A videogame can be beautiful, original, and technically excellent and still remain almost completely invisible.
It is one of the most frustrating problems for an indie developer: spending months or years working on a project, releasing it, and then discovering that very few people are actually playing it.
The problem, however, is not necessarily the quality of the game.
Very often, the problem is that nobody knows the game exists, it is unclear who it is for, or there is no strategy for getting it in front of the right people.
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| Knightin'+ |
Indie titles such as Vampire Survivors, Balatro, Dredge, Inscryption, and Slay the Spire did not become well known simply because they were uploaded to a store. Their visibility was supported by a recognizable positioning, a community, word of mouth, creators, press coverage, events, and communication that was able to quickly explain why the game was worth trying.
And most importantly, marketing does not begin on the day you press "Publish."
It starts much earlier.
1. Before Development: Ask Yourself Whether There Is an Audience
The first real moment of marketing happens before you even start making the game.
Have an idea you like? Great.
But you should also ask yourself:
Who would buy this game?
What games do they already play?
What genre does it belong to?
Where does its community spend time?
How large is that community?
What problems do players have with existing games?
Why would they choose your game instead of an existing one?
A developer's passion is essential when working on a project for years.
But passion does not replace market demand.
A game can be exactly what its creator wanted to make and, at the same time, be extremely difficult to sell.
2. Genre Matters, but Choosing a Popular Genre Is Not Enough
Entering a genre with a large audience does not automatically give you a market for your game.
If you make a roguelike, Metroidvania, or survival horror game, you are entering categories with thousands of existing titles.
Players already have plenty of alternatives.
So the question should not be:
"Is my genre popular?"
It should be:
"Why should someone choose my game?"
A popular genre can offer a huge potential audience, but also enormous competition.
A smaller genre may have less competition but require a completely different distribution and communication strategy.
There is therefore no such thing as the "perfect genre."
There is only the genre that fits the game you are trying to build and the audience you want to reach.
3. Find Your Unique Selling Point
One of the most important concepts for any indie game is the USP, or Unique Selling Proposition: the element that makes your game recognizable and different from other games.
Saying:
"It's another roguelike."
is not a USP.
Saying:
"It's like X, but with Y."
is not necessarily a USP either.
And neither are:
open world;
multiplayer;
crafting;
pixel art;
procedural generation;
boss fights;
automatically distinctive features.
The real question is:
"What is special about the way my game uses this feature?"
A unique multiplayer system can be a USP.
A distinctive combat system can be a USP.
An unusual combination of genres can be a USP.
An original solution to a problem players have with the genre can be a USP.
4. Study Your Competitors, Not Just the Biggest Hits
Before fully developing the game, create a list of comparable titles.
Don't limit yourself to the most famous games in the genre.
If you are a solo developer, look especially for games that were:
developed by one person;
made by small teams;
produced with similar budgets;
released on similar platforms;
aimed at a comparable audience.
Analyze:
price;
graphics;
length;
mechanics;
trailer;
capsule art and screenshots;
description;
reviews;
user comments;
community;
social media;
creators who covered the game.
And most importantly, look at what doesn't work.
Negative reviews of competing games can be particularly valuable.
If dozens of players complain about the same thing, that could represent an opportunity for your game.
5. Don't Copy the Successful Game: Understand Why It Works
When a game becomes successful, it is natural to try to replicate it.
But simply copying its features rarely produces the same result.
You need to understand why those features work together.
Take Inscryption as an example.
It isn't simply "a card game."
Its appeal comes from the interaction between:
cards;
atmosphere;
mystery;
narrative;
progression;
surprise;
presentation.
If you copy only the card system, you are not copying the experience that made Inscryption interesting.
The same analysis can be applied to any indie success.
Don't ask:
"What features does this game have?"
Ask:
"What experience is this game offering the player, and why does it work?"
6. Define a Real Audience
"Anyone who likes indie games" is not a target audience.
It is essentially the same as saying "everyone."
A useful target should be much more specific.
For example:
"PC players who enjoy psychological survival horror games and have played SOMA, Signalis, and Amnesia."
Now you have something you can work with.
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| Alchemist of Pipi Forest |
You can look for:
subreddits;
Discord servers;
YouTube channels;
Twitch;
forums;
social media groups;
creators;
events;
specialized websites.
And you can directly observe how that community talks about the games it loves.
This is much more useful than simply looking for "people who buy video games."
7. Your Game Should Be Explainable in One Sentence
Try this experiment.
Ask someone:
"What is your game about?"
If the answer takes two minutes and contains fifteen different mechanics, you probably have a communication problem.
A good hook should allow people to quickly understand:
what the player does;
what the context is;
what makes the experience interesting.
Not:
"It's an action RPG with crafting, an open world, a reputation system, procedural generation, co-op..."
But something that allows the listener to immediately imagine the game.
That sentence will be useful everywhere:
website;
store page;
social media;
trailer;
press releases;
emails to creators;
events.
8. Test the Game with Players, Not Just Your Friends
One of the most common mistakes is showing the game to:
friends;
family;
other developers.
The problem is that these people do not necessarily represent the audience that will buy the game.
A developer may appreciate a particular technical solution.
A player may simply find it boring.
For this reason, playtesting should involve the actual target audience.
The question is not just:
"Does the game work?"
but:
"Does someone who belongs to my target audience want to keep playing it?"
This information is far more valuable when you obtain it while the game can still be changed.
9. Learn to Listen to Negative Feedback
If a playtester says:
"I got bored."
the answer should not automatically be:
"They didn't understand the game."
That might be true.
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| Paradox |
Negative feedback doesn't necessarily have to be followed literally.
But it should be understood.
The developer's job is not to implement every suggestion they receive.
It is to identify the recurring problems behind those suggestions.
10. Build a Community Before Launch
A community is not just a place to post announcements.
It can become:
your first group of playtesters;
a source of feedback;
the audience for your demos;
your first group of customers;
a source of word of mouth;
a source of reviews;
a group of people who follow development for months or years.
Discord can be useful, but it doesn't have to be the only channel.
Depending on your game, other important channels may include:
Reddit;
YouTube;
TikTok;
Bluesky;
X;
forums;
genre-specific communities;
mailing lists.
The goal is not simply to accumulate followers.
It is to create people who are genuinely interested in your project.
11. Don't Confuse Marketing with Posting on Social Media
Posting a video every day does not automatically mean you are doing marketing.
If a post gets very few views, the solution isn't necessarily to publish three more the next day.
You need to understand:
who is watching;
what is working;
which content generates interest;
which content is ignored;
which message communicates the game most effectively.
Marketing is a strategy.
Social media is only one of the tools.
12. Create Content Throughout Development
One of the best ways to avoid arriving at launch unprepared is to design development with communication in mind.
When you build a new area, mechanic, or character, ask yourself:
"Can this become a screenshot?"
"Can I turn it into a GIF?"
"Can I make a 15-second clip out of it?"
"Could it become part of the trailer?"
This allows you to gradually build a library of promotional material.
13. Don't Wait Until the End to Prepare Your Store Pages
This is where an aspect that is often identified exclusively with "Steam marketing" actually becomes relevant to any distribution platform.
Depending on your project, you may use:
Steam — One of the largest PC game distribution platforms. It has a huge audience and strong discovery mechanisms, but also extremely high competition. Its wishlist system can be particularly useful for building interest before release.
itch.io — A flexible platform strongly associated with indie games, experimental projects, prototypes, game jams, demos, and small developers. It allows developers a great deal of control over pricing, distribution, and presentation, and can be especially useful for building a community around a project before or alongside a commercial release.
GOG — A PC store known for its focus on DRM-free games and a catalog that includes both modern titles and classic games. It can be particularly interesting for developers whose audience values DRM-free ownership and offline access.
Epic Games Store — A major PC digital storefront operated by Epic Games. It provides access to a large established gaming audience and offers developers a different commercial model from Steam. Epic currently states that developers receive 100% of the first $1 million in annual net revenue per product, after which the standard 88/12 revenue split applies.
Game Jolt — A community-oriented platform focused heavily on games, creators, and player interaction. It can be particularly useful for projects that benefit from an active community and social discovery.
indiexpo.net — A platform dedicated to free games.In that sense, it is very similar to YouTube: developers can upload their games and make them available to players for free, while the platform provides a place where users can discover and play new projects. This makes it particularly interesting for free indie games and developers who want to build an audience before moving to commercial distribution.
Other specialized portals and stores — Depending on the genre and target audience, platforms such as IndieDB, ModDB, Humble and other specialized communities or storefronts can also be valuable.
These platforms are not interchangeable.
itch.io can be ideal for prototypes, game jams, experimental games, demos, and community building.
GOG may be particularly relevant for an audience interested in DRM-free games.
Epic Games Store provides access to a large mainstream PC audience.
Game Jolt can be useful when community interaction and discovery are important.
indiexpo.net is particularly interesting when your goal is to distribute a free game and build an audience around it, rather than sell it directly.
The question therefore should not be:
"What is the best store?"
It should be:
"Which platforms have the audience I am trying to reach?"
14. A Platform Does Not Replace Marketing
Publishing on ten different stores does not mean you will receive ten times the visibility.
A store page is, essentially, a destination.
You still need to bring people there.
The journey might be:
community → content → trailer → store page → demo → wishlist/purchase
or:
creator → video → store page → demo → purchase
or:
article → game page → wishlist → launch
The platform is therefore one part of the ecosystem, not the complete strategy.
15. Take Care of Your Game Page
Whatever store you use, the first information should immediately communicate:
what type of game it is;
why it is interesting;
what makes it different;
what it looks like;
what kind of experience it offers.
The visual identity of the page should be consistent with the game.
Images should show actual gameplay.
The description should be easy to understand.
The trailer should get to the point quickly.
And above all, don't force the player to investigate your page just to understand why they should care about your game.
16. The Trailer Is Not an Introduction to Your Studio
For an unknown studio, starting the trailer with 15 seconds of:
logo;
animation;
studio name;
music building up;
can be a mistake.
The player has no reason to care about your studio yet.
You first need to earn their attention.
Show:
the game.
Gameplay, atmosphere, mechanics, memorable situations.
The studio name and other information can come later.
The trailer should quickly answer the question:
"Why should I keep watching?"
17. A Demo Is a Product, Not Just a Test Build
When you publish a demo, players don't necessarily think:
"It's an unfinished version, so I'll forgive everything."
They think:
"This is my experience of the game."
For that reason, a demo should be:
stable;
understandable;
representative;
sufficiently polished;
built around the main gameplay loop.
If players quit after a few minutes, don't just fix bugs.
Ask yourself:
"What made them stop playing?"
18. Festivals and Events Don't Perform Miracles
Steam Next Fest is an obvious example, but the principle applies equally to:
indie festivals;
showcases;
local events;
conventions;
online events;
demo festivals;
contests.
Participating in an event does not automatically give you visibility.
If thousands of games are participating, you need to arrive prepared.
You need:
a demo;
a trailer;
a store page;
a community;
content;
press contacts;
creators;
a promotional calendar.
An event amplifies an existing strategy.
It does not replace one.
19. Prepare Months in Advance
A good campaign should not be built the week before the event.
For an important event, plan ahead:
when to release the demo;
what content to publish;
Necrosphere when to contact the press;
when to contact creators;
which events to organize;
which updates to announce;
which trailers to release.
Create a calendar.
It is one of the simplest and most useful things you can do.
20. Build Relationships with Journalists and Creators
Don't send the same message to 500 people.
First identify people who already talk about games similar to yours.
If you've made a survival horror game, look for creators who play survival horror.
If you've made a city builder, look for creators who produce content about city builders and management games.
If you've made a narrative game, look for journalists and YouTubers who cover that type of experience.
The question isn't:
"How many contacts do I have?"
It is:
"How many of my contacts are genuinely interested in my game?"
21. Don't Wait Until Launch Day to Contact the Press
This is one of the most common mistakes.
If you write:
"My game launches tomorrow. Would you like to cover it?"
you may already be too late.
Journalists and creators plan their content.
An effective campaign can begin long before release and develop through several different moments:
announcement → demo → event → new trailer → release date → launch → updates.
This gives the game several opportunities to return to the spotlight.
22. Turn Launch into a Campaign, Not Just a Date
"My game launches on October 15" is not a campaign.
It's a date.
A campaign could look like this:
Six weeks before
Release-date announcement.
Four weeks before
Trailer and major update.
Three weeks before
Creator and press outreach.
Two weeks before
New content and demo.
One week before
Countdown and community communication.
Launch day
Final trailer, creators, reviews, community activity, and promotion.
Following weeks
Updates, discounts, events, and new opportunities.
The release becomes a peak within a larger journey, rather than the only moment when people hear about the game.
23. Don't Guess the Price
Your price should be consistent with:
genre;
length;
quality;
amount of content;
production values;
comparable games;
audience;
platform.
Look at the prices of similar games.
But most importantly, ask yourself:
"If I were a player, would I choose my game over these three competitors at this price?"
Your community can also be a valuable source of information here.
24. Wishlists, Followers, and Community Members Are Not Guaranteed Sales
A large number of followers does not necessarily mean a large number of buyers.
A wishlist is a signal of interest.
A follower is a signal of attention.
A Discord member is someone who has decided to join your community.
But none of these automatically guarantees a sale.
The real challenge is to transform:
attention → interest → intent → purchase → review → word of mouth.
25. Don't Disappear After Launch
This is one of the most expensive mistakes.
The game launches.
The initial sales arrive.
And the developer thinks:
"It's finally over."
In reality, the commercial life of the game has just begun.
After launch, you can create new moments of visibility through:
updates;
new content;
DLC;
events;
festivals;
discounts;
bundles;
collaborations;
new platforms;
ports;
major patches;
additional game modes.
Every significant update can become a new reason to talk about the game.
26. You Don't Have to Be Everywhere: You Have to Be Where Your Audience Is
The opposite mistake is thinking:
"I have to release my game on every platform possible."
Not necessarily.
Multiplatform distribution can be extremely useful, but every store requires:
preparation;
QA;
updates;
support;
assets;
community management;
technical requirements.
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| Imscared |
If your main audience is on a particular platform, that platform should have priority.
Other platforms can be used for:
demos;
community building;
early builds;
free distribution;
reaching new niches;
later expansion.
More distribution does not necessarily mean more sales. Better distribution can.
27. The Real Goal: Reduce Your Dependence on Luck
No strategy can guarantee that a game will become a success.
You can have:
a great game;
a good community;
a good trailer;
interested creators;
an excellent store page;
and still fail to achieve the results you hoped for.
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| Keen |
But that is precisely what a strategy is for:
reducing the role of luck.
Instead of:
"I'll release it and see what happens."
you can arrive at launch with:
a clearly identified audience;
a community;
people who have already played the game;
a contact list;
prepared content;
a distribution strategy;
a launch campaign;
several platforms that make sense for your target audience.
You haven't eliminated the risk.
You've reduced it.
The Indie Developer's Mental Checklist
Before reaching launch, you should be able to answer these questions clearly:
The Game
What makes the game interesting?
What is its hook?
What is its USP?
What problem does it solve within its genre?
Why should players choose it over its competitors?
The Audience
Who is the ideal player?
Where can you find them?
What games do they already know?
Which communities do they participate in?
Which creators do they follow?
Development
Has the game been tested with the real target audience?
Have you listened to the feedback?
Do you know where players quit?
Does the core gameplay loop work?
Communication
Do you have an effective trailer?
Do you have interesting screenshots?
Do you have a clear description?
Do you have social media content?
Do you have a calendar?
Community
Did you start building it early?
Do you have a channel for communicating with players?
Are there people already waiting for the game?
Distribution
Which platforms are appropriate for your audience?
Have you considered Steam, itch.io, GOG, Epic Games Store, Game Jolt, indiexpo, and other stores or portals?
Does your presence on each platform actually make sense for your project?
Launch
Do you have a release date?
Do you have a plan?
Do you have relationships with creators and press?
Have you prepared your content?
Have you planned multiple communication moments?
Post-Launch
What happens after release?
Have you already thought about the first updates?
How will you keep attention on the game?
Conclusion: Don't Just Develop a Game - Develop Its Audience
The problem with many indie games isn't necessarily that they're bad.
It's that they are developed as though development and marketing were two completely separate worlds.
First, the game is made.
Then, at the last minute, someone tries to find people to play it.
That's a risky approach.
A stronger process is:
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| Grid Gladiator |
research → idea → audience → differentiation → prototype → playtesting → community → distribution → demo → events → creators and press → launch → post-launch.
The most important thing is to start early.
You don't necessarily need a huge advertising budget. What you need is to know who you want to reach, why they should care about your game, and how you can put it in front of those people.
And this applies regardless of whether your game is released on Steam, itch.io, Game Jolt, IndieDB, indiexpo, Epic Games Store, GOG, Humble, or a combination of platforms.
The platform is where the player can find and buy — or, in the case of free-game platforms, play — the game.
Marketing is what gets them there.
This article was written based on and inspired by a presentation by Hans Andre Abila of Zemore Indie Games / Zemore Consulting, delivered during a conference. The original presentation discussed common mistakes made by indie developers throughout the different stages of development and launch, with particular emphasis on market research, differentiation, playtesting, community building, communication, press, creators, and continuous marketing.
