GameDistribution for developers: SDK, 33% share, review and rules

GameDistribution (GD), run by Azerion, is a distribution network rather than a consumer portal. It hosts your HTML5 game and offers it to the publisher websites in its network, with ads served through its SDK. The Developer Guidelines describe that network as more than 2,000 publishers. It suits developers who want wide syndication without exclusivity and can live with a fixed revenue share and strict no-links, no-tracking rules. Sources: the Developer Terms (last updated 19 June 2025), guidelines, SDK docs and FAQ, read on 2026-09-30.

How submission and review work

You create a game in the Developer Admin, work through its submission checklist and click Request Activation (submitting your game). Before activation you must verify the SDK: open your uploaded game in the admin’s iframe view and watch a full test preroll. The SDK page says this approval can take up to two weeks.

The FAQ says approval can take up to 3 weeks, ending in activation or feedback. The Developer Guidelines put the initial assessment at typically up to one week. The selection criteria include working ads and IAP, originality, playability in major browsers, no data collection without consent, no tracking cookies, no outgoing links, and hosting on GD rather than in an iframe from your domain. Common decline reasons listed include bad ad placement, a broken SDK, bugs, unrepresentative thumbnails and a wrongly ticked Mobile Ready box.

Updates go through review again, up to two weeks, while the previous version stays live.

Technical requirements

The SDK is loaded by a snippet in your game or the <head> of index.html (SDK docs). As of 2026-09-30 the script at that URL identifies itself as version 1.43.58, built 18 June 2026.

window["GD_OPTIONS"] = {
  gameId: "YOUR_GD_GAME_ID",
  onEvent: function (event) {
    switch (event.name) {
      case "SDK_READY": sdkReady = true; break;
      case "SDK_GAME_PAUSE": pauseGame(); muteAudio(); break;   // ad about to play
      case "SDK_GAME_START": unmuteAudio(); resumeGame(); break; // ad finished
      case "SDK_REWARDED_WATCH_COMPLETE": grantReward(); break;
    }
  },
};
(function (d, s, id) {
  var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
  if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
  js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
  js.src = "https://html5.api.gamedistribution.com/main.min.js";
  fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
})(document, "script", "gamedistribution-jssdk");

// On a Play / Replay / Next button's mouseup or touchend.
// The official snippet checks `gdsdk.showAd !== 'undefined'`, which is always true;
// a typeof check does what its comment intends (skip if an ad blocker removed the SDK).
if (typeof gdsdk !== "undefined" && typeof gdsdk.showAd === "function") gdsdk.showAd();

Rules from the SDK page and getting-started FAQ: load the SDK once, before or during loading, never on a button press; trigger ads only after SDK_READY; pause and mute on SDK_GAME_PAUSE, since background audio under video ads is forbidden. A preroll and midrolls are mandatory for revenue. Show ads only after user input and outside gameplay; the SDK limits frequency, so calling showAd() on every non-gameplay button is fine. Rewarded ads use gdsdk.showAd('rewarded'), optionally preloaded with gdsdk.preloadAd('rewarded') (wiki); grant the reward only on SDK_REWARDED_WATCH_COMPLETE.

Platform rules from the guidelines and Terms:

• Built with Unity WebGL, JavaScript or Construct 2/3, HTTPS-ready; playable on desktop in Chrome, Firefox and Safari.
• GD hosts the game in full. Externally hosted or iframed games are refused except real multiplayer games.
• Responsive sizing is mandatory; 800×600 is the recommended iframe size (Developer Guidelines 3.3).
• No outgoing links for games submitted after 1 May 2021, and GD may block links through the SDK.
• The quality guidelines prohibit non-GD ads, personal data collection, Google Analytics or any analytics, contact details and heavy branding. Terms 2.6.8 also rule out in-game purchases and tracking software.
• English as the default language; sound (music, effects, UI sounds) is required.
• Mobile support is optional but prioritised. If you tick Mobile Ready, the game is tested on old and new Android and iOS devices and must work on all of them.

No size, file-count or loading-time limit is published, and nothing on service workers or SharedArrayBuffer.

Monetization and payouts

Terms 3.1 give the developer 33% of Net Revenue from in-game ads and purchases. Ad formats are prerolls, midrolls, rewarded video and optional display banners.

The payout rules differ between sources. The FAQ says a month’s invoice is created in the first week of the next month and paid before the end of the month after, with thresholds of €50 for PayPal and €100 for bank transfer. Terms 3.3 say payment follows within 60 days of the monthly report once your share reaches €100. Smaller amounts roll over in both. Payment details must be changed before the invoice is generated.

Exclusivity and rights

The Terms grant GD a worldwide non-exclusive licence (2.1), and the FAQ says you keep all rights. You may publish elsewhere; exclusive deals bring extra marketing but a higher quality bar, and their terms are not published. Two constraints: Terms 2.6.4 require the GD build to match your latest version elsewhere, and the preamble bars distributing these games through subscriptions, pay-to-own models or native apps. Either side can end the agreement with 30 days’ notice (7.1). Removing a game takes it off the GameDistribution site; GD notifies external publishers.

AI-generated content

GD addresses only deep fakes. Guidelines 1.5 and Terms 2.6.11 require clear disclosure when AI-generated or manipulated image, audio or video resembles real people, objects, places or events and could pass as authentic. Nothing else about AI assets or code is published. The IP rules still apply: you must hold rights to everything in the game and be able to prove it.

Before you submit

• GD_OPTIONS with your real gameId; SDK loaded once, early.
• Pause and mute on SDK_GAME_PAUSE, resume on SDK_GAME_START.
• Preroll on Play, midrolls on non-gameplay buttons, all from user input.
• Rewards granted only on SDK_REWARDED_WATCH_COMPLETE.
• No outbound links, analytics, other ad SDKs, tracking cookies or purchase UI.
• Responsive layout tested at 800×600; English default; sound present.
• Thumbnails at 512×512, 512×384 and 200×120 (spec); description and instructions of 200-500 characters each.
• Test preroll fully watched in the admin iframe.

The Portal Readiness Checker can check some of this locally: zip structure, size and file count, presence of the GD SDK and showAd calls, external URLs, service workers, SharedArrayBuffer use, viewport meta, touch handlers, audio before a user gesture and localStorage use.

What is not published

• Any size, file-count or first-load limit.
• The upload packaging format (zip layout, index.html location); the Developer Admin requires an account.
• Rules on service workers or cross-origin isolation.
• Revenue terms for exclusive deals.
• Which payout threshold and timing apply when the FAQ and Terms disagree.
• The rewarded-ads FAQ names gdsdk.show_rewarded_ad(), which does not appear in the cached SDK bundle; the GitHub wiki uses showAd('rewarded').