Uploading and Managing Games

How Do I Upload My Game?​

See Publishing docs. We'll keep improving the upload and update process with a focus on making it as easy as possible for you to upload and update your game!

What Is the Size Limit?​

Your game should be below 25MB when unzipped. It’s worth making your game as small as possible to make it load faster for your players!

You'd be impressed with what can be done in under 25MB. Just take a look at all the amazing games on the Rune platform or the open-source example games!

Who Makes the Game Logo and What Should It Look Like?​

You can upload your own logo or we can help you make one. The logo should be a PNG with 600×600 pixels resolution, no transparency, and no text. You can see examples of the awesome game logos in Rune’s Explore tab and on the player profiles. If you’d like, we would love to help you for free make an amazing logo for your game!

How Long Does It Take for My Game to Be Reviewed?​

We'll try to do our best to review your game quickly and it should normally take less than 2-3 weekdays.

Sharing Playtesting Links​

In case you want other devs to help you playtest your game, you can upload your game to get a playtest link that you can share with them. This link will work even before the game has been reviewed.

Can I Upload My Game to Other Platforms Than Rune?​

Definitely. It's your game and you can do whatever you like with it.

Can I Upload More Than One Game to Rune?​

Yes! You can upload as many games as you like to Rune.

Can I Remove My Game From Rune?​

Yes, you're always free to remove your game whenever you'd like. It's your game.

Support and Help

I Have a Question / Have Suggestions for a New Feature. How Do I Reach You?​

We’d love to hear from you! Let us know what you think in the feedback-for-rune channel on our Discord.

You can also always contact us at [email protected].