Note From The Editor - I’m Glad to be back
A month ago I lost my older brother Mark. He bought me my first computer to game on, the Commodore 64. He passed down his 1st edition D&D books (which I lost 😞 ) and never gave me any slack when we competed in any game, no matter my age. He was a gamer.
Mark Reynolds 1964-2026
I found among his personal items, build notes for Fallout 4 and twitch clips and lots of gamer notes about the various other games he played. I have access to his Steam account. I think Im going to check out his saved game file and play his Fallout character. Might steam it even though I’m not a streamer.
I’m sharing this because I shared this in Reddit and was blown away by the support, the multitude of personal stories about loss of family and best friends who game. It reminds me that what we do is important. Games provide a connected experience where we can create stories with our family and friends that exist in otherworldly places. These experiences are as real a the time I broke both wrists trying to dunk a basketball. IRL or in game experiences become memories and memories become stories. We are the facilitators of stories not just creators of stories. So remember your family, thank them for their support of your art, the late nights coding, and the time away from home. Thank them even if you’re estranged or it was/is not a good relationship because they taught you to take care of yourself, to self motivate and to prove them wrong. Thank them so you can heal, even if they don’t deserve it. Mark deserved all my appreciation, he was a good brother. He was also a gamer.
Are Wishlists a variety metric. What makes a good Wishlist?
u/playfulsystems: “I was unsure how to approach social media, starting out, so this is what I'd tell mysel”:
Show your best stuff immediately — I held back initially because I didn't want to show the same stuff. Doesn't matter. Show it again. On a good post, your views will come from <1% of your followers.
Treat every post like an experiment — Don’t think "I’m building an audience." Think "I’m testing what works." It took me a long time to figure out how to present my game in a way that clicked.
Be everywhere (lightly) — I almost didn't make an Instagram because I didn't think it'd be worth it. Cross-posting took almost no extra effort and that’s where it went viral.
Don't Fully Invest In Every Platform — I thought I had to play the social media game (follow back, engage, etc...) on a platform for it to be worthwhile. Nope.
Different Platforms for Different Things — For me, bsky has been great for interaction and encouragement. Instagram ended up being about blow up potential. Oh and don't worry about Instagram follower numbers.
TikTok Is Weird — I couldn’t find a consistent pattern. Identical posts to Instagram would either die instantly or stall around ~10K.
If You Go Viral — If you're lucky enough to go viral, first thing you do is comment on it with "The game is X, wishlist in bio, mailing list here." I didn't do this until day 3/4 and lost 100's of wishlists. 🤦 Doesn't matter if it's in the post or in your bio. People are lazy.
There's a lot of advice about when to announce your game, when to launch your Steam page, and when to start marketing. Most of it is too vague to be useful. Here is the specific framework I think makes the most sense based on how the platform works.
The core insight:
Steam rewards wishlist momentum, not just wishlist totals. A game with 2,000 wishlists accumulated over 3 months of consistent activity will often outperform a game with 3,000 wishlists accumulated in one week, because the former shows Steam that the audience is genuinely interested.
The timeline I would use:
6 months before launch: Open the Steam page in Coming Soon state. Do not announce it widely yet. Run paid ads to a very small audience ($5 to $10 per day) to seed initial wishlists and let Steam index the page. This matters because Steam uses early engagement data to calibrate what the algorithm shows you.
5 months before launch: Start your community presence. Reddit posts sharing development content. Short-form clips on TikTok and Reels showing development progress or interesting mechanics. The goal here is not viral reach. It is consistent presence so you have an engaged audience when you actually need them.
3 months before launch: Full marketing push begins. Prioritize Steam Next Fest if your timing aligns. Having a playable demo on Steam Next Fest can generate more wishlists in one week than 3 months of regular marketing.
6 weeks before launch: Contact streamers. Not huge streamers. Streamers with 500 to 10,000 followers in your specific genre. Smaller streamers have audiences that actually watch and actually buy. Reach out 6 weeks out because streamers plan their content in advance.
2 weeks before launch: Your trailer goes everywhere. This is not the time to introduce your game to new audiences. This is the time to remind the audience you have already built that the launch is coming.
Launch day: Do not leave the computer. Respond to every comment, review, and question within hours. The first 72 hours of reviews and wishlist conversions determine Steam's early algorithmic treatment of your game. This window matters more than any single marketing activity.
1 week after launch: Most developers go quiet here. This is a mistake. Post a "one week update" everywhere. Share the numbers if they are positive. Share what you learned if they are not. This keeps the momentum going and generates additional coverage.
Deviant Legal just released an in-depth guide to publishing agreements. Super awesome that the industry is getting more transparent.
Youtube’s Confusing Choice About Kids Content
So Youtube has this setting: “Is this content made for kids” I’m thinking yea, our video game isn’t violent and its themes are family friendly…well this is why it got like 38 views…mabye.
Upcoming Events and Opportunities
Festivals, showcases, influencer and media showcases and their submission windows. The IDGA Foundation has opened applications for their virtual and Gamescom accelerators: https://www.igdafoundation.org/questline
Steam Next Fest (Jun / Oct)
One of the strongest wishlist drivers if you have a demo ready.Steam Genre & Theme Fests
Smaller, more targeted, and often overlooked—but great for niche games.IndieCade Festival (May)
PitchYaGame (#PitchYaGame) A biannual social-media indie showcase on Twitter/X where developers pitch their games using #PitchYaGame. (June)
Summer Game Fest / Digital Showcases (June)
High noise, but useful if you have a strong visual hook.PC Gaming Show (PC Gamer / Future) — big PC-first showcase that heavily features indies.
Future Games Show (GamesRadar / Future) — large multi-platform showcase (often indie-heavy).
Shacknews E4 Indie Showcase (Shacknews) — indie-only showcase timed around “Not-E3/SGF” season.
Nintendo Indie World Showcase (Nintendo editorial/publishing) — platform-holder showcase, but explicitly indie-only.
OTK Games Expo (OTK creators) — streamer network showcase with a strong indie focus.
New Game Plus Showcase (content creators) — newly launched creator-led showcase (notably “no paid placements” positioning).
Indie Quest (JRPG creator-led) — creator-led showcase focused on indie JRPGs.
Six One Indie Showcase (community/creator-run) — indie showcase brand built to spotlight smaller teams.
Links To Remember
All the best links that usually disappear into the Reddit ether only to be reposted by the most diligent Redditors and game development and marketing gurus. Link to the website archive of these great resources (GDMR)
Tip Line: Got Ideas, Insights, or Opportunities?
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. [email protected]