Release Date - twitchtv/igdb-contribution-guidelines GitHub Wiki

Release Date

A release date is the date that a game becomes playable for the very first time to the general public (according to platform and regions). We’ll always go with the earliest date first, (for example beta, early access or game preview), as long as they’re playable by everyone.

If a game is available to the general public, it should be possible for consumers to rate and review it.

‘Closed Betas’ and ‘Alpha Play Tests’ may not fit into these categories. The same goes for ‘Limited Time Releases’.

Please note that 'Edition specific' release dates should be added to the page for that edition only.

Currently we do not accept release dates for games being released via a subscription service unless it’s also released as a separate title.

Examples: Yakuza 0 being playable on Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass or Super Mario Bros. 3 being playable on Nintendo Switch via Nintendo Switch Online.

Platform

A platform is either the name of the console or the operating system of a computer or a mobile device.

Example: Spore has been released for Microsoft Windows (PC) and Mac, each with their individual release date info.

Date

The release date can be found from official channels such as the publisher’s or developer’s website. Keeping this blank will default to TBA (To Be Announced).

Status

Prior to its full release, a game often has more than one status during the development. These statuses typically have varying dates depending on when the game's information is accessible to the general public. We are able to track the progress of various statuses via our release dates. The definitions for each status are listed below:

Alpha

This date should be when the game was released in its alpha status to a limited public. When a game is in this status, it is playable but generally lacks a lot of features.

Beta

This date should be when the game was released in Beta, meaning it is still in the early phases but has gotten further along than Alpha. Though it generally would have bugs and features that are not fully developed.

Canceled

This date should be the date the game’s development was canceled. Read more about what makes a canceled game here.

Early Access

This date reflects when the game was publicly released. Usually a game in Early Access is incomplete in its features but playable. This stage can run in parallel with the Alpha and Beta stages.

Advanced Access

This date reflects the availability of the game to players that have pre-ordered or purchased a specific edition. This date should be added to the parent game of editions. The edition itself should have a full release date matching the advanced access date.

For example, Starfield had an advanced access release if you preordered the premium edition. In this case Starfield would have an advanced access release of Sept. 1, 2024 and a full release of Sept. 6, 2024. The premium edition would have a full release date of Sept. 1, 2024.

⚠️ Advanced Access is not the same as Early Access. Please make sure when you are adding an Advanced Access release that it follows along with our guidelines.

Full Release

This date reflects when the game was fully released in completion. This is typically the date that most stores and official websites will list as release date.

Offline

This is the date the game’s servers were shut down and the game became unavailable to play.

Digital Compatibility Release

This date would apply to digitally purchasable games from the previous console of the same family with no notable changes or enhancements to them and that are otherwise playable with backwards compatibility. The intent is to track that a game became purchasable for that particular console without owning a physical copy/digital license to play on the previous console.

Some examples include:

Digital PS1 games on PS3 and PSP
PS2 Classics on PS3
Digital Wii games on Wii U
Digital Original Xbox games on 360 and XBONE
Digital 360 games on XBONE*

⚠️ Digital Compatibility Release DOES NOT apply to services such as Nintendo Switch Online or PS Plus. It also DOES NOT apply to situations where the digital license and store page from the previous generation remained available on the next generation such as digital PS4 games on PS5 or Digital PS1 and PSP games on PS Vita.

*360 games were not initially backwards compatible with Xbox One, nor were they made compatible all at once, which is why we allow Digital Compatibility Release dates for digital 360 releases on Xbox One.

Next-Gen Optimization Patch Release

This date would apply to games that received a patch to perform better on next-generation hardware without getting a native release.

Examples:

Assassin's Creed Odyssey received a patch to make it run at 60 frames per second on Xbox Series and PS5. While it does not have native version for those platforms, we would track the date this patch was released for those platforms with the “Optimization Patch Release” status.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners received a patch to add graphical enhancements on Meta Quest 3, so we would track the date this patch was released for those platforms with the “Optimization Patch Release” status.
Super Mario Odyssey is getting a patch to improve resolution and add HDR. As it is not getting a Switch 2 store page or native release, we would track the date this patch was released for those platforms with the “Optimization Patch Release” status.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order got a patch for the PS4 and Xbox One versions to perform better on PS5 and Xbox Series. It also got a native release on PS5 and Xbox Series at a later date. We would track the date of the performance patch with the “Optimization Patch Release” status, as well as the date of the native release with the “Full Release” status.
The Last of Us Part II got a patch for the PS4 version to perform better on PS5, but also got a paid upgrade path at a later date to get The Last of Us Part II: Remastered as a native PS5 game. We would track the date of the performance patch on PS5 with the “Optimization Patch Release” status, and we would track the release date of the Remaster on its own page with the status of “Full Release”.

Examples where this status would not apply:

Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics is getting a patch to support GameShare. However, as GameShare is a feature on both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, and no improvements are being made specific to playing on Nintendo Switch 2, we would not track a release date for Nintendo Switch 2.
Super Mario Party Jamboree requires a paid upgrade that adds new content to the Nintendo Switch 2 version. As this adds significant new content, we would not track the Nintendo Switch 2 date on the same page, and instead track it on an expanded game page over here - Super Mario Party Jamboree: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV
Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar requires a paid upgrade for the native Nintendo Switch 2 version. However, as this upgrade does not add any new content, only providing better performance and mouse controls, we would track it as a full release on the same IGDB page as the Nintendo Switch version.
We would not consider system-level FPS boost / Boost mode / Auto HDR improvements to warrant tracking a date for next-generation platforms, as no update was made to the game itself, and these are simply features of the backwards compatibility layer.
We would not consider a game performing better on a next-gen system “out of the box” to warrant tracking a date for next-generation platforms. This usually occurs when a framerate or resolution cap is not set, or is set higher than can be achieved on original hardware, resulting in some extra performance when running through backwards compatibility.

No status

You can leave this field empty if you're unsure about the status of a release date.

Note: Leaving the release date field blank will default to TBA (To Be Announced).

Please be aware that our general tab’s status field differs from the status by release dates. The the status in general shows information around the present state of the game (example: Game A is currently in Early Access, previously released as an open beta). This section can also show information on games that have been canceled across all platforms. For status by release dates, the status is specifically around a date for a platform and not for the entire game.

Additionally, we can track multiple dates with different statuses on any particular platform, so please do not remove existing dates when a game changes status. As an example, when an early access game gets a full release, we want to track both the early access release date and full release date.

Region

Select the region for this particular release. When unsure it is best to keep it blank (default).

On IGDB, we support the following regions:

Worldwide (WW)
Europe (EU)
North America (NA)
Australia (AU)
New Zealand (NZ)
Japan (JP)
China (CH)
Asia (AS)
Korea (KR)
Brazil (BR)

Re-Releases

For emulated games with enough new features and enhancements to set them apart from the original releases, we would create a new game page.

Example: Arcade Archive games such as Arcade Archives: Frogger, as well as enhanced PS1 games released for PS4 and PS5 with trophy support and other new features, such as Ape Escape.

Bundled Games

Games released for a particular platform on their own will have their standalone release date tracked and not the bundle date.

Games released in bundles and not released on their own for a particular platform fall under a few scenarios, which are each handled a bit differently:

Games running under emulation:

If there are no significant differences from the original version, we would not consider this to be a new release date for the original game and would not consider this bundled version to be its own entry.

Example: Games contained in Atari Vault

If there are significant differences, we would consider it to be a new game and treat it as a port of the original or some other type depending on the changes. The bundle release date would be added to the new game in this scenario.

Example: Games contained in Castlevania Advance Collection

Games running natively:

If there are no significant differences, we would track the bundle date on the original game page. Ex: Devil May Cry’s remaster has been released in different bundles across multiple generations of consoles, and these bundle releases are tracked on the same remaster page Devil May Cry.

If there are significant differences, we would consider it to be a new game and treat it as a remaster or expanded game of the original, or some other type depending on the changes. The bundle release date would be added to the new game in this scenario.

Example: Games contained in Spyro Reignited Trilogy

Games also released on their own: If a game was released by itself on the same platform as a bundled release, we will not accept the bundle release date.

Example: Super Mario Bros. vs. Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt