Frustrated with how digital bundle platforms have evolved, a few familiar names are trying to bring back the magic that started it all. The former business development team from Humble Bundle has launched a new storefront called Digiphile (not to be confused with that lawyer-based website). This new platform is aimed at discovery and curation built around community, quality, and purpose. Their goal is to recapture the excitement of the early Humble Bundle days, when every drop felt like an event worth paying attention to.
Digiphile’s debut collection, Return of the Immersive Sim, celebrates the genre’s growing renaissance with a carefully curated lineup that includes System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster, Perepiteia, Shadows of Doubt, Fallen Aces, System Shock, Blood West, and CTRL ALT EGO. Digiphiles goal seem to be providing options, as Digiphile focuses on one collection at a time, handpicked by genre specialists and guest curators who highlight why each title matters right now. It is an intentional throwback to when curation meant something.
Founder Alex Hill, who previously worked at Humble Bundle, says the idea came from missing that original sense of discovery. Working at Humble Bundle was a dream come true for a fan like me,” he said. “Now we are committed to staying true to Humble’s spirit and building what we loved about it in the first place.” The new platform aims to fix what many players have felt Humble lost: that human touch.
Humble Bundle has grown into a large marketplace and subscription service, and while it still raises money for charity, its focus has shifted toward automation and publisher driven sales. Digiphile takes the opposite approach, putting community and intention first. Each Digiphile collection functions like an event rather than a sale, with curator discussions, guest spotlights, and ongoing engagement between players and developers. It is designed to feel personal again.
The spirit of giving also extends to how the company handles charity. A portion of every sale goes to a selected cause, and any extra donations made by customers are passed along in full. The inaugural collection supports the Arbor Day Foundation, and higher tier donors can unlock special rewards such as commissioned artwork, digital soundtracks, and art books. Digiphile’s structure is transparent and designed to make giving back as direct as possible.
One of the most notable differences from Humble’s model, and one I’m really excited about since it’s a long time coming, is Digiphile’s Exchange system. If a user already owns a featured Steam game, they can trade in that unused key towards credits to put toward another curated title from a previous collection. It is a smart fix for duplicate keys and keeps players engaged without feeling like they are buying the same game twice. I’ve had so many duplicate Steam games over the years from one platform, that I had started giving the codes to friends who didn’t have the games or gave them away via social media.
I’m glad to see that someone finally went first to help curve that dilemma.
The founders are also clear about one thing: independence. Co-founder Andy Franzen emphasizes that Digiphile is self-funded and free from corporate oversight. “We answer to our community, not shareholders,” he says. Co owner Marcus Hess echoes that sentiment. “If a bundle is not ready, it will not go live. If we do not believe in it, you will never see it.”
In practice, that independence translates into a set of benefits over Humble Bundle that players will notice quickly: human curation over automated volume, a single live collection that reads like an event, full pass through of any extra customer donations to charity, a key Exchange that turns duplicates into credits, and direct engagement with curators and guests who explain why each pick matters right now.
With more than 18,000 games releasing on Steam each year, Digiphile’s goal is not to compete with storefronts but to help players find games that matter and are worth their time. The site’s roadmap also points beyond bundles, with planned features to help users share collections, support community driven charity goals, and build a library they are proud of.
Humble Bundle revolutionized how players supported developers and charities. Digiphile wants to rekindle what made that revolution feel special, the sense that every collection was chosen with care. It is not about selling more games, it is about rediscovering the joy of finding the right ones. If the team can keep that promise, Digiphile could be the fresh start that game bundling has needed for years.
