Hello World!

This Week: We kick off with an intro to what this free newsletter and community are about, define the insights sections, encourage your participation for our shared growth and highlight some great game developers and their games. Also at the bottom of each newsletter are some really good sites that will always be linked as this newsletter is a resource, not a business so I’ will be aggregating the best info out there and linking them so they get the credit they deserve.

What’s The Catch? None. All of the information, links, leads, insights and good stuff is and always will be free.

If you choose to upgrade to a paid subscription, you’ll be getting access to a private discord where myself and invited guests will set up office hours (Think open AMAs) to meet and talk about strategy, marketing, PR, development, business development, partners and publisher pitching strategy. Basically an accessible PR guy with lots of experience for a low monthly price of $20 and access to PR services through my agency for affordable costs (Press Release Writing + Distribution, Follow-up and Reporting). 1-on-1 strategy calls and other services are available and will be listed in the Discord openly but is not the point of this newsletter.

My Story: After more than 25 years helping games find an audience, I felt a pull to do something different. I wanted to express my own creativity. Making games became a natural next chapter, and with it came a deeper appreciation for the decisions, tradeoffs, and risks developers take every day. I started this newsletter as a way to share what I’m learning, to give lasting context to the best insights I come across - smart Reddit posts, thoughtful YouTube videos, storefront and sales strategy breakdowns, when/if you want or need a publisher and how you get prepared for that pitch, and to have honest conversations with friends, old and new, across the industry who understand what it really takes to create a game, find an audience and make a living doing what you want to do.

Below you’ll find the sections you’ll see starting Monday

— Erik Reynolds

A short reality check from inside the industry. What I’m seeing this week from Steam pages and Discords to publishers and press and why it matters if you’re building, launching, or managing games.

One proven, repeatable way to grow wishlists each week. No theory, just what’s working right now, why it works, and how you can apply it immediately to see if if works for you.

A breakdown of real Steam, console, or other storefronts, what they’re doing right, what they’re getting wrong, and the small decisions we can make to improve our game’s discoverability.

The smartest, most revealing conversations happening on Reddit this week. Insights from our fellow devs, players, and communities unfiltered. All posts will be cited and linked back to their authors and subreddits. Sometimes with similar posts I’ll look for common themes and summarize them for us.

Festivals, showcases, influencer and media showcases and their submission windows. This will be an unwieldy list and I won’t be able to find everything, so please let me know if you see something worth posting about.

Highlighting developers doing something interesting, not necessarily the biggest or loudest. What they’re building, how they’re approaching it, and one lesson worth considering for your game.

A journalist worth knowing. What they actually cover, what they care about, and how to pitch them without wasting either of your time.

A streamer creating real impact whether through reach, taste-making, or community trust. Why their audience matters to indie developers and how to approach them.

One podcast episode worth your time this week about development, tools, tech, audience building, business, or culture plus why it’s relevant to the realities of making and marketing games today.

All the best links that usually dissapear into the Reddit ether only to be reposted by the most diligent Redditors.

Have a win, a learning, a question, or an opportunity worth sharing? Send it in. If it helps the community, we’ll surface it with credit.