Steam Game Marketing

When it comes to marketing a Steam game, we first need to follow some general rules about our store page: what our trailer will look like, what screenshots we add, and the importance of the Steam capsule art, not to mention the game description. We can say that all the elements on the Steam page are important. Additionally, the genre of the game we are making needs to be popular on Steam. Puzzle games, for instance, are not as popular as horror or strategy games. So, if we make a puzzle game, maybe it would be better suited for mobile.

If you're new to game marketing, I suggest reading more about it in our indie game marketing guide, where we go into detail about marketing in general. Here's how we usually market a Steam game:

Particularly if we focus on successful PC games, most game developers' plans look like this:

• Create a Steam page at least 6 months before launch to start building wishlists.
• Focus on creating attention-grabbing trailers and captivating screenshots.
• Leverage social media by sharing engaging gameplay footage and memes to try and go viral.
• Build an email list and start a Discord community to connect with potential players.
• Conduct private playtests to establish a core community of dedicated fans.
• Submit your game to festivals and showcases to gain exposure.
• Launch a demo during a festival or showcase to attract even more interest.
• Aim to gather over 50,000 wishlists before heading into Early Access or full release.
• Reach out to as many streamers as possible, hoping they'll play and promote your game.
• Cross your fingers for stable servers, positive reviews, and the power of word-of-mouth.

Simple, right? Well, here's the catch: This isn't just the recipe for success—it's also the go-to-market strategy for games that flopped. In other words, it's the playbook everyone follows.

Steam Tags, Genre, and Design Matter

No matter how you present your retro pixel art puzzle or how well-crafted it is, the harsh reality is that these games often sell very few copies. Even if you make an amazing one, you're still almost guaranteed to sell fewer than 5,000 copies on Steam, which will likely be your main platform. Selling a million copies of this type of game on Steam is practically impossible, simply because retro pixel art puzzles cater to a niche audience with limited demand.

So, if you have the right genre for your game—and please don't tell us you're making a platformer because that's even worse than puzzle games when it comes to sales—the next step is to make sure you have a fun game. We can optimize everything for conversion on our Steam page, but if the game is bad or just okay, it won’t sell. Even if we create something near-perfect, but some elements of the game are just "good," we still won't have a perfect product. Always remember that if you have a great game, Steam marketing acts as a multiplier—10x, 100x, or even 1000x.

Let's talk more about the on-page elements of a Steam game page.

You need to have a good game name. You might be surprised that we start with this, but we have a separate post about brainstorming and how we can help you find the right name or any other game design element. A good name is easy to remember and can increase word-of-mouth marketing.

Your trailer: Let's start with what you shouldn't include in your trailer—things like your logo, publisher, or contact information. The trailer should showcase the most fun aspects of your game, with scene changes every 2-4 seconds to highlight different elements. You can add your logo and publisher at the end. If you're like me, the first thing you do after clicking on a nice Steam capsule art is to check the trailer. If the trailer is compelling, then you look at what the game is about. Just think about how you explore new games and how important a good trailer is.

Screenshots: These should showcase what your game is about. If your game has beautiful landscapes, don’t add five screenshots of just landscapes—include one or two at most. Show different aspects of your game in the screenshots, and always remember that pictures can speak louder than 1,000 words.

Steam capsule art: I always say, don’t do this yourself. It's better to hire someone to design it for you, and of course, you can hire us too. Capsule art is an extremely important part of your Steam page. Gamers will see it not only when they check your game but also in every part of Steam where your game is displayed. The first thing they’ll notice is the capsule art.

Short description: This should be brief and clearly state what the game is about. If you’ve read about indie game marketing, you'll see how we talk about the unique selling points (USPs) of a game. You can use this as your short description, tweaking it if necessary.

Genres and Tags

When you plan your game, the genre will determine how much money your game can make on Steam. You can check websites that track tags and genres to see how much revenue certain games have generated. For Steam, city builders, horror games, and strategy games perform well, while puzzle, educational, and platformer games are the weakest in terms of sales. So, if you decide to make a game, it's better to choose a popular genre to increase your chances of financial success.

Recent News and Announcements

Many indie developers don’t use this section. When you update your demo or game or have any news, create a post and link it to your social media accounts. This simple action can help gain some traction. If you look at how popular games use this feature, they often have a YouTube-like thumbnail with eye-catching graphics that grab attention. We suggest doing the same.

Description

In my experience, using a GIF that showcases one part of your gameplay works well. Don’t use a boring GIF; instead, choose one that grabs attention. Below the GIF, include a bullet-point list of what your game offers. For example, if you’re making an RPG, list features like "10 classes, 200 items, 100 spells," etc. After that, you can add a more detailed description of each aspect of your game. There’s no need to write 1,000 words here—just make it readable and use GIFs or screenshots. Keep in mind that with Steam’s new update, external links are prohibited, so you can’t promote your Discord community or other external sites on this part of the page.

Don’t forget that I can help you with your Steam marketing. If this information feels overwhelming and you’d rather focus on your game, contact me. I offer fair hourly rates, and we can discuss your game. In this post, I mostly talked about how to optimize your Steam page, but I also have separate guides on social media marketing, influencer outreach, and PR if you need help with those areas as well.