Hey Chris, I'm a nobody in the game industry, working on my first game. Is there an optimal way to use the "marketing beat" of releasing my first trailer to bring people to my Steam page or should I just post it on youtube and move on?
Hi, thanks for an incredible breakdown. I just want to ask about a steam page ASAP - could you define "as possible"? Vertical slice might not have different zones (for screenshots), there might not be enough ready for the trailer... or is art that will become obsolete fine? Can "empty/bad" steam page hurt me? Thanks.
I have a question. You mentioned that games with lower than 10,000 wishlists were hit hard by Steam's algorithms. Is there anything you can do to combat this when developing a game with a smaller marketing budget and shorter timeframe? As in, if your game has a smaller target to hit. In my particular case I don't know if my game would benefit from that level of marketing. Or do you maybe think I'm overestimating the difficulty of hitting 10k? Thank you so much for the insight shared in this video! It's incredibly useful intel.
Ill watch the trailer if the screenshots and description captures my interest, and clearly shows the gameplay. I’m amazed how well I for into the user he is descriping
Trailers are a waste of my time. They are a pain to find what you want. I just look at the screenshots and read the description.. exactly what he said people do.
not gonna lie, just checked out your page, i was hesitant when watching the video to check it out, but i genuinly want to try out your game now after checking your page. looks fun, respect
Looks like our good old friend unity's particle system has to add some juice to these screenshots. Because as a wise man said, "Particles are mandatory." - Plato 2021
@@Game_Studio-w9p Did you get it figured out? I know there’s a separate section where you add achievements, but there’s also another section where you checkmark that there *are* achievements. Maybe you added them but missed the second thing?
I do exactly what he said people do with trailers lol. And he’s right that I’m looking for gameplay. I occasionally binge through the discovery queue which leads me to a lot of games I don’t want, and I want to get through those quickly. I will look at the description, gameplay, and review score. Because I have so many steam games, I am almost always not wasting time looking at anything below Very Positive. There are some times I will go with a mostly positive or mixed if it is really affordable and the idea fascinates me and clearly it was too niche for people based on the comments. I will say I skim the text, not ignore it completely. It’s where I go when I like what I see in the screenshots, etc.
Ive played a game called life is feudal your own. A game with bad reviews overall. But it was the learning curve. Once you got the game and u started making friends. Thats when you spend thousands of hours on it. It was a game with a very small following. But most of them had over 2k hours
This was an awesomely informative video! As a solo developer myself, I love seeing this sort of thing and I'm sure others do as well. Thanks for sharing. :)
Jonas, I thought about it a lot and I think you're one of the greatest game devs on YT, your videos always teach a lot of useful stuff I don't see in other places(maybe I don't look hard enough, but YT is like steam, you only have a few seconds to interest people) And I like that you wishlisted the game while recording, just because you felt it in the moment
This might be the single best video on optimizing a steam page. I’m sure the meta has changed slightly over the years, but it at least teaches you how to assess steam through a specific lens
There's so much mixed and vague information about indie game marketing out there, but this was a really great, in-depth look at some of the practical steps you can take to improve your game's Steam page performance. Thank you both for this :)
Definitely going to help me on my upcoming indie game VOID! (Although that game won't come out for years since it just started coding a few months ago)
This is a really great interview / learning session. So much good knowledge is poured out. Worth the whole hours watch from start to finish! Well done Jonas and Chris . *clap* *clap*
Dude, awesome video. Chris has great feedback. It's cool to see you receiving feedback because I love your game test videos and think the feedback you give is awesome. So when I see you keep an open mind and learn from others, that just reaffirms that you are a great teacher. One who accepts they can improve will improve. One who thinks they are the greatest will never be great.
This guy is spot on for how I look through a steam page... I even skip through the videos like that... and I am trying to find out what the gameplay is like... probably for you all as well.
Oooh boy, Glitcheon is in this. Chris knows what he's talking about so I'm kinda anxious to hear what he has to say but hope we can improve our presence with the feedback. (haven't watched yet)
I see that you implemented the changes that were talked about here, I would love to see a followup video with the results of the update. Thanks for the great and informative content!
I have a huge steam game catalog and it feels like this dude is reading my mind when it comes to buying games. certainly some great advice to take into account when trying to market your game on steam.
Awesome advice, there is so much to think about when launching your game but if you get the basics done you can increase your chances of success a lot!
I was expecting some generic advice from a video like this, but stuck around because this was some REALLY important and useful info... Especially since some of it is a bit counter-intuitive and not the kinda thing you would figure out on your own, even after lots of trial-and-error experience. Great vid.
I just wanted to add a comment to this video for the algorithm juice because this is such incredibly useful content and it is appreciated very much -- I'm working on a game with my brother and we both got value from this as we gear up for Early Access and such later this year, and he's also got software on steam that he revisited the page for after watching this. Helps very much that the pacing is fast, questions are direct and address issues in real ways, and advice is very specific and actionable rather than vague or conceptual. Anyways thx
I've been reading Chris' newsletter and blog for about two years now. I'd advice everyone who want to makes games for a living to go and join now. It's filled with actionably advice and data from his own experiments and research.
I'm developer of Offroad Mania and thanks a lot for this video! I have added 5 tasks for the near future. I think it will help make the game page better.
“Overcome a predictive fully-voiced AI and his robot army in this fast-paced action platformer.” Something like that that really highlights your set-apart features: 1. Predictive AI 2. Boss Fights 3. Hybrid Gameplay Elements (Tower Defense, Basketball, etc.) Not sure how to word that last part concisely but this would grab my attention on what is special and awesome about Will You Snail.
I like how you put emphasis on the fact that it is fully-voiced simply because it makes it easier to connect the description to what is seen in the trailer.
I think it's good to have the style of game/gameplay in your description, because it's really what defines my preference in games, it's what is going to make me buy it. For example, I like open world exploration RPGs. If the description just say something like "discover the secrets of humanity" I'll just be like, ok but what is it? If it's something like "a story driven open world rpg in an alien planet" I'll be ok, that's exactly my type of game, and I'll buy it.
This was very informative. Another bit of info for you guys, that even tho earlier the top 5-10 tags were indeed very important and useful when matching your "target games" tags, today they matter way less IF your game is not already selling well. Earlier targeting other games' "more like this" section was pretty easy but since 2019 it is kind of impossible.
I want to say, Jonas, I can say for sure that you manage to both create compelling videos and promote your game without making either seem contrived, fake, or like your heart is not in it.
I feel like an expert on this now, very well explained and has awesome tips! Definitely going to have to come back to this when I release to Steam someday!
The first thing that catches my attention is the Title and the thumbnail art. After that, I usually watch the trailer. Honestly, it's trailer and THEN the game description for me lol.
An incredibly useful video! I've learnt loads. It's interesting to know my click-rate is high but my wishlist conversion needs improving and how to do so. Thanks so much and please do another video like this!
Really really great advice here and a lot of detailed specifics. I just launched my games page, but haven't got much of any traffic or wishlists quite yet. Lot of work to do!
Wow! Wish I had seen this earlier. Not sure how I missed it as I already love your insightful videos. Nonetheless, time to refine a store page! Thank you, both.
Hi folks Chris (the guest) here in the Comments. Feel free to ask me anything
Hey Chris, I'm a nobody in the game industry, working on my first game. Is there an optimal way to use the "marketing beat" of releasing my first trailer to bring people to my Steam page or should I just post it on youtube and move on?
Hi, thanks for an incredible breakdown. I just want to ask about a steam page ASAP - could you define "as possible"? Vertical slice might not have different zones (for screenshots), there might not be enough ready for the trailer... or is art that will become obsolete fine? Can "empty/bad" steam page hurt me? Thanks.
I have a question. You mentioned that games with lower than 10,000 wishlists were hit hard by Steam's algorithms. Is there anything you can do to combat this when developing a game with a smaller marketing budget and shorter timeframe? As in, if your game has a smaller target to hit. In my particular case I don't know if my game would benefit from that level of marketing. Or do you maybe think I'm overestimating the difficulty of hitting 10k?
Thank you so much for the insight shared in this video! It's incredibly useful intel.
@@prettyfrenchgames Hi! I know you. Yes contact as many press people as possible. 99% will ignore you. The 1% can do good things.
@@GonziHere It is ok if art becomes obsolete because then you can do a news beat describing what changed. Do it! make a steam page.
“Most people on steam don’t watch the trailers”
I’m not mad that he’s wrong
I’m mad cause he’s right
Well videos on steam store are extremely buggy, so I'm not surprised at all.
Ill watch the trailer if the screenshots and description captures my interest, and clearly shows the gameplay. I’m amazed how well I for into the user he is descriping
Game developers don't play as many games as non game developers. Because we are busy developing.
Trailers are a waste of my time. They are a pain to find what you want. I just look at the screenshots and read the description.. exactly what he said people do.
@T R gamers play games every day. You work on your game every day. It's not even on the same scale.
Thanks so much for the feedback! Definitely going to make some changes right now, and work on improving the steam page later on into development.
Heya!
Good luck then
not gonna lie, just checked out your page, i was hesitant when watching the video to check it out, but i genuinly want to try out your game now after checking your page. looks fun, respect
Awesome video, and thanks for the feedback, ill definitely make some changes :o
dont add more billy
*e*
ua-cam.com/video/r1XCCL7Ov84/v-deo.html
Hi dani
Looks like our good old friend unity's particle system has to add some juice to these screenshots.
Because as a wise man said,
"Particles are mandatory." - Plato 2021
Jonas is talking like when I talk to my teachers. "uh-huh" "yep" "I see..." "definitely"
He is
That's because he definitely was my teacher here.
@@JonasTyroller Lol
@@JonasTyrollerhey, I have a problem with the achievement section, it's not checked in steamwork :( please help me 😥😥
@@Game_Studio-w9p Did you get it figured out? I know there’s a separate section where you add achievements, but there’s also another section where you checkmark that there *are* achievements. Maybe you added them but missed the second thing?
This is pure gold! This such a big hurdle for indie to get their games to the big market.
Literally paused to video to go dump the indie tag from my game lmao. Fantastic colab, this was so helpful.
The best thing about this channel is the fact thas Jonas is willing to learn himself through showing us these discusions! Thanks for sharing!
I do exactly what he said people do with trailers lol. And he’s right that I’m looking for gameplay.
I occasionally binge through the discovery queue which leads me to a lot of games I don’t want, and I want to get through those quickly.
I will look at the description, gameplay, and review score. Because I have so many steam games, I am almost always not wasting time looking at anything below Very Positive.
There are some times I will go with a mostly positive or mixed if it is really affordable and the idea fascinates me and clearly it was too niche for people based on the comments.
I will say I skim the text, not ignore it completely. It’s where I go when I like what I see in the screenshots, etc.
but how many of the games you got have you actually played?
Ive played a game called life is feudal your own. A game with bad reviews overall. But it was the learning curve. Once you got the game and u started making friends. Thats when you spend thousands of hours on it.
It was a game with a very small following. But most of them had over 2k hours
Goes for 1 hour, felt like 5 minutes. What a power house of knowledge! Thank you so much for the video. I've signed up for the course and newsletter!
This was an awesomely informative video!
As a solo developer myself, I love seeing this sort of thing and I'm sure others do as well. Thanks for sharing. :)
Jonas, I thought about it a lot and I think you're one of the greatest game devs on YT, your videos always teach a lot of useful stuff I don't see in other places(maybe I don't look hard enough, but YT is like steam, you only have a few seconds to interest people)
And I like that you wishlisted the game while recording, just because you felt it in the moment
This might be the single best video on optimizing a steam page. I’m sure the meta has changed slightly over the years, but it at least teaches you how to assess steam through a specific lens
One of the best dives into steam pages I've seen in a long time. So much useful information condensed into an hour.
Step 0: Finish your dang game and put it on the Steam Store.
I'm still working on that one.
Nah, you definitely don't want to wait until your game is done with creating Store page... but yeah, it's good to finish your game, sometime xD
@@maciekpryc3416 agree with you
lol
step -2: repair your pc
step -1: find a game idea
these need to be done first for me.
Same
This is a colab video we're hyped about!! 😍 Thank you Jonas and Chris for taking your time! 🎉🎉
There's so much mixed and vague information about indie game marketing out there, but this was a really great, in-depth look at some of the practical steps you can take to improve your game's Steam page performance. Thank you both for this :)
I had never thought about it like a product inside a store, that makes so much sense but went over my head so fast. Thank you!
Such great advice, I'm about to re do my itch page
This really was insightful, and definitely helpful to people like me who are trying to make an Indie game.
Good work Jonas :D
Definitely going to help me on my upcoming indie game VOID! (Although that game won't come out for years since it just started coding a few months ago)
I can't believe how useful this video felt. Good work
A good follow up video would be to implement Chris's suggestions about tags and stuff and then tell how it affected your numbers.
This is a really great interview / learning session. So much good knowledge is poured out. Worth the whole hours watch from start to finish! Well done Jonas and Chris . *clap* *clap*
Dude, awesome video. Chris has great feedback. It's cool to see you receiving feedback because I love your game test videos and think the feedback you give is awesome. So when I see you keep an open mind and learn from others, that just reaffirms that you are a great teacher.
One who accepts they can improve will improve. One who thinks they are the greatest will never be great.
This guy is spot on for how I look through a steam page... I even skip through the videos like that... and I am trying to find out what the gameplay is like... probably for you all as well.
Oooh boy, Glitcheon is in this. Chris knows what he's talking about so I'm kinda anxious to hear what he has to say but hope we can improve our presence with the feedback. (haven't watched yet)
Quite helpful and actionable! That's how I like my feedback. Thanks a lot!
Its nice u guys are happy with this keep it up
I played glitcheon amzing game btw
Good luck! Excited to see how creative you get with the improvements on your page.
@@flashplays6489 Thank you! Glad you like it so far
Cant believe i watch this complete video at first recomendation and Im just a web developer
I definitely just click through the trailers looking for something interesting just like he said lol great video
11:02 Getting Over It, Psychological Horror. Lol, That tag SOOO true
I see that you implemented the changes that were talked about here, I would love to see a followup video with the results of the update. Thanks for the great and informative content!
This is gold mine right here and it's also free! Thanks Jonas and Chris!
Currently building my steam page now. Just to get early wishlists. Thanks for the insights. ☺️🙏
Great! Now I can sell my master piece! It’s about a plumber, that goes to save the princess from a dragon looking guy! I think it’s pretty ingenious.
UhH tHaT's JuSt MaRiO bRoThErS
Wow never heard from that idear befor. It will be great
@@kayyy5034 right!
I think it will change the gaming landscape
@@enderguardian7443 yeah!
I've changed my mind. Even though this is the 3rd time rewatching this video, THIS IS THE BEST GAME DEV CHANNEL YOU COULD EVER HOPE FOR.
man, the stuff you said about people shopping on steam . sooooooo true, that is exactly what I do when I'm casually looking for games
Haha. Same.
I appreciate that you record & upload these to your channel, this is super useful for everyone
This is amazing, thank you for putting this video together.
Saw one of the GDC talks and it was great.
Nice to see this advice applied to real examples.
I have a huge steam game catalog and it feels like this dude is reading my mind when it comes to buying games. certainly some great advice to take into account when trying to market your game on steam.
This was a really useful and insightful video. Really glad you and Chris talked about all of this!😁
TheShelfman
Awesome advice, there is so much to think about when launching your game but if you get the basics done you can increase your chances of success a lot!
Finally had time to watch the whole thing. Thank you for this.
Thanky you fro making the time to watch. ;)
@@JonasTyroller Thanky
Seriously awesome of you to show your numbers to help educate
One of the most informative video on your channel so far, while still being about your journey releasing your game. Good job!
I was expecting some generic advice from a video like this, but stuck around because this was some REALLY important and useful info... Especially since some of it is a bit counter-intuitive and not the kinda thing you would figure out on your own, even after lots of trial-and-error experience. Great vid.
This is awesome! Thanks a lot for sharing Jonas and Chris! Awesome insights here!
I wish I would have seen this video a couple years ago. Still, I'm super happy I got to see it at all!
Holy shit. This was a great video. Jesus, man. Way to just crap on the rest of the devs trying to sell us full time courses. I appreciate you, man
This is a pot of gold. Super useful, thanks for putting this together!
Great guest! I'm in his newsletter, very useful information!
I just wanted to add a comment to this video for the algorithm juice because this is such incredibly useful content and it is appreciated very much -- I'm working on a game with my brother and we both got value from this as we gear up for Early Access and such later this year, and he's also got software on steam that he revisited the page for after watching this.
Helps very much that the pacing is fast, questions are direct and address issues in real ways, and advice is very specific and actionable rather than vague or conceptual.
Anyways thx
I didn't know I needed this. Thanks.
Thanks for this video Jonas, no one really talks about it. Keep it up ❤️
I've been reading Chris' newsletter and blog for about two years now. I'd advice everyone who want to makes games for a living to go and join now.
It's filled with actionably advice and data from his own experiments and research.
Can't wait to watch through it! :)
Literally the most informative video I have ever watched
You inspired me to make my own game, I'll release it one day, currently working on it...
Have good luke with it. :)
good luck from me too :D
Good Luuk
Gude luck
I'm developer of Offroad Mania and thanks a lot for this video! I have added 5 tasks for the near future. I think it will help make the game page better.
“Overcome a predictive fully-voiced AI and his robot army in this fast-paced action platformer.”
Something like that that really highlights your set-apart features:
1. Predictive AI
2. Boss Fights
3. Hybrid Gameplay Elements (Tower Defense, Basketball, etc.)
Not sure how to word that last part concisely but this would grab my attention on what is special and awesome about Will You Snail.
I like how you put emphasis on the fact that it is fully-voiced simply because it makes it easier to connect the description to what is seen in the trailer.
I think it's good to have the style of game/gameplay in your description, because it's really what defines my preference in games, it's what is going to make me buy it. For example, I like open world exploration RPGs. If the description just say something like "discover the secrets of humanity" I'll just be like, ok but what is it? If it's something like "a story driven open world rpg in an alien planet" I'll be ok, that's exactly my type of game, and I'll buy it.
HAha, that video perfectly showed up when i was in the middle of creating my steam store page. Thank you very much! VEry very helpful
Haha. Perfect. Happy you found it useful! :)
Jonas Tyroller
Danke für dieses Video! Das hilft mir bei meiner Spielentwicklung sehr weiter :)
Very helpful, will definitely refer to this in the future, thanks Jonas and Chris!!!
Thank you so much for this! It feels like enormous value added for free
Just checked the new description. Much better 👍 ;)
Best game advertising ever made. I'll definitely snail! :)
This was very informative. Another bit of info for you guys, that even tho earlier the top 5-10 tags were indeed very important and useful when matching your "target games" tags, today they matter way less IF your game is not already selling well. Earlier targeting other games' "more like this" section was pretty easy but since 2019 it is kind of impossible.
I want to say, Jonas, I can say for sure that you manage to both create compelling videos and promote your game without making either seem contrived, fake, or like your heart is not in it.
300+ Steam-Reviews in less then 24 hours. ALL (!!!) positive. I think you won on Steam ;-) Congratulations Jonas!
Dude, this video is a marketing goldmine! Very helpful! Thanks!
This is really helpful, thanks again Jonas for an amazing video :)
I just want to say that sometimes I ignore the games just because the trailer doesn't exist
This is perfect, thank you for showing all sides of a modern game!
I feel like an expert on this now, very well explained and has awesome tips! Definitely going to have to come back to this when I release to Steam someday!
Very interesting and useful. Subscribed to the newsletter Chris!
The first thing that catches my attention is the Title and the thumbnail art. After that, I usually watch the trailer. Honestly, it's trailer and THEN the game description for me lol.
super insightful! thanks jonas
I'm kind of amazed that this guy is giving out this information for free! 🤩
Awesome interview/workshop. I stopped game dev but this is a must watch for all indie.
This information here is actually really really valuable!
Ahh, you are the guy who created this awesome "make it juicy"-GDC-talk. Awesome, now I know this video is gonna be good :)
For real thanks on this vid. I will consider many new things i learned when i will ship my game on steam.
47:38 quick sneezecut
So much to learn here! 🙏
Great vid! 🙌
An incredibly useful video! I've learnt loads. It's interesting to know my click-rate is high but my wishlist conversion needs improving and how to do so. Thanks so much and please do another video like this!
wonderful video ! love ur content keep posting videos like this
Terrific conversation! Thanks so much for doing this guys. Lots of great info.
This was very informative and will be really useful in a month or two.
I'm so thankful to Jonas for bringing in all this free top-quality information
Really really great advice here and a lot of detailed specifics. I just launched my games page, but haven't got much of any traffic or wishlists quite yet. Lot of work to do!
Just wanted to say great video man its super interesting and insightful
This is very long but i missed Johnas videos so i am gonna watch
This video itself is pretty good promotion for all of those games. :P Amazing video, for sure. Thanks for this.
Really awesome video! I've learned a ton of stuff by just watching this video. Thanks a lot!
Such a useful video. I will eventually be looking to get my game on Steam. I'll be coming back to the this a few times before then I think!
Chris Zukowski: "don't put Indie on Top 5 tags, it's the most generic tag"
My game: "Indie | Casual | Minimalistic"
i'm changing it right now lmal
This is the most helpfull video on marketing EVER.
lol i was one of the people who wish listed this game during that first spike, great seeing what's going on on the inside.
Wow! Wish I had seen this earlier. Not sure how I missed it as I already love your insightful videos. Nonetheless, time to refine a store page! Thank you, both.
I learned sooooooo much from this video! Thank you so much!
Great video! Wrote down plenty of useful notes for a future Steam page :)