Watch This if You Haven't Started Marketing Your Game

Feeling the struggle of getting your indie game noticed in the sea of Steam releases? We feel you.

In this video, we're diving deep into the trenches of game marketing, sharing raw insights and strategies that can make or break your game's success.

I've done the research and did two years of marketing in college so you don't have to!

The number of games on Steam is skyrocketing, competition is fierce, and standing out is tougher than ever.

We'll take a look at 8 tried-and-true methods to get your game noticed.

From unleashing viral potential and crafting killer hooks to cozying up with influencers and dipping your toes into paid ads, we've got you covered and want to help you boost your game's visibility.

Forget the fluff – this is real talk from devs who've are in the trenches right there with you. So grab a coffee, cozy up, and let's unravel the mysteries of game marketing together.

Subscribe for NEW game dev videos every Monday & Thursday!

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Resources:
Making marketing mistakes

Full choo choo charles interview:

How to make a good game hook:

Top 41 gamedev conferences in 2023:

Gamedev Greedable

How to consistently make profitable indie games:

Watt Designs interview

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Wishlist our Game:
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#gamedev #gamedeveloper #gamedevelopment

[PeterMilko]

I'm doing all these! Kickstarter will launch soon, come look!

[MarushiaDark]

Something else not mentioned here ... follow and learn from influential people. As devs, we know to look at game design and art tutorials, but few of us follow marketing and business channels or tutorials specifically unless they crop up as a topic like this one. People like Scott Adams, VidIQ, Alex Hormozi, Seth Godin, Chris Voss, Jordan Belfort, etc. can teach about presentation, sales, marketing, virality, running a business, making money, and other things that are important to our game's success that have nothing to do with making the game itself.

[theebulll]

I think some nuance is worth adding to the number of game being released. Most people buy inside of genres and your favorite genre is only releasing a fraction of those 14k (Some genres are more saturated than others). It boils down to maybe a dozen or so games releasing a month that appeal to you in larger genres. That isnt really an overwhelming amount of games for players to dig through to find something they like and 70% of them van be dismissed within moments of seeing them.
I think the narrative of it being 'near impossible' to be see in the game space is a little overblown, but it can be difficult.
95%+ of games that fail are due to your quality, not their marketing. It is a VERY rare case that a truly good game goes unseen for long.

[attaxiaffxi]

The most important factor of all: MAKE A GOOD GAME.

Your players will become an eager marketing force.

[Surkk]

The more I learn about the current state of game releases and marketing (something I know less of than coding, which I am already bad at), the more I don't think I will make it in game dev.
I don't want to think that way, but it seems like that is gonna happen at the rate I'm going :\

[sealsharp]

Last week, GDC released a talk named "Identifying Indie". It is fascianting.
There are slides about where people see indie games and what they do before they buy. The answer is: Youtube and they watch gameplay.

People noticed that you can buy assets that look like the The Division or Demon Souls Remake for a few bucks, so they want to see the real game.

Last Next fest, i ( FPS enthusiast) downloaded like 20 FPS demos and just ONE was wishlist-worthy, while around 15 were "why do you even release in that state?".

The more games launch, the more players will search for some filter like following a youtuber that does your favorite genre. There's one guy that plays all Soulslikes, and there's Zlim who plays all the boomer shooters and those kind of channels.

[Cooo_oooper]

Anyone repeating that "OMG 40 games per day" number has no idea what kind of garbage releases daily. Just look what kind of games release each day and what the standards actually are

[daveh]

40 games released on steam each day, but that number includes free demos, dlc for other games, and zero-effort asset-flips. Looking at the new releases section today I see a game called "Clone War", it's free but also looks like an asset flip or a 48 hour game jam game. These games are (hopefully) not what you'd consider to be your competition

[ahlokecafe_articulate]

Thanks for contributing ur experiences for indiegames devs...good job...

[coregazer]

The word you're looking for when you say "viralability" is "virality"

[brmawe]

Good vid, some people just get lucky sometimes no matter how good your marketing is.

[VforVictorYT]

Misconception many make:
FALSE: ChatGPT = AI videogames
Truth: Free education from CHATGPT = More people can learn game development = More competition

[Konitama]

Gotta disagree on a couple of points:
1. Attending game dev conferences/festivals is typically quite expensive, and the thousands you spend on a booth, travel, hardware, tables, banners, etc... is not worth the <1000 wishlists or handful of small articles you'll receive. Yeah, it's super fun to go to these and see people physically play your games, and yeah it's great if you've been isolated from everyone working on your game to go and socialize with other developers, studios, etc... But I don't think it's as great as you're making it out to be... at least not for gathering wishlists and actually moving the needle on game sales.

2. Game devs *are* part of your target audience. This is such an overused misconception at this point. I'm a developer and I play games. You're a developer and I'm sure you also play games. I would say it's safe to assume MOST game developers play a lot of games... So why wouldn't they be your target audience? There's no harm in posting your game to game dev subreddits, though I will say that the wishlist wednesday hashtag on Twitter is not a great way to accumulate quality wishlists. It's mostly going to result in people wishlisting your game as a favor and not because they have actual interest in buying it.

[DestructibleGame]

I worked on a game for a year am almost done released a trailer and it got like 150 views but my game is a blast to play so im not giving up yet lol

[CloudlessStudio]

Have you ever released a game? The truth of this none of these methods work for most people because they make awful games. Your best way to make money on steam is to make a game that's better than most other games. It is guaranteed to succeed. Nobody wants another 2d roguelike, or a platformer, or a boomer shooter, or pretty much "any clone of X game, that's worse than X game".

Make a good product first and then worry about selling it.

[whilefree]

Great video. All the information needed is shared. Thank you. :)

I personally think the last option (make your own brand) is really the way to go. In the long run that's the one which makes the difference, and I guess as the competition gets tougher, it will become the number 1 method of marketing in a saturated market.

Better to start right now before it's too late ;)

[DesignedByTaz]

Building a personal brand is the one thing everyone should be focused on right now. Seriously!

[forcedtotalk]

Something to mention about 6:48 : There's very little data suggesting steam promotes you more if you have a lot of wishlists. Sure, there are some lists showing most wishlisted games, but ultimately this only applies to the actual big dogs. What matters most is sales. The more sales, the more Steam will promote your game.

[SayedSafwan]

Dude, never stop uploading vids! you are absolutely amazing! (could you do a vid about grid 2d building system, like that of clash of clans or age of empires) Thanks!

[xtghtnp]

"free ai tools" will not be making game more accessible, just allowing more space to shovelware