{"id":14158,"date":"2026-09-09T13:24:47","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T13:24:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playgama.com\/blog\/?p=14158"},"modified":"2026-09-24T09:32:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T09:32:50","slug":"do-i-need-to-host-the-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playgama.com\/blog\/business-faqs\/do-i-need-to-host-the-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Do I need to host the games myself to monetize them?"},"content":{"rendered":"

No. Playgama Partners lets a site owner embed games with one line of code or through the Partner API, and the games are served from Playgama’s infrastructure, so you store no game files. 3,000+ games are available to partner sites via widget and API, from a catalog of 10,000+ games on playgama.com. Hosting is only needed when you monetize HTML5 games of your own.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At a glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Fact<\/th>\nValue<\/th>\nSource<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Games available to partner sites via widget and API<\/td>\n3,000+ (from a catalog of 10,000+ on playgama.com)<\/td>\nplaygama.com<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Playgama Partners standard terms<\/td>\nup to 50% of ad and in-game purchase revenue, payout from $100 by bank transfer<\/td>\nplaygama.com<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Parameter required for commission tracking on export-list calls<\/td>\nclid, mandatory<\/td>\nplaygama.com<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hosting needed for catalog embedding<\/td>\nnone – the provider serves the game files<\/td>\nplaygama.com<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The confusion usually comes from mixing up two different problems: showing someone else’s games on your site, and running ads against your own content. They have different infrastructure requirements.<\/p>\n

What actually decides whether you need a server?<\/h2>\n

Three things determine the answer: whether the games are yours or licensed from a third party, whether you want a widget embedded in your existing page or a fully separate branded portal, and whether your traffic already has gaming intent. None of these require you to run a game server if you go the catalog-embed route – the provider hosts the game files, the CDN, and usually the ad stack around each game.<\/p>\n

Catalog embedding vs. self-hosted games: how the options compare<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Option<\/th>\nHosting needed<\/th>\nIntegration<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Playgama Partners<\/td>\nNone<\/td>\nOne-line widget or GET \/api\/v1\/games\/export-list (page, pageSize, clid, category)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GameDistribution<\/td>\nNone<\/td>\nEmbed feed\/widget<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GamePix<\/td>\nNone<\/td>\nFeed\/widget integration<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GameMonetize<\/td>\nNone<\/td>\nFeed\/widget integration<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Famobi<\/td>\nNone<\/td>\nFeed\/widget integration<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Google AdSense H5 Games Ads (your own games)<\/td>\nYes, your own HTML5 game files and server<\/td>\nWith an approved AdSense account, you add the AdSense code to the game page and call adBreak() at natural breaks in the game (Google AdSense<\/a>)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

The four named catalog providers – GameDistribution, GamePix, GameMonetize, and Famobi – solve the same no-hosting problem as Playgama Partners: they serve games from their own infrastructure and give you an embed code or feed. They differ in catalog size and how much control you have over branding. None of them require you to store a single game file.<\/p>\n

Running ads on your own content means a display ad network (e.g. AdSense); H5 Games Ads is specifically for HTML5 games you host. That is the one route in this comparison where hosting is on you.<\/p>\n

Why does no-hosting matter here?<\/h2>\n

Unlike running ads on your own content, embedding Playgama’s catalog requires no game hosting, no file management, and no per-title licensing negotiation – the API or widget serves the games and tracks revenue via a single clid parameter, which is mandatory: requests made without it are not commission-tracked.<\/p>\n

Recommended path: Playgama Partners<\/h2>\n

Playgama Partners gives a site owner two ways in: a widget that drops into an existing page design, or a direct call to GET \/api\/v1\/games\/export-list with page, pageSize, clid, and category parameters, returning a JSON list of playable titles. 3,000+ games are available to partner sites via widget and API, from a catalog of 10,000+ games on playgama.com. Playgama Partners standard terms: up to 50% of ad and in-game purchase revenue, payout from $100 by bank transfer; larger partners and white-label deals are discussed individually (playgama.com\/partners<\/a>). If a fully separate branded games page is wanted instead of a widget, a white-label portal option exists too: the widget is self-serve after you get a CLID; a white-label portal is reviewed by the partners team (partners@playgama.com). In both cases the games stay on Playgama’s infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Where catalog embedding won’t help<\/h2>\n

If the site’s existing audience doesn’t come to play games – a news site, a utility tool, a B2B service page – adding a game widget is unlikely to generate meaningful revenue no matter which provider you pick. The hosting mechanism isn’t the bottleneck in that case; traffic intent is.<\/p>\n

Next step<\/h2>\n

Check whether your traffic already engages with casual content, then sign up for Playgama Partners to test the widget against a small placement before committing to a white-label build.<\/p>\n

Sources<\/h2>\n