How to Buy an HTML5 Game: 12 Things to Check Before You Pay
A checklist for anyone shopping for HTML5 games or game templates, with real answers from our own marketplace, including what we leave out.
To buy an HTML5 game without surprises, check twelve things before you pay: what the licence covers, who may play and whether ads are allowed, what you may change and what you may not resell, whether the source code is readable, which tools and build steps you need, which browsers it runs on, which languages are real, whether there is a playable demo, what the documentation covers, how long support lasts, and how refunds and updates work.
Most listings answer some of these and skip the rest. Skipping is not always a bad sign, but you only find out by asking, and asking before you pay is cheaper than asking after. This guide gives you the twelve questions, what a good answer looks like and how to verify it in a few minutes.
We should be upfront: we are Polar Games, a studio that sells finished HTML5 games on its own marketplace, so a seller is writing about buying. We use our own listings as examples, including the parts that are not flattering, and the checklist works the same on anyone else's. Where we show our answer, it comes straight from our public licence terms and item pages.
Before you buy HTML5 games: what a listing really sells
A listing for HTML5 games for sale, or for an HTML5 game template, can mean three different things: a finished game you upload and run, a template made to be reskinned, or a starter kit that needs real development before anyone can play it. They cost very different amounts of your time, so decide which one you are buying before you compare prices.
On our marketplace every item is a finished game, not a starter kit. You can play it before you buy, and it runs once you upload it to a static web host. Our own page says it plainly: “Every template is a finished game, not a starter kit.” That is the first sentence any seller should be able to write about theirs.
Browse the Polar Games Marketplace
Points 1 to 3: the licence
1. Licence scope: one end product or unlimited?
A good answer: one sentence that says how many products you may publish with one purchase, who counts as the end user and whether the licence expires. How to check: find the licence text itself, not the sales line next to the buy button, and look for the words “end product”, “client” and “perpetual”.
Ours: each purchase is a perpetual, non-exclusive licence to use the edition you bought in one end product, yours or one client's. It does not expire when support ends. If you plan a second product, ask before buying, because the terms speak of one.
2. Who can play, and are ads allowed?
A good answer: the licence says whether your players may play for free, whether you may charge them and whether ads are allowed. How to check: read the paragraph about end users and monetisation, then ask separately whether the game already contains ad code.
Ours: players may access your end product free of charge or through advertising monetisation. The games themselves ship without an ad network, though. In every item, the “Not included in this edition” list names ad SDKs, ad accounts or an ad provider, and Zabum and Ricopop carry optional ad settings that are off by default. Connecting an ad network, and getting its approval, is your part.
3. What may you change, and what may you not resell?
A good answer: you may edit code, art and audio inside your product, and you may not sell the template itself. How to check: look for two separate sentences, one about editing and one about redistribution. A seller who only writes “full rights” leaves you guessing which of the two they mean.
Ours: you may change the code, art and audio inside your end product. You may not resell, share or redistribute the template, its source code or its assets on their own, as a kit or asset pack, or inside another product meant for developers. Third-party parts, such as fonts, keep their own licences.
Points 4 to 6: source code, tools and build step
4. Is the source code readable or obfuscated?
A good answer: formatted, unminified code you can open and follow, with a manual that shows where things live. How to check: ask for the file list, then open a JavaScript file from the demo or from a sample. If it is one enormous line, you have your answer.
Ours: version 1.0.1 of Velvet Pool split long single-line strings (audio, translations, shaders) into readable lines, and Zabum 1.0.1 started shipping its ready-to-upload build unminified, with source maps. Both were fixes after launch, which is why the changelog is worth reading: it shows what a seller admits to having fixed.
5. Do you need a paid engine or editor to change it?
A good answer: the requirements name every tool, and none of them needs a licence you have not budgeted. How to check: read the requirements list and search it for “engine”, “editor”, “licence” and “account”. If the game was made in an engine, ask whether editing it needs a licence of its own and who pays for it.
Ours: the requirements list a browser, a static web host and, to edit some sources, Node.js. No item names a paid engine, editor or account. Libraries that ship inside a game, such as Three.js and Rapier in Puttide, sit in its lib/ folder with their notices in THIRD-PARTY-LICENSES. Puttide also loads nothing from a CDN: the libraries, fonts and music are all inside game/, so it needs only your own host.
6. Build step, npm or server: what must exist before it runs?
A good answer: one plain statement of what you need to host the game and another of what you need to edit it. How to check: look for npm, Node.js, PHP, database and “file://” in the requirements.
Ours: Velvet Pool and Puttide need no npm, build step, PHP, database or account; you upload the game/ folder to any static host. Zabum's game/ folder is also ready to upload, but changing its questions means editing the React and TypeScript source and running npm run build:static, which needs Node.js 20.19 or newer. Its optional PHP leaderboard needs PHP 7.4+ and a writable folder. Several of our editions also say they will not run when opened from disk with file://, so test them on a host instead of double-clicking.
See what Zabum includes: a ready build plus editable source
Points 7 to 9: browsers, languages and the demo
7. Which browsers and devices does it really run on?
A good answer: minimum browser versions or, at least, the technology the game needs, such as WebGL2, WebAssembly or Canvas 2D. How to check: open the demo on the oldest phone and browser your audience is likely to use, and rotate the screen.
Ours: Zabum is the only item that lists exact versions: Chrome and Edge 107+, Firefox 104+, Safari 16+ (iOS 16+). For the others the requirements name the technology: Velvet Pool needs WebGL2, Puttide needs WebGL2 and WebAssembly, Riffvolt needs Canvas 2D and Web Audio. Deepforge lists touch and mouse controls. Zabum can be installed as an app and used offline, but only over HTTPS.
8. Which languages are really there?
A good answer: separate lines for the game interface, the voice or audio, the manual and the store page. How to check: switch the language in the demo and open the settings menu in each one. A flag icon is not a translation.
Ours: Velvet Pool and Puttide have their interface in 14 languages, but their manuals are in English and Portuguese. Gridspark's interface also has 14 languages, yet its narrator clips are English only. Deepforge's interface is English and Brazilian Portuguese, while its buyer guide comes in 14 languages. Tenguin has 14 interface languages and English, Portuguese and Spanish voice guidance. Four different answers to the same question.
9. Can you play the exact edition before you pay?
A good answer: a playable demo of the same build you will download, not a trailer or a mock-up. How to check: play for ten minutes, change the language, open the settings, pause, resize the window and reload the page to see whether progress survives.
Ours: every item page has a Live preview button that opens the demo of that edition, and the screenshots were captured from it. In Puttide and Zabum, for example, progress is saved in the player's browser, so a reload is a fair test.
See Tenguin, a number puzzle with 14 interface languages
Points 10 to 12: documentation, support, refunds and updates
10. What does the documentation cover?
A good answer: installation, customisation and troubleshooting, with screenshots, readable before you buy. How to check: open the documentation link on the listing. If there is none, ask for the table of contents.
Ours: every item page links its documentation. Velvet Pool and Puttide come with an illustrated English and Portuguese manual. Gridspark's manual covers installation, customisation, 20 FAQs and troubleshooting. Tenguin's offline buyer guide is in 14 languages, though its screenshots stay in English.
11. How long does support last, and what does it cover?
A good answer: a number of months, a list of what is covered and a sentence about what costs extra. How to check: look for the words “included”, “extension” and “customisation”.
Ours: support lasts 6 months from the purchase date, or 12 months if you choose the extension at checkout. It covers questions about installing and using the supplied files and the correction of reproducible defects in the supplied game. Customisation, new features, hosting, SDK or portal integration and installation on your server are separate services, quoted before any work. The licence keeps going when support ends.
12. Refunds, updates and third-party licences
A good answer: a refund rule that fits in one sentence, whether it is a window in days or a condition such as “before you download”; a statement about updates that does not over-promise; and a list of third-party material. How to check: read the refund paragraph and see what triggers the right, look for the word “updates” and for a licence file inside the download. With a digital product, ask when the refund right ends: on a date, or at the download.
Ours: templates are digital products, so we refund a purchase only if you have not downloaded the template yet, or if the supplied template has a defect we cannot fix. There is no window in days. To ask, write to us with your licence number. A refunded purchase ends the licence. In practice, play the live demo first and download only when you are ready to use the game, because after the download a refund depends on a defect we cannot fix. Updates to the same edition appear in your library when published, and we do not promise them for a fixed period. The history is public: Velvet Pool went from 1.0.0 on 15 October 2026 to 1.0.1 on the 18th and 1.1.0 on the 22nd. That is a record, not a promise. Fonts and other third-party parts keep their own licences, listed in THIRD-PARTY-LICENSES.
See Puttide: 30 holes, libraries bundled in the game folder, licence notices included
What an edition does not include: read that list first
Every Polar Games item page has a heading called “Not included in this edition”. We wrote it for the buyer who is about to assume something. Here is the one for Velvet Pool, our 8-ball pool game:
- Online multiplayer or private online rooms
- Online rankings or cloud accounts
- Advertising SDKs or accounts
- Native apps, hosting or hosted services
Read it as a map of the work still ahead of you. What you do get is 8-ball against the CPU, practice and two players on one device, plus readable source code and a ready-to-host build. If you need online rooms or rankings, this edition is not the one, and we would rather you learn that before paying.
Other editions have their own boundaries. Zabum does not include a cheat-proof leaderboard or an administration panel: its optional PHP leaderboard is a casual shared scoreboard. Tenguin does not include cloud saves, online accounts, real-money purchases or a connected advertising provider.
See Velvet Pool and its full list of inclusions and exclusions
Red flags before you pay
- The licence appears only as a line in the description, or only after payment.
- “Unlimited” or “lifetime” with no noun: unlimited what, for whom, for how long?
- Source code “on request”, or only minified files that nobody could follow.
- A demo that is a video, a mock-up or a different build from the one you download.
- No requirements list, so a paid tool, a server or a database turns up after checkout.
- Support with no length and no scope.
- Art, fonts or music with no list of where they come from and under what licence.
- No refund terms, or terms you can only read after paying.
None of these proves that a game is bad. Each one is a reason to ask first and to wait for the answer in writing.
The buyer's quick sheet
Copy these twelve lines into an email to any seller, ours included.
- Licence: how many end products, and who is covered?
- Players and ads: may they play free, may I add ads, is ad code already inside?
- Changes and resale: may I edit code, art and audio, and what is banned?
- Source: readable and formatted, or minified and obfuscated?
- Tools: does editing need a paid engine, editor or account?
- Build: what do I need to host it, and what do I need to edit it?
- Browsers: which versions or technologies, and does it work on a phone?
- Languages: interface, voice and manual, one by one.
- Demo: can I play the exact edition before paying?
- Documentation: can I read it first, and does it show where things live?
- Support: how many months, what is covered, what costs extra?
- Refund, updates and third parties: when does the refund right end (a date, or the download), what is promised, what is licensed separately?
FAQ
Where can I buy HTML5 games that are ready to publish?
You can buy from a single studio or from a marketplace with many sellers, and the twelve checks apply to both. On the Polar Games Marketplace every item is a finished game with a playable demo, readable source code and a ready-to-host build, with list prices from $5 to $59 at the time of writing (our own store currently takes 10% off the list price, the “studio direct” price shown on each item page).
What is the difference between an HTML5 game template and a finished game?
A template is usually sold to be reskinned and changed, while a finished game is complete and playable as bought. The two words overlap on many listings, so judge by the demo and the list of what is included. In our store, “template” means a complete game you can play before buying and then rebrand or edit.
Do I need to know how to code to use an HTML5 game template?
To publish one as it is, no: with our editions you upload the game folder to a static web host. To change the logo, colours or rules you edit plain files, so basic web skills help, and the manuals show where things live. Installation on your server is a separate service that we quote before any work.
Can I put ads in an HTML5 game I bought?
That depends on the licence, so read it before paying. Ours says players may access your end product free of charge or through advertising monetisation. The editions do not include ad accounts, so you connect an ad network and get its approval yourself.
Can I resell the game or use it for several clients?
Not under our licence. One purchase covers one end product, for you or for one client, and you may not resell or redistribute the template, its source code or its assets on their own. For a second product, check the terms or ask us first.
What happens to my files when support ends?
The licence keeps going. Your purchased files stay in your library while the marketplace operates, and we keep the version you bought available during normal operation. What ends is support, which is 6 months, or 12 with the extension.
Run the list on us
We would rather you test our answers than take our word for them. Pick any item, run the twelve points against its page, its demo, its documentation and the terms page, and ask us whenever something is missing. That is what support is for.