Ad Policy

RetiPie exists so that indie games can reach a real audience without their creators also having to become ad-ops engineers. Games on RetiPie ship clean: no bundled ad SDKs, no trackers, no surprise scripts.

This page is the policy: what's blocked, what's allowed, and why — so there are no surprises during review.

The rule

• Not allowed: any third-party ad network SDK, tracking pixel, analytics library, tag manager, or network call whose purpose is advertising or tracking.
• Allowed: the first-party RetiPie SDK, which the platform injects into every game automatically.

There's no configuration step for the SDK — it's already there in every game. You either call it or you don't. (The SDK's ads namespace isn't active yet; platform monetization will be announced separately. This policy applies regardless.)

Why

Player experience. Players come to RetiPie because games load fast, play clean, and don't surprise them with random ad formats. If one creator ran a popup-heavy integration and another ran a forced video SDK, the feed would feel inconsistent and retention would drop for everyone. The platform enforces a uniform experience so each creator's game benefits from the shared trust.

One consistent platform. Monetization, consent, and fraud protection are platform concerns, handled once at the platform level — not re-implemented differently inside every game. When monetization launches, it runs through the platform, and creators benefit without integrating anything themselves.

Security. Third-party ad scripts are a common malware vector — they can inject popups, redirect to phishing sites, or exfiltrate data. The platform blocks that class of attack at the network layer.

What the upload scanner blocks

Anything whose job is advertising or tracking. Common examples:

• Ad network SDKs (Google AdSense, AdMob, Unity Ads, ironSource, etc.)
• Tracking pixels (Facebook Pixel, Google Analytics, etc.)
• Analytics libraries (Mixpanel, Amplitude, Hotjar, Segment, etc.)
• Tag managers (Google Tag Manager, etc.)
• Scripts that load from known ad or tracker domains

If the scanner finds any of these in your HTML or JavaScript at upload time, the upload is rejected with a specific reason. Fix and re-upload.

What works fine

• Your own game code
• Self-contained analytics that never leave your bundle
• Locally-bundled fonts, images, audio, 3D assets
• localStorage / IndexedDB for saves
• The RetiPie SDK itself

The policy targets the ad-tech ecosystem specifically. Regular game logic is untouched.

Technical enforcement

Runtime restrictions

Every game runs in a locked-down sandbox: external scripts don't load, outbound network calls are blocked, and nested iframes aren't allowed. Even if an ad script slipped past upload scanning, it couldn't phone home at runtime. See Game Requirements for the practical constraints.

Upload scanning

Every .html and .js file you upload is scanned against a block list of known ad/tracker patterns and domains. The scanner runs on direct uploads and inside ZIP extractions.

Calls to the RetiPie SDK (retipie.*) don't match any of those patterns — they're plain in-page function calls. Your SDK code passes the scanner without special handling.

FAQ

Can I use Google Analytics to track my own game metrics? Built-in analytics (plays, retention, engagement) are already in your creator dashboard. Third-party analytics scripts are blocked.

What about loading fonts or assets from a CDN? Bundle everything with your game. External resource loading is blocked at runtime, and a single-origin game loads faster anyway.

I had ads in my game on another platform. Do I need to rewrite it? Strip the third-party ad SDK before uploading — the scanner will reject the upload otherwise. Platform-side monetization options will be announced when they're available.

Can I add my own in-game purchases or tipping? Creator tipping is planned at the platform level. Direct third-party payment integrations are not allowed.

Why so strict? Consistent player experience is core to how the platform works. If half the games had custom ad and tracking setups, the platform's "one swipe away from any game" promise — fast loads, no surprises — would break down.