Hot.Game API (v. 0.0.1)

We have always wanted to make Hot.Game a home for your games. But a home turns into a prison if you can’t leave it at any time. That’s why we decided to provide a public free API for all our users. By using it, you can automatically work with the catalog: export all your collections, subscriptions, and favorite games in a convenient machine-readable JSON format.

But of course, that’s not all. We also provide several convenient methods for enthusiasts who need information about the best game prices broken down by regions. This will be useful for many people who want to create helpful tools for gamers.

Also on this page you will find information on how to integrate your store with the Hot.Game catalog and about paid API options.

Basic principles

At the moment, many API methods are publicly available without any authorization or the need to obtain access keys/tokens. We hope to keep it this way in the future, but if there are abuses, we will have to restrict access to registered users only.

Authorization for methods that require it is not implemented in the API. Therefore, such methods are currently suitable only for use in browser extensions and bookmarklets. In the future, we plan to add some form of user authorization via the API.

Parameters are passed as URL parameters (query string), unless otherwise specified in the method and parameter description (many parameters are specified directly as part of the path). Square brackets in templates indicate an optional part of the URL.

Example JS request

Below is an example of an authorized request. Please note that such requests are only possible in browser extensions or bookmarklets. In the case of extensions, this code must be executed in the background context of the extension or in the content context of the Hot.Game page when the user is authorized.

Data types

Getting basic API information

This method allows you to get basic information: the current version, the date of the last update, and a link to information about it (if there was a corresponding post in our blog).

Another important field is nextAPIIncompatibleUpdate, which may contain either false (if no incompatible API changes are planned), or an object with information about such an update. Of course, we will try to keep such updates to a minimum. But if you don’t want to manually track our Dev reports, this is a great way to set up automatic checks and notifications about critical changes.

Getting the entire game catalog

This method allows you to get a list of ALL games in our catalog. The amount of information for each game is limited, but you can then use other methods to get more detailed data about the games you need.

Getting basic game data

The main information available in this method is, of course, the minimum price of the game broken down by regions and platforms.

The converted_price field (present in each price) contains an array with information about the converted price in your current currency. The algorithm for determining the current currency is rather complex. If you want to guarantee a specific currency, it’s better to specify the currency parameter.

We do not recommend relying on the HGID field; its removal is being considered in the future, possibly to be replaced with a more universal identifier.

Getting data about my game

“My game information” is information about your “relationship” with a specific game. Whether you added it to favorites (saved field) or subscriptions (subscription field), whether you rated it (rating[vote] field), and whether you added it to any of your collections (collections field).

Getting my games

Your games list is displayed with 100 games per page.

Getting a list of my collections

A list of your collections with all the necessary information. The type field contains a value of collection type.

Getting collection contents

Collection information. Games are displayed with 100 games per page. If the collection is not public (public field – false), authorization will be required.

Paid options

If the publicly available methods are not enough for you, you can contact our support with a request for extended access or unique functionality. If you have a small request that is easy to implement, we will be happy to help you for free.

However, if you are interested in large volumes of data, especially valuable information from our catalog, or long-term support (in general, if you want to use the API to create a commercial project), access to such an API will be paid on a contractual basis. Approximate price: $20–$100 per month.

Integrating your store with the catalog

If you own a store (or represent one) and want your offers to be displayed in our catalog, please contact our support in any convenient way. We will be able to discuss the integration terms in more detail and help with any technical questions.

Stores are added to the catalog only after a preliminary review by the administration. Exact requirements and checks are not disclosed for security reasons. But in general, your store must be reliable (not fraudulent), and the quality of service must be at least satisfactory (response speed of support, error frequency, etc.).

Hot.Game supports 3 methods of store integration (data parsing): page-by-page HTML parsing (legacy, maintained for several old stores, no new ones are added), API integration (mainly for official stores with activation systems), XML feed and JSON feed parsing (the main and most efficient method).

Upon request, we provide stores with moderator accounts, which allow them to add new offers from their stores themselves (following the rules of our catalog). They can also force price updates for especially important products without waiting for scheduled updates (which happen several times a day).