Portal exclusivity terms compared for HTML5 games

Exclusivity decides which portals you can combine for one game, and in what order. This page compares what each of the eight options on this site publishes as of 2026-10-01. It describes published terms only; your signed agreement overrides any of it, and none of this is legal advice. For the portals’ other numbers, see the comparison table.

Summary

Option	Default	Exclusive option	Scope of exclusivity
Poki	Web-exclusive deal, 5 years by default (indicative)	Default; non-exclusive flat fee for games already on other web platforms	Open web, Discord, YouTube Playables; not Steam, app stores, consoles
CrazyGames	Non-exclusive (Terms 3.1)	Opt-in, 2 months after Full Launch, +50% compensation (5.5)	Browser game websites; not Steam or app stores
GameDistribution	Non-exclusive licence (Terms 2.1)	Exclusive deal with extra marketing, higher quality bar	Not published
GameMonetize	No requirement stated	Exclusive deals with higher eCPM offered	Not published
Y8	Non-exclusive; publishing elsewhere allowed	Separate exclusive agreement mentioned in the terms	Not published
itch.io	Non-exclusive licence	None published	Not applicable
YouTube Playables	No clause published	Not published	Not published
H5 Games Ads	No clause; ads product on your own site	Not applicable	Not applicable

Poki: web exclusivity is the default

Poki calls web exclusivity its preferred deal. On the open web the game is published only on Poki; Discord and YouTube Playables count as web because they run HTML5 in a browser. Steam, mobile app stores and consoles stay outside the deal. Exclusive deals run 5 years by default, and Poki marks the term, revenue share and investment as indicative, with the real terms set in your agreement (deal types). The overview page states the consequence plainly: no publishing the same game on other web portals or aggregators (working with Poki).

If a game is already on other web platforms, or Poki sees only a niche or short-term fit, Poki can offer a one-time flat licence fee instead, with no revenue share and without the exclusive deal’s marketing investment (deal types).

CrazyGames: non-exclusive, with a paid window

The terms grant CrazyGames a non-exclusive right to publish the game, and let you opt in to exclusivity for higher compensation (Terms 3.1). The opt-in window is two months after the Full Launch release date; the game must be hosted by CrazyGames, and compensation rises by 50% for those two months only. Exclusivity here means the sole right among browser gaming websites; Steam and the Apple and Google app stores are excluded. CrazyGames monitors compliance and can reduce compensation if it decides the conditions were not met (Terms 5.5, PDF). See Basic Launch vs Full Launch for when that date arrives.

Two non-exclusivity rules still bite. Compensation requires a game with no branding of another browser game portal (Terms 5.3), and CrazyGames does not iframe games hosted by competing portals (FAQ). Its FAQ also says games already live elsewhere are welcome if you hold the distribution rights, and that you keep full ownership (FAQ).

GameDistribution: non-exclusive, but syndicated

The licence is worldwide and non-exclusive, with the right to sublicense, to distribute the game through GD’s platform, publisher properties, applications and other platforms (Terms 2.1, developer terms). In practice the game reaches third-party sites, not one portal. Exclusive deals exist on request, with extra marketing and a higher quality bar (FAQ).

Two clauses matter for multi-portal work. The GD version must stay identical to the latest version you publish anywhere else (Terms 2.6.4), so updates have to ship there too. The agreement runs indefinitely with 30 days’ notice from either side (Terms 7.1). Deactivating a game removes it from the GameDistribution website, and GD contacts its external publishers (removal FAQ).

GameMonetize, Y8 and itch.io: non-exclusive

• GameMonetize offers exclusive deals with higher eCPM for exclusive games (SDK page). No page states that exclusivity is required, and no developer terms defining licence scope or duration were found.
• Y8 accepts games already published elsewhere and lets you keep publishing elsewhere (developer FAQ). Its site terms license submitted content to Y8 on a non-exclusive, sublicensable, perpetual, worldwide basis, unless a separate exclusive agreement is signed (terms, last modified July 2022).
• itch.io takes a worldwide, non-exclusive licence that ends within a commercially reasonable time after you remove the content. Users keep a perpetual licence to content they already obtained (terms, section 4).

YouTube Playables and H5 Games Ads

The public Playables docs contain no exclusivity clause. The Developer Portal is in private preview, by invitation, and may require additional agreements whose terms are not public (Developer Portal). Trust and safety rules forbid duplicate uploads or builds substantially identical to Playables already on YouTube (trust and safety); that rule is about copies within Playables, not other portals.

H5 Games Ads has no exclusivity terms. Whoever hosts the game document controls the AdSense tag, monetization settings and payments (payments). It fits alongside non-exclusive portals on your own site; under a Poki web-exclusive deal, the deal-types page does not say whether your own site counts as another web platform.

What this means for multi-portal publishing

• Decide on Poki first. A web-exclusive Poki deal rules out every other web option above, YouTube Playables included. A game already live on other web platforms falls under Poki’s non-exclusive flat-fee offer instead.
• CrazyGames’ window is a timing decision. Opting in means no other browser gaming website for two months after Full Launch, and CrazyGames hosting. The terms exclude Steam and app stores but do not list which sites count as browser gaming websites.
• Syndication spreads the game. GameDistribution and GameMonetize distribute games to publisher sites you do not control. GD’s removal FAQ says deactivation removes the game from the GameDistribution website and that GD notifies its external publishers; it does not promise removal from their sites.
• Keep builds in step. GameDistribution’s parity clause expects feature updates everywhere at once; plan per-portal builds from one codebase, as in one codebase, many portal builds.
• Non-web platforms stay open. Poki and CrazyGames both leave Steam and app stores out of their exclusivity.

How to use this

1. Decide whether you are pursuing a Poki deal before releasing on any other web portal.
2. If you plan to opt in to CrazyGames exclusivity, hold other browser releases until two months after Full Launch.
3. Before signing any exclusive deal, ask for the scope in writing: own site, Discord, YouTube Playables, aggregators.
4. Track which version is live on each portal so a GameDistribution update is not left behind.

What is not published

GameDistribution, GameMonetize and Y8 do not publish the terms of their exclusive deals. GameMonetize publishes no developer terms at all that were found. YouTube Playables’ additional agreements are private. Poki’s 5-year term is described as indicative. Where a portal is silent, assume nothing and ask before you sign.