Creating a YoYo Account

The YoYo Account is a one-stop solution to all GameMaker licensing issues. Once you have made your account, you can use it to recover your licence details as well as for logging in to the GameMaker: Marketplace or the GameMaker: Player. There are a number of ways that you can get your account set up, and they will depend on whether you are a new user, a registered user or have an existing Marketplace or Player account.

Existing Users

If you have bought a licence (or licences) through the YoYo Games store, then you should register for an account by going to the YoYo Account webpage, only when filling in your details, add in the GameMaker licence that you have already. When you submit the form, this licence will be automatically linked to your new YoYo Account and you can also go ahead and add any further licences to your account from the Licences page.

Note that you do not need to make an account to use GameMaker (although it is recommended that you do to benefit from easy licence recovery, one login for the Marketplace/Player etc...), and you can simply add the licence you were sent in the purchase email to the splash screen under the "Studio Licence" pane on the right. This will licence the product as normal.

 

New Users

So, you've downloaded GameMaker: Studio, installed it and run it, and now you have been presented with the following splash screen:

As a new user, you won't have a license key, nor will you have a Marketplace or Player account, so you should click the REGISTER button, which will open your browser and take you to the registration page. 

Here you need to fill in all the fields, except for the licence field. As a new user, you don't have a licence yet but you can still go ahead and create an account as one will be assigned to you on completion. When you submit the registration form, you will then be sent an email with a link to activate the account, and you will not have access to the account until it has been activated.

Once activated, if you have more than one licence, you should log in to your YoYo Account and go to the Licences tab. There you will see the licence for the Free Standard version of GameMaker: Studio.

Note that you have a button marked "Make Primary". This is in case you have multiple GameMaker: Studio licences, as clicking it will make the chosen licence the primary one that will be used when logging into GameMaker: Studio. If you are creating a free account or only have one licence then this will have been set to be your primary licence already..

You can now go back to GameMaker: Studio and enter your details (Email and Password) in the second pane of the splash screen. If all has gone well, you will be prompted to restart GameMaker, and on restart you will have access to all the functionality required to make your games. 

Account Details

Once you have set up your initial YoYo Account, you should sign in to the web page and complete your profile details. You can do this after logging in by selecting the "Edit My Details" tab, which will present you with a page like this:

Here you can change or complete various things in your account, like the Address or the Password, and you can also supply your VAT number (formatted using the unique country code applicable to your country of residence). If you wish to sell anything through the GameMaker: Marketplace or the GameMaker: Player then is is required.

Your YoYo Account also has an option to generate a two step authentication for signing in. This can be enabled from the Account Security section, and it is recommended that you enable the option. It will send an email to the account used for the YYA with an authorisation code which you should enter into the following window:

Once authorised you can access your account as normal.

Note that if you have this enabled and then try to sign in to your YYA through the GameMaker welcome screen or through the GameMaker: Studio "Accounts" menu, you will also be prompted to supply an authorisation code before you can continue.

Marketplace / Player Accounts

If you have a GameMaker: Marketplace or a GameMaker: Player account, then you also have a YoYo Account too! To link them and keep everything under one single log-in, simply add your existing account details into the second tab and click the Login button. You will be then be taken to your YYA account page in the default browser and you can go back and restart GameMaker to have it licence correctly based on the principle licence listed.

Note that if you have used two different email address to create your Player and Marketplace account, you can use either of them to create a YYA, but they will not be linked. So if you log in with both of them at different times, then you will have two YoYo Accounts - one for each of the emails used. If this is the situation you are in, then you should only log in with one of the two accounts then contact the Helpdesk and solicit that the Player and Marketplace accounts be merged to avoid having two.