Developer & Publisher Guide

Welcome to the Aftermarket Games Developer & Publisher Guide!

Developer and publisher profiles help visitors discover the people and organisations behind new games for classic gaming systems.

Whether you're documenting an independent developer, a homebrew team or a publisher specialising in physical releases, your contributions help build a more complete catalogue.

You don't need to be the developer or publisher yourself to contribute. Reliable, publicly available information is welcome.

Developers and publishers: what's the difference?

Developers are the people, teams or organisations responsible for creating a game.

Publishers are responsible for publishing, distributing or bringing a game to market. This may include arranging physical production, digital distribution or marketing.

A developer may also publish its own games. In that case, the same person or organisation can appear as both the developer and publisher.

Please use the role that accurately reflects their involvement in each game.

Finding an existing profile

Before adding information, check whether the developer or publisher already appears in the catalogue.

You can explore existing entries through:

You may also find developer and publisher links on individual game pages.

Profiles can exist in the catalogue even when no additional information, description or image has been supplied.

Avoid creating duplicate names or profiles for organisations that are already listed.

Adding or editing developer information

To contribute information about a developer:

Register an account and confirm your email address.
Sign in to Aftermarket Games.
Find the developer through the catalogue or Developer Lookup.
Open the developer's page.
Select Add / Edit Developer Information.
Complete the available information fields.
Review the information and submit your changes.

If the developer is not yet listed, you may need to submit a game that identifies the developer before its catalogue entry becomes available.

Do not create a duplicate developer entry simply because the existing profile contains little information.

Adding or editing publisher information

The process for publishers is similar:

Sign in to your confirmed account.
Find the publisher through Publisher Lookup or a game's release information.
Open the publisher's page.
Select Add / Edit Publisher Information.
Complete the available information fields.
Review the details and submit your changes.

Remember that publishing and developing are different roles. A company may publish a game without having developed it.

Profile information

The developer or publisher's name is the essential identifying information.

Additional profile information may include:

Country: The country associated with the developer or publisher.
Website: An official website, where available.
Description: A short, factual introduction explaining the person's or organisation's activities.
Image or logo: A relevant image that helps identify the developer or publisher.

Only complete fields supported by the form. Fields not marked as required may be left blank.

Use the organisation's commonly recognised name and avoid unnecessary variations in spelling or formatting.

If a detail cannot be verified, it's better to leave it blank than to guess.

Writing a good profile description

Descriptions should be clear, concise and factual.

A useful description might explain:

Who the developer or publisher is.
What kind of games they create or publish.
Which classic gaming systems they work with.
Any relevant history or background supported by reliable sources.

Avoid promotional language, unsupported claims or copying large sections of text from other websites.

Example of a well-formatted description:

Example Retro Studio is an independent game developer creating new games for classic gaming systems. The studio focuses on original titles designed to run on original hardware.

This is a fictional example intended to demonstrate writing style.

Descriptions do not need to be lengthy. A short, accurate introduction is more useful than a detailed but unreliable biography.

Country information

Use a recognised country name rather than an abbreviation or informal nickname.

For example:

United States of America rather than USA.
United Kingdom rather than UK.
Australia rather than AU.

Use the country most clearly associated with the developer or publisher, where this can be verified.

Do not infer someone's nationality or location from their name, language or a website domain.

If the country is uncertain, leave the field blank.

Websites and external links

Where available, include the official website belonging to the developer or publisher.

Links should be relevant and lead to legitimate websites.

Prefer official websites or accounts over third-party profiles, unofficial listings or unrelated retailers.

Do not include links to piracy websites or unauthorised downloads.

If the form does not provide a field for a particular website or social media account, do not force that information into an unrelated field.

Images and logos

A relevant logo or image can make a developer or publisher profile easier to recognise.

When contributing images:

Prefer official logos or appropriate promotional material.
Use a clear image that displays well at smaller sizes.
Avoid unnecessarily large image files.
Preserve copyright notices and attribution where applicable.
Do not upload unrelated, misleading or clearly infringing images.
Use only material that you have permission or another lawful basis to share.

Logos and other artwork generally remain subject to the rights of their respective owners.

Displaying an image on Aftermarket Games does not make it freely available for others to reuse.

Important: Uploaded images may become publicly accessible before the associated profile changes are approved.

For further information, see our Disclaimers & Terms of Use.

Sources and accuracy

We encourage contributors to rely on publicly available, verifiable information.

Useful sources include:

Official developer and publisher websites.
Official social media announcements.
Game credits and documentation.
Crowdfunding campaign pages.
Interviews with the people involved.
Official release announcements and storefront listings.

Please avoid presenting speculation, assumptions or rumours as established facts.

Do not copy substantial amounts of text from other websites without appropriate permission.

If information is disputed or difficult to verify, provide a credible source or contact the website administrators for guidance.

Submissions and moderation

Aftermarket Games uses moderation to help maintain the accuracy and consistency of the catalogue.

Registered contributors' submissions may require review before publication.

Moderators can approve, reject or correct submissions where necessary.

Trusted users have additional publishing privileges, while moderators and administrators manage the review process.

Please check your information before submitting and avoid repeatedly submitting the same changes while awaiting review.

If information is incorrect or out of date, you're welcome to propose a correction.

Keeping profiles up to date

Developer and publisher information can change over time.

Websites may move, organisations may change names and new information may become available.

Where possible, update existing profiles rather than creating duplicates.

Preserving accurate names and relationships helps keep game listings and release information consistent throughout the catalogue.

Community guidelines

All contributions should follow the website's Disclaimers & Terms of Use and community guidelines.

Please respect the work of developers, publishers, artists and other contributors.

Profiles should provide useful information rather than serve primarily as advertisements.

We welcome contributions from developers and publishers documenting their own work, as well as enthusiasts researching the history of aftermarket gaming.

Questions, corrections and feedback

If you've found an error, have additional information or need help contributing to a profile, please visit our Contact page.

For information about submitting games, see the Contributor Guide.

Thank you for helping document the people and organisations keeping classic gaming systems alive!