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Welcome to Publishing Your Game!

This guide will walk you through exporting and publishing your Summer Engine game. We’ve made it as straightforward as possible, with step-by-step instructions for each platform and distribution method.
New to game publishing? Start with macOS or Windows export, then publish to itch.io for your first release. It’s the easiest path to getting your game in players’ hands.

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Choose Your Path

Export for macOS

Build games for Mac computers (Intel & Apple Silicon)

Export for Windows

Build games for Windows PCs (the largest gaming market)

Publish to Steam

Release on the world’s largest PC gaming platform

Publish to itch.io

Quick indie game releases with no approval process

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Supported Platforms

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Desktop (Most Common)

  • ✅ Windows - Largest PC gaming market
  • ✅ macOS - Growing market, especially with Apple Silicon
  • ✅ Linux - Includes Steam Deck support

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Mobile

  • ✅ Android - Google Play Store + third-party stores
  • ✅ iOS - App Store (requires Apple Developer account)

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Web

  • ✅ HTML5/WebAssembly - Play in browser (itch.io, Newgrounds, your website)

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Consoles

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Before You Start

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1. First-Time Setup (5 minutes)

You need to enable texture compression for your target platforms. This is a one-time setup per project. Go to: Project → Project Settings → Rendering → Textures → VRAM Compression Enable these formats based on where you’re releasing:
Publishing ToEnable This FormatWhy
Mac, iOS, AndroidImport ETC2 ASTCApple Silicon & mobile devices use this
Windows, LinuxImport S3TC BPTCPC graphics cards use this
BothEnable BOTH formatsMost common - covers all desktop platforms
Releasing on Steam to both Mac and Windows? Enable both ETC2 ASTC and S3TC BPTC. This is the most common setup for indie games.
What happens when you enable these?
  • Summer will reimport all your textures (takes 1-5 minutes depending on project size)
  • Project size increases slightly (~30-50% larger on disk)
  • Your game will run on those platforms without texture errors
Why aren’t these enabled by default?
  • Not every game needs every platform (web-only games don’t need either format)
  • Faster initial project setup for prototyping
  • Developer chooses based on target audience

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2. Test Your Game First!

Before exporting, make sure your game works properly in the editor:
  • Run through your game start-to-finish
  • Test all major features
  • Fix any errors in the Output console
Export doesn’t fix bugs - it packages your game as-is.

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Typical Publishing Workflow

Here’s the recommended order for releasing your first game:
1

Enable Texture Formats

Set up ETC2 ASTC and/or S3TC BPTC based on target platforms (one-time setup)
2

Export for Your Platform

Follow the guide for macOS or Windows
3

Test the Exported Build

Run your exported game on a different computer (not your dev machine) to catch issues
4

Publish to itch.io (Easiest)

Upload to itch.io - no approval process, instant publishing
5

Publish to Steam (Optional)

Submit to Steam - larger audience, more complex setup

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Quick Reference: What You Need for Each Platform

  • ✅ No approval process
  • ✅ No fees or revenue share (optional tip jar)
  • ✅ Upload and publish in minutes
  • ✅ Perfect for playtesting and indie releases
  • ❌ Smaller audience than Steam

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Steam

  • ✅ Largest PC gaming audience
  • ✅ Built-in achievements, cloud saves, workshop
  • ❌ Requires $100 Steam Direct fee (one-time per game)
  • ❌ Approval process (usually 1-3 days)
  • ❌ 30% revenue share

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Direct Download (Your Website)

  • ✅ 100% of revenue
  • ✅ Full control over distribution
  • ❌ Requires code signing to avoid security warnings
  • ❌ No built-in update system
  • ❌ Need to handle payments yourself

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Common Questions

No! Unlike vanilla Godot, Summer Engine includes export templates in the download.You should be able to export immediately after enabling texture compression formats.If you see “missing templates” errors, contact support - this shouldn’t happen.
Yes! Enable both ETC2 ASTC and S3TC BPTC, then create export presets for each platform.Export Mac, Windows, and Linux builds from the same project. Most Steam games do this.
Depends on where you’re releasing:
  • Steam: No - Steam handles signing for you
  • itch.io: No - players expect indie games unsigned
  • Direct download Mac: Yes - or users get “unidentified developer” warnings
  • Direct download Windows: Optional - prevents “unknown publisher” warnings
Typical sizes:
  • Small 2D game: 50-150 MB
  • Medium 3D game: 200-500 MB
  • Large 3D game: 500 MB - 2 GB
Summer Engine runtime is ~60MB. The rest is your assets (textures, audio, 3D models).
Console export requires official developer agreements with platform holders. See our Console Publishing Guide for details and recommended porting partners.

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Getting Help

Discord Community

Ask in #game-dev - friendly community ready to help!

X / Twitter

Tweet @SummerEngineCom for quick questions

Email Support

Technical export issues or publishing questions

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Next Steps

Ready to export? Pick your platform:

macOS Export Guide

Complete walkthrough for Mac builds

Windows Export Guide

Complete walkthrough for Windows builds

Publish to Steam

Upload your game to Steam

Publish to itch.io

Quick indie game publishing