Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of GameDev.net, operated by GameDev.net, LLC ("GameDev.net," "we," "us," or "our"). GameDev.net is a community platform for game developers, accessible at gamedev.net (the "Site"), including all associated features, content, and services (collectively, the "Services").

By accessing or using the Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.

1. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Services. If you are under 18 (or the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction), you may only use the Services with the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian. You must be at least 18 to make purchases on the Site.

By using the Services, you represent that you meet these requirements and that the information you provide during registration is accurate and complete.

2. Your Account

To participate in most features of the Site, you must create an account. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete registration information.
• Notify us immediately at support@gamedev.net if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.
• Not share your account credentials or allow others to access your account.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that contain inaccurate information, violate these Terms, or are inactive for an extended period.

You may close your account at any time by contacting support@gamedev.net. Closing your account does not automatically remove content you have posted (see Section 4).

3. Community Conduct

GameDev.net is a community built on mutual respect and shared learning. By using the Services, you agree to abide by our Community Guidelines, which are incorporated into these Terms by reference. In addition, you agree not to:

• Post content that is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, threatening, abusive, or hateful.
• Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.
• Post spam, unsolicited advertising, or bulk commercial messages.
• Attempt to manipulate the trust and reputation system, including through sockpuppet accounts, vote rings, or coordinated inauthentic behavior.
• Upload or distribute malware, viruses, or any code designed to disrupt, damage, or limit the functionality of software or hardware.
• Scrape, crawl, or use automated means to access the Services beyond what is permitted by our robots.txt, ai.txt, or llms.txt, without prior written permission. This includes accessing the Services for the purpose of training, fine-tuning, evaluating, benchmarking, or grounding machine-learning or generative-AI systems (see Section 4.6).
• Circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with security or access-control features of the Site.
• Use the Services for any illegal purpose or in violation of any applicable law.

3.1 Trust and Reputation

GameDev.net operates a trust and reputation system that grants capabilities based on the quality and consistency of your contributions. Trust levels are determined by automated systems and moderator review. Abuse of the trust system—including artificially inflating reputation, creating multiple accounts to circumvent restrictions, or coordinating to manipulate content visibility—is a violation of these Terms and may result in account suspension or termination.

3.2 Moderation

Content on the Site is moderated by a combination of community moderators and automated systems. We reserve the right to remove, edit, or restrict access to any content at our sole discretion, with or without notice. Moderation decisions are made in good faith to maintain community quality and safety. We also use automated tools, including AI-assisted systems, to help detect spam, abuse, and content that may violate these Terms.

4. Your Content

4.1 Ownership

You retain ownership of content you post to the Site ("Your Content"), including forum posts, blog entries, tutorials, project descriptions, portfolio items, and other user-generated contributions. GameDev.net does not claim ownership of Your Content.

4.2 License to GameDev.net

By posting Your Content on the Site, you grant GameDev.net a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable license to host, store, reproduce, display, distribute, and make available Your Content in connection with operating and promoting the Services. This license allows us to, for example, display your forum posts, include your tutorials in search results, feature your projects on the homepage, and archive community content. This license continues even if you stop using the Services, to the extent Your Content has been shared with or relied upon by other users.

4.3 Content Removal

Public posts on GameDev.net are part of the community knowledge base. Because other users may have replied to, referenced, or built upon Your Content, we generally do not delete individual posts from public discussions upon request. You may edit your posts at any time, subject to any time-based editing restrictions. If you close your account, your posts will remain but may be disassociated from your profile at our discretion.

4.4 Content Standards

You are solely responsible for Your Content. You represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to post Your Content and that it does not infringe the intellectual property, privacy, or other rights of any third party. Content that includes code, assets, or other creative works from third parties must include proper attribution and comply with applicable licenses.

4.5 AI-Generated Content

If you post content that was substantially generated by AI tools, you should disclose this where relevant. You remain solely responsible for the accuracy, originality, and legality of any AI-generated content you post. GameDev.net may use AI-assisted tools to generate summaries, suggestions, or enrichments for community content; such outputs are clearly attributed as AI-generated where applicable.

4.6 No AI Training License

Except as expressly authorized in a separate written license agreement signed by GameDev.net, neither GameDev.net nor any user grants any person or entity the right to use content on the Site—including forum posts, blog entries, tutorials, news articles, project descriptions, portfolio items, comments, metadata, or any dataset derived from the foregoing—to train, fine-tune, evaluate, benchmark, ground, or otherwise develop any machine-learning model, large language model, generative-AI system, embedding index, or retrieval-augmented generation pipeline. This restriction applies whether the access is manual, automated, or effected through a third party, and whether or not the resulting model is commercial.

Bulk access, scraping, crawling, API harvesting, or cache-retention of Site content for the purposes described above is a material breach of these Terms and does not give rise to any implied license. The machine-readable signals published at /robots.txt, /ai.txt, and /llms.txt are incorporated into these Terms by reference and do not grant any rights beyond those expressly stated.

To inquire about a commercial data-licensing arrangement, contact licensing@gamedev.net or visit gamedev.net/licensing. GameDev.net reserves all rights not expressly granted, including rights under United States copyright law, the European Union Database Directive, and the United Kingdom Database Regulations.

5. Intellectual Property

5.1 GameDev.net's Property

The Site, its design, features, and all associated software, text, graphics, logos, and other materials (excluding Your Content) are owned by or licensed to GameDev.net and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works based on GameDev.net's property without our prior written consent.

5.2 Copyright Policy (DMCA)

GameDev.net respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that content on the Site infringes your copyright, you may submit a takedown notice to our designated DMCA agent at legal@gamedev.net with the following information:

1. A description of the copyrighted work you believe has been infringed.
2. A description of where the allegedly infringing material is located on the Site, including a direct link.
3. Your contact information (name, address, telephone number, email).
4. A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
5. A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
6. Your physical or electronic signature.

We will respond to valid notices in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Repeat infringers may have their accounts terminated.

5.3 Counter-Notification

If you believe your content was removed in error, you may submit a counter-notification to legal@gamedev.net including your signature, identification of the removed material, a statement under penalty of perjury that the removal was a mistake, and your consent to the jurisdiction of the federal courts in San Diego County, California.

6. Paid Services

GameDev.net may offer optional paid memberships or features. If you purchase a paid service:

• Fees will be clearly disclosed before purchase.
• Subscriptions will automatically renew unless you cancel before the renewal date.
• All payments are processed by third-party payment providers and are subject to their terms.
• Refunds are provided only as required by applicable law.
• We will provide at least 30 days' notice before changing pricing for existing subscribers.

Paid membership does not grant immunity from moderation actions or these Terms. GameDev.net may discontinue paid features at any time, with reasonable notice to affected subscribers.

7. Third-Party Content and Links

The Site may contain links to third-party websites, advertisements, or content provided by other users. GameDev.net does not endorse, control, or assume responsibility for any third-party content. Your interactions with third parties, including advertisers and other users, are solely between you and the third party.

8. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account and access to the Services, in whole or in part, at any time and for any reason, including but not limited to:

• Violation of these Terms or the Community Guidelines.
• Conduct that poses a risk to the community, Site security, or third parties.
• Extended account inactivity.
• Legal or regulatory requirements.

Where practicable, we will provide notice and an opportunity to address the issue before termination. In cases of severe or repeated violations, we may act immediately.

Upon termination, your right to use the Services ceases immediately. Sections 4 (Your Content), 5 (Intellectual Property), 9 (Disclaimers), 10 (Limitation of Liability), 11 (Indemnification), and 12 (Dispute Resolution) survive termination.

9. Disclaimers

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. GAMEDEV.NET DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

We do not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free, or that any content on the Site (including user-generated content, AI-generated summaries, and third-party content) is accurate, complete, or reliable. You use the Services and rely on any content at your own risk.

GameDev.net is not responsible for the conduct of any user, on or off the Site. Tutorials, code snippets, and technical advice shared on the Site are provided as-is by community members and should be independently verified before use in production or commercial applications.

10. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, GAMEDEV.NET'S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SERVICES IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF: (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO GAMEDEV.NET IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US$100).

IN NO EVENT WILL GAMEDEV.NET BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOSS OF DATA, PROFITS, GOODWILL, OR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY AND WHETHER OR NOT GAMEDEV.NET HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless GameDev.net, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from: (a) your use of the Services; (b) Your Content; (c) your violation of these Terms; or (d) your violation of the rights of any third party.

12. Dispute Resolution

12.1 Informal Resolution

Before filing any formal claim, you agree to try to resolve the dispute informally by contacting us at legal@gamedev.net. We will attempt to resolve the matter within 30 days.

12.2 Arbitration

If informal resolution fails, any dispute arising from these Terms or the Services shall be resolved through binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules. Arbitration will be conducted on an individual basis—not as a class action. YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION OR CLASS-WIDE ARBITRATION.

12.3 Exceptions

Either party may bring a claim in small claims court if it qualifies. Either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in court to protect intellectual property rights without first engaging in arbitration.

12.4 Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict of law principles. For any claims not subject to arbitration, you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in San Diego County, California.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by posting the revised Terms on the Site and updating the "Last updated" date. For significant changes, we may also provide additional notice (such as a banner on the Site or an email notification). Your continued use of the Services after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

14. General

• Entire Agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines, constitute the entire agreement between you and GameDev.net regarding the Services.
• Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.
• Waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of that provision.
• Assignment. You may not assign your rights under these Terms. GameDev.net may assign its rights without restriction.
• Notices. We may provide notices to you via email (to the address on your account) or by posting to the Site.

Contact

If you have questions about these Terms, contact us at legal@gamedev.net.

GameDev.net, LLC
San Diego, CA
USA