Hey everyone,
it’s me again, one of the two developers behind GameVault, a self-hosted gaming platform similar to how Plex/Jellyfin is for your movies and series, but for your game collection. If you’ve hoarded a bunch of games over the years, this app is going to be your best friend. Think of it as your own personal Steam, hosted on your own server.
If you haven’t heard of GameVault yet, you can check it out here and get started within 5 minutes—seriously, it’s a game changer.
For those who already know GameVault, or its old name He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, we are excited to tell you we just launched a major update. I’m talking a massive overhaul—so much so, that we could’ve rebuilt the whole thing from scratch. Here’s the big news: We’re no longer relying on RAWG or Google Images for game metadata. Instead, we’ve officially partnered with IGDB/Twitch for a more reliable and extended metadata experience!
But it doesn’t stop there. We’ve also rolled out a new plugin system and a metadata framework that allows you to connect to multiple metadata providers at once. It’s never been this cool to run your own Steam-like platform right from your good ol’ 19" incher below your desk!
What’s new in this update?
- IGDB/Twitch Integration: Say goodbye to unreliable metadata scrapers. Now you can enjoy game info sourced directly from IGDB.
- Customizable Metadata: Edit and fine-tune game metadata with ease. Your changes are saved separately, so the original data stays intact.
- Plugin System: Build your own plugins for metadata or connect to as many sources as you want—unlimited flexibility!
- Parental Controls: Manage age-appropriate access for the family and children.
- Built-in Media Player: Watch game trailers and gameplay videos directly in GameVault.
- UI Overhaul: A fresh, streamlined look for the app, community, game and admin interface.
- Halloween Theme: For GameVault+ users, we’ve added a spooky Halloween skin just in time for the season!
Things to keep in mind when updating:
- GameVault Client v1.12 is now required for servers running v13 or above.
- Older clients won’t work on servers that have been updated to v13.
For a smooth update and a guide on how to use all these new features, check out the detailed migration instructions in the server changelogs. As always, if you hit any snags, feel free to reach out to us on Discord.
If you run into any issues or need help with the migration, feel free to join and open a ticket in our Discord community—we’re always happy to help!
If you want to support our pet-project and keep most upcoming features of GameVault free for everyone, consider subscribing to GameVault+ or making a one-time donation. Every little bit fuels our passion to keep building and improving!
Thanks for everything! We’re more than 800 Members on our discord now and I can’t wait to hear what you think of the latest version.
I previously commented that I was interested, so I downloaded the Docker image and set it up. It has potential. I haven’t tried too much out on it, but have managed to get it to index and install a subsection of the DRM-free GOG and itch.io games I own.
One thing I couldn’t easily see was how it deals with DLC. I own AI War: Fleet Command along with a handful of expansions which have their own installers. The server picked up the metadata for the main game, but not for the DLC, which are in their own archives. It also didn’t pick up a metadata match for “Dungeon Keeper Gold” despite it having an entry in IGDB. What I’d like to do is be able to assign the IGDB ID as part of the filename, much like one can with IMDB, TVDB and TMDB in Plex. It would also be great to be able to store and separately access non-game assets such as manuals.
Finally, having to use Microsoft Store to install tears at my soul. Is there really no way to distribute a standalone installer?
First of all, thank you for trying it.
DLC, MOD and Patch file support is on the roadmap until then it’s a solution to just put them into one tar archive or whatever.
Regarding the metadata not being found, it can happen in rare cases, you can simply enter the igdb ID into the remap search bar and that will do the trick, no need to edit files on your server or whatever.
Lastly the Microsoft store is only one of our multiple distribution channels, we also share precompiled executables on GitHub releases. It says it’s unrecommended but don’t worry about it. Check out the client docs for all ways to install the client.