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Question about the asset pack delivery (Why the deadline archive?)

A topic by diversant329 created 29 days ago Views: 138 Replies: 4
Viewing posts 1 to 3
Submitted(+1)

Hi!

I have a quick question/feedback regarding the asset pack email sent by the hosts. Why are we still using a temporary ZIP archive with a strict expiration date that forces everyone to rush and download it immediately?

It's 2026 - wouldn't it be much easier to just send direct links to the asset store pages (like itch.io or Unity Asset Store)? That way, we could simply click "Claim" or add them to our libraries to use whenever we need them, without cluttering our local drives during the jam crunch.

Ironically, one of the "assets" inside the zip was literally just a text file containing a link to the creator's itch.io page anyway.

Wouldn't direct store links be a much better approach for future jams? What do you guys think?

Host

This would require us to give out individual keys for each person that would like to get them. That's a bit harder to determine delivery and such. While it sounds like a good idea, there's a lot more that goes into it.

Submitted

In case you missed - responded in the main thread 9 days ago. Thanks!

Submitted(+1)

Thanks for the reply! Just to clarify, I totally understand that managing thousands of individual keys would be a logistical nightmare - but that’s actually not how most asset platforms handle jam bundles.

Here is how other major platforms and jams usually set this up without needing individual keys:

  • Itch.io (Claim Links / Universal Coupons): Creators can generate a single universal promo link or a 100% discount code for the bundle. Anyone with the link/code can click "Claim" and permanently bind the asset to their itch.io account. (This is likely what Anokolisa did).*
  • Unity Asset Store / FAB / Unreal Engine Marketplace: Sponsors typically provide a single event promo code (e.g., JAM2026DISCOUNT) for a 100% discount at checkout, or temporarily set the asset price to free for users registering through a specific jam page link.*
  • Gumroad / Distro platforms: A single universal discount code or a custom claim URL can grant 100% off instantly.*

This approach saves bandwidth for the hosts, ensures developers always have access to the latest updates of the assets, and prevents people from losing files when temporary download links expire.

If needed, it might be worth reaching out to the itch.io support team or the sponsors (like Cyberwave Orchestra and Just Create or Anokolisa) - they often already have these promo link / coupon workflows ready for events like this!

P.S. Just asking out of curiosity - had you considered claim links/coupons before, or was the original answer just assuming we meant generated 1-to-1 keys?

Host(+1)

We are looking into other ways to distribute the freebies. Thanks for the information! We're always planning a different approach for our next jam in December.