MobyGames Launches Professional Tier Letting Developers Claim Credits and Build Portfolios

Video game database MobyGames has rolled out a Professional subscription tier that gives developers a way to claim their credited work and assemble a personal portfolio on the site. The feature launched in beta this June, with a full 1.0 release planned for autumn, and thousands of developers have already claimed their pages according to product manager Reece Denzel. For an industry where credit disputes have become routine, the move offers a new layer of visibility — but it stops well short of letting developers correct the historical record when studios remove names from official credits.

The service carries a $14.99 monthly price tag, dropping to $11.99 per month with an annual commitment, and MobyGames is currently offering a 45-day free trial to encourage signups. Atari acquired the database in March 2022, and Denzel emphasised that the underlying credit verification process has not changed since that acquisition. The significance here is straightforward: developers gain a verified badge and a curated profile page, but the structural credit data — the actual names attached to each game — remains locked to MobyGames' existing editorial standards.

Here's a thinking process:

Developers who subscribe can claim credits through a human-driven verification process that confirms their identity before granting access. Once verified, they can edit personal details that appear on their profile page, with those edits marked as coming from a verified source. Denzel described the system to GamesIndustry.biz at Gamescom: "There's two parts to that. One is making sure that people are who they say they are, and that's a human-driven verification process that we run in the background. For making sure that credit history is reflected appropriately, the actual way that we do credits and credit verifications has not changed: It's not changed since Atari has been involved, it's not changed in a long time, and we have no plans to change that process."

In practice, this means a developer can flesh out their biography, link social accounts, and present a polished portfolio to potential employers or collaborators. The verified badge signals authenticity to anyone browsing the site. But the system does not grant permission to add, remove, or modify the credit listings themselves — those remain under MobyGames' editorial control, exactly as they were before the Professional tier existed.

Here's a thinking process:

The limitation is deliberate and significant. Denzel stressed: "It's very important for us to note that that does not give them the ability to edit any of the structural information about things like their credits. What it does give them the opportunity to do is to go in and edit some details about themselves that are then listed as coming from the verified source of that developer." If a developer was omitted from a game's official credits — a practice that has affected titles like Donkey Kong Country Returns HD and Metroid Prime Remastered — the Professional tier offers no mechanism to restore their name to the historical record.

This constraint reflects a broader industry problem. Developers have long grappled with studios cutting names from credits after staff depart, even when those individuals contributed years of work. Former Retro Studios engineer Zoid Kirsch publicly criticised Metroid Prime Remastered's lack of individual credits in 2023, and Donkey Kong Country Returns HD shipped without the original development staff listed. MobyGames' new tier gives those developers a personal platform, but it does not override the publisher's official credit roll.

Here's a thinking process:

For players, the immediate impact is minimal — the public game pages on MobyGames will look largely the same, with credit data unchanged. The value accrues to developers who want a verified, searchable portfolio tied to the industry's most comprehensive credit database. The 45-day trial lowers the barrier to entry, and the autumn 1.0 launch will likely bring polish and additional features. Whether the tier evolves to address the structural credit gap remains an open question; Denzel's comments suggest MobyGames has no plans to alter its verification methodology.

Thousands of developers have already claimed pages during the beta, suggesting pent-up demand for a verified industry profile. The real test will come when the 1.0 version launches this autumn — whether MobyGames expands the tier's capabilities or holds firm on keeping credit authority centralised. For now, it's a useful portfolio tool that acknowledges the credit problem without solving it.