The best game stores, according to hackers
6 game stores were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 3 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The three most recommended game stores with the badge. Each figure is 25 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Offline installers, no client required
Recommended for DRM-free games with offline installers you can download, back up and keep without a client, though critics cite strict curation, a smaller catalog and occasionally broken ownership promises.
DRM-free games store
People recommend itch.io as a DRM-free indie game store and a source of cheap game and art assets, and developers can publish there without setting up their own site or payments.
Cheap bundles with many games
People recommend Humble Bundle for cheap bundles of DRM-free games and e-books, with older titles that work well. Critics say the bundles have grown repetitive and less heartfelt.
All 6 game stores, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steam | 716 | 384 | 65% | 13 | 20 yrs45 owners | — |
| 2 | GOG | 250 | 49 | 84% | 12 | — | Approved |
| 3 | itch.io | 39 | 2 | 95% | 12 | — | Approved |
| 4 | Epic Games Store | 37 | 155 | 19% | 12 | — | — |
| 5 | Humble Bundle | 20 | 6 | 77% | 11 | — | Approved |
| 6 | PlayStation Store | 6 | 62 | 9% | 2 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same game store in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to game stores that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.