IGDB vs LaunchBox
IGDB
igdb.com
LaunchBox
launchbox-app.comSide by side
| Figure | IGDB | LaunchBox |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 8 |
| Spec score · Game Databases | 8.6 (#2) | 9.0 (#1) |
| License | The documentation licenses its code examples and snippets under the Twitch Developer Services Agreement as Program Materials. | The maker says Premium is DRM-free and can be deployed to as many personal devices as the user wishes. |
| Support | IGDB directs API questions to its Discord community and bug reports to Discord or UserVoice. | The maker points users to technical support forums, how-to video tutorials, bug reporting, and feature requests. |
| What it does | IGDB is an online video-game database and community for discovering, rating, listing and reviewing games. | LaunchBox is a Windows game-library manager and launcher that organizes PC, storefront, and emulated games and starts them through configured applications. |
Plans
IGDB
- IGDB APIFree
- IGDB API (commercial partnership)Free
- IGDB API (non-commercial)Free
- Commercial partnershipPriced on request
LaunchBox
- StarterFree
- Starter (Windows)Free
- Regular$30, paid once
- Regular (Windows)$30, paid once
- Bundle (Windows and Android)$35, paid once
- Windows and Android bundle$35, paid once
- Lifetime$75, paid once
- Lifetime (Windows)$75, paid once
In their own words
IGDB
IGDB is a video game information database for searching games, companies, and characters. Search results can be sorted by relevance, title, release date, or rating, and the database accepts community contributions. Developers can query game data and related entities through its API, choosing fields, filters, sorting, and other request options. Non-commercial API use is free under the Twitch Developer Service Agreement. Commercial use requires a partnership, and products integrating the API are expected to show visible user-facing attribution. Access requires a Twitch account with two-factor authentication, an application Client ID and Client Secret, and OAuth2 application credentials. The API allows 4 requests per second, up to 8 open requests at once, and at most 500 results per request. Documentation provides daily-updated CSV data dumps and lists wrappers for several languages. Direct browser requests are not supported because the API has no CORS headers; a backend proxy is recommended. IGDB's API is available for free for non-commercial use, while commercial use requires a partnership.
LaunchBox
LaunchBox is a game collection frontend and manager for modern PC games and emulated console games. It can import Steam and GOG games, ROM files, and MS-DOS games, then retrieve box art and metadata from its Games Database along with fan art, screenshots, and logos. Collections can be arranged and filtered by genre, platform, ESRB rating, developer, and publisher, with custom status and source fields. The Windows app supports Windows 10 and higher, with Windows 10 and 11 described as fully supported. LaunchBox for Android is free for collections of 100 games or fewer; it shares the games database, media, and portable XML data with Windows, and Windows data can be exported to Android. Premium adds themes, Big Box mode, gamepad automation, startup and pause screens, and display customization. The Regular Windows license costs $30 as a one-time purchase and includes a year of free updates. The maker says Premium is DRM-free and can be deployed to as many personal devices as desired. Windows data can also be moved by copying the app to another folder or computer.