Instead of IGDB
IGDB alternatives
IGDB serves as a broad reference for video games, companies, and characters, with sorting by relevance, title, release date, or rating. Developers can query game and related-entity fields, use language wrappers, and download daily CSV dumps. The API is free for non-commercial use, while commercial integrations require a partnership and visible attribution. Access also depends on Twitch two-factor authentication and OAuth credentials, and browser clients need a backend proxy because direct requests lack CORS support.
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BoardGameGeek
Free plan AndroidiPhoneWebBoard game and card game communities — BoardGameGeek centers on tabletop entries with ratings, forums, collections, play logs, reviews, trades, and member marketplaces rather than broad video-game data.
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Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Database
Free plan AndroidiPhoneWebOfficial Yu-Gi-Oh! card and deck reference — Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Database focuses on official card details, deck recipes, product contents, owned cards, rules, and tournament restrictions.
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LaunchBox
Free plan AndroidAPIWindowsManaging PC and emulated game libraries — LaunchBox is a collection frontend that imports Steam, GOG, ROM, and MS-DOS games, then organizes artwork and metadata locally across Windows and Android.
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NostalgiaDB
Free plan APIWebRetro game metadata and local browser play — NostalgiaDB covers 1977–2005 releases and adds natural-language search, GraphQL access, downloadable SQLite archives, and client-side ROM playback.
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RaiderZ Game Database
Free plan WebWindowsRaiderZ players needing in-game reference data — RaiderZ Game Database catalogs one game’s equipment, creatures, maps, quests, trade offers, and skill builds instead of a general games directory.
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RAWG
Free plan APIWebBroad game discovery with recommendation data — RAWG offers 500,000+ games across 50 platforms, machine-learning similar-game recommendations, extensive metadata, and an API authenticated by key.
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YGOPRODeck
Free plan AndroidAPIiPhone+1Yu-Gi-Oh! deck building and API access — YGOPRODeck combines advanced Yu-Gi-Oh! card search, deck editing and pricing, tournament categories, and a free public API limited to 20 requests per second.
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Interactive Fiction Database
Free plan APIWeb - 9
The Visual Novel Database
Free plan APIWeb - 10
Lemon Amiga
Free plan Web - 11
Pokémon TCG Card Database
Free plan Web - 12
MobyGames
Free plan Web - 13
GameDNA
Paid API
Alternatives make sense when you need a focused catalog, collection tools, or different access terms. IGDB’s API allows four requests per second, eight open requests, and up to 500 results per request. Its coverage spans many gaming platforms, but its content policy can restrict submissions and its beta MCP server may change. Compare whether each option matches your subject area, platform requirements, discovery workflow, API limits, data delivery, and commercial plans. The choices below include tabletop databases, card-game services, personal libraries, retro archives, a single-game reference, and another broad discovery API.