Devlog #1: I built a backlog tracker because I kept forgetting what to play

I kept forgetting which games I planned to play. So I built a simple backlog: what I'm playing, what's next, what I've finished.

That was the whole idea. Here's how it grew into NXTO, and what I learned on the way.

Step 1: A list that works

The first version did one thing: three lists. Playing, planned, finished. No accounts to connect, no clever features. Just somewhere to put games so I'd stop losing them in notes, wishlists and my own memory.

It solved the problem. But once I was tracking finished games, a new question showed up.

Step 2: "What should I play next?"

Having a history of what I'd finished made recommendations the obvious next feature. And I had a specific reason to build my own: I own games on several platforms, and Steam's recommendations can't see what I played elsewhere. Every store only knows its own corner of my library.

So NXTO recommends based on everything I've played, with my ratings as the signal. (I wrote up the technical side of that, including why my first version suggested junk, here.)

Step 3: Sharing it

Once I had this working for myself, I wanted to share it. I put it online on a random domain I already owned, nothing polished, just a link I could send to people.

Step 4: People signed up

To my surprise, people started registering. That meant it needed a proper home, so I bought nxto.app.

Hosting costs money, so I looked for a way to cover it without putting up a paywall. I added a Buy Me a Coffee link, and a price comparison for game keys: open a game and NXTO shows where it's cheapest (Eneba, G2A, Instant Gaming, Kinguin), converted to your currency. Some of those links earn me a small commission, and you never pay more.