Steam Comps: How to Pick Comparable Games for Your Pitch
Valid comps: released within 3 years, same subgenre and price band, a team your size. A worked example turns Steam review counts into revenue a publisher will believe.
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Steam Traffic Sources: Where Store Page Visits Come From (2026)
What each Steamworks traffic category means, plus real store page traffic splits from dev postmortems: 63% discovery queue in 2018 fell to 8% by 2021.
Steam Page Conversion Rates by Genre: 2026 Benchmarks
Genre moves Steam visit-to-wishlist conversion from roughly 5% (retro arcade) to 15-20% (factory sims) around an 8-12% median. 2026 benchmarks, with caveats.
Steam Next Fest Data: Only 38% of Pre-Launch Pages Have a Demo
I checked 286 unreleased Steam pages on August 18, 2026: 38.5% list a playable demo, 45.8% show no release timing, and 9.4% have no trailer at all.
Reddit Marketing for Indie Games: Rules, Formats, Results
One r/gaming post earned 11,000 wishlists in 24 hours. A subreddit map with self-promo rules, the formats that convert, and what gets dev accounts banned.
What Counts as a Successful Steam Launch? Three Thresholds
A $14.99 game needs 10 copies to clear the $100 Steam Direct fee, about 2,860 to clear a $30,000 dev cost, and about 4,770 to pay a $50,000 salary.
The Median Steam Game in 2026: A Data Portrait
Nearly half of 2025’s 20,282 Steam releases never reached 10 reviews, and the median game grosses about $1,000 lifetime. A sourced portrait of the typical release.
Steam Next Fest February 2027: Dates, Deadlines and Prep
Steam Next Fest February 2027 runs Feb 22 to Mar 1. Registration closes January 10, the demo build is due January 25, and all items by February 8.
Steam Halloween Sale 2026: Dates, Rules, and Prep Checklist
Steam Scream V Fest runs October 26 to November 2, 2026, confirmed by Valve. Eligibility rules, the 30-day discount cooldown trap, and a prep checklist.
Indie Game Press Kits: What Journalists Actually Open
72% of journalists rank asset access as the top factor in a pitch. What an indie game press kit needs in 2026, where to host it free, and what to cut.
Steam Description Anatomy: What 373 Real Pages Contain
The median Steam About This Game field is 4,476 characters of HTML but only 268 words of readable copy. Length, headers, bullets and media benchmarks from 373 live pages.
13 Steam Store Page Mistakes That Kill Conversion (2026)
The 13 Steam store page mistakes that damage conversion, how often each one appears across 373 analyzed pages, and which single mistake actually predicts a low score.
Balatro Steam Page Teardown: Why It Only Scored 77
Our analyzer gave Balatro’s Steam page 77 and its description just 66. What the rubric penalised, where we think it is wrong, and what is worth copying.
Gamalytic Alternatives: 5 Steam Estimate Tools Compared
Gamalytic starts at $25/month and grades itself 77% accurate within 30%. Four alternatives compared on price, coverage, and exactly what you give up by switching.
Coming Soon Steam Pages Are Not Worse, Only Thinner
Matched against released pages of the same era and obscurity, 208 Coming Soon pages score the same on every rubric column. What they lack is trailers and screenshots.
How to Pitch Your Game to Publishers: Deck, Comps, Recoup Math
Raw Fury signs under 1% of 1,500+ yearly pitches. The 10-slide deck that gets meetings, honest comps, recoup math on a $300K advance, contract red flags.
Single-player Is Not a Tag: Three Bugs in Our Analyzer
We found three defects in our own Steam page rubric: a tag list padded with Steam features, a description floor reading the wrong markup, and a 10-image vision cap.
Estimate Steam Sales From CCU: Peak Player Multipliers (2026)
Multiply all-time peak CCU by 11.4x for week-one Steam sales (14.1x without pre-orders, 7.8x with). Where the multipliers come from and how wrong to expect them to be.
Steam Sales Estimate Accuracy: Boxleiter vs Paid Tools (2026)
We ran the free 30x reviews multiplier against SteamSpy’s owner bands on five games. It landed inside all five. Here is why that proves less than it looks.
Steam Autumn Sale 2026: October 1–8, Rules and Prep
The Steam Autumn Sale 2026 runs October 1-8, not late November. Official Steamworks dates, opt-in rules, the 30-day cooldown, and a prep checklist.
Steam Store Page Audit 2026: 373 Pages, 2,400 Issues
We scored 373 real Steam store pages between February and July 2026. Median score 67 out of 100, and 298 of them were flagged for a weak opening line.
How to Get Streamers to Play Your Steam Game (2026)
Cold emails to streamers get near-zero replies; opt-in platforms hit 73% coverage. The 2026 outreach playbook: finding fit, three channels, and a template.
Six Things That Do Not Predict Steam Store Page Quality
We tested six predictors of store page quality against 373 analyzed Steam pages. Metacritic score, publishers, release dates, platforms and genre all came back empty.
Gamalytic vs VG Insights: Accuracy and Price
Gamalytic grades itself 77% accurate within 30% and starts at $25/month; VG Insights now redirects to Sensor Tower with no public price.
Steam Capsule Art Best Practices: Data From 98 Top Sellers
I tallied 98 Steam top-seller capsules on July 2, 2026: only 20 show a readable face, 44 use dark backgrounds, and 18 fail the 120px legibility test.
What a Low-Scoring Steam Page Looks Like: 25 Real Cases
The 25 lowest-scoring pages in our 373-page sample, anonymized. Median description subscore 35 against 65 for everyone else, and 2.1 critical issues each.
Indie Game Marketing Metrics: CTR, Cost Per Wishlist, Conversion
The six numbers that tell you if your Steam marketing works: CTR, visit-to-wishlist rate, cost per wishlist ($1-2, stop at $3), velocity, and UTM setup.
Stardew Valley Steam Page Teardown: 80 After Ten Years
Our analyzer scored Stardew Valley’s page 80. Its short description never names the genre, 16 screenshots share one trailer, and one tag warning is wrong.
Steam Early Access to 1.0 Launch: Sales and Review Data (2026)
Only 20-21% of Steam Early Access graduates earn more at 1.0 than at EA launch. What visibility 1.0 grants, how reviews carry over, and raise-or-hold pricing.
Steam Price vs Store Page Quality: Data From 154 Games
Sub-$5 Steam games score 10.5 points lower on our page rubric than $5-plus games. Above roughly $15, price stops predicting anything at all. Both halves matter.
Palworld Steam Page Teardown: 29 Screenshots Cut to 17
Palworld ran 29 screenshots and 9 trailers in March 2026 and 17 and 3 by July. What the extra media bought, and why six screenshots beat it on overall score.
Steam First-Week Sales: How Much of Year One Happens in Week One
The median Steam game earns 2.6-4.5x its week-one revenue in year one, so launch week is roughly 22-38% of the total. The data, and how to forecast yours.
VG Insights Alternatives After the Sensor Tower Move (2026)
vginsights.com now redirects to Sensor Tower and the published price is gone. Four alternatives compared on cost, coverage and what you lose by switching.
Indie Game Marketing on a $1,000 Budget: Full Spend Plan
A concrete $1,000 indie game marketing plan: $400 capsule art, $200 wishlist ad test, $250 festival fees, $150 key tooling. Plus what not to buy at this budget.
How to Get More Steam Reviews Without Breaking Valve’s Rules
Steam’s docs ban in-app review prompts and paid reviews. Expect roughly 1 review per 30 sales; here is every allowed way to raise that rate and why it matters.
Steam Capsule Genre Signal: Data From 373 Store Pages
88 of 373 analyzed Steam pages have a capsule that never says what the game is. They score 10.5 points lower, and the gap survives every control we ran.
Hollow Knight vs Silksong: Two Store Pages, One Studio
Team Cherry’s two Steam pages scored 83 and 85 in our analyzer, but Silksong’s capsule hit 95 against Hollow Knight’s 85. The gap is almost entirely contrast.
Steam Review Bombing: How It Works, How to Survive
Valve has excluded off-topic review bombs from Steam scores since March 2019. What counts as off-topic, what happened to Helldivers 2, and the recovery math.
SteamSpy Alternatives: 7 Steam Data Tools Compared (2026)
SteamSpy still runs and its free API still answers, but its playtime fields return zero. Seven alternatives compared on price, data coverage and API access.
Do Steam Demos Increase Sales? What the Data Shows
Games with a demo live months before Next Fest earned about 2.5x the median wishlists of fest-week demos. When Steam demos help sales and when they backfire.
Hades Steam Page Teardown: Why It Scored 87 of 100
Our analyzer scored the Hades store page 87, the highest of 373 pages. The capsule warning it raised, where we disagree, and what to copy at any budget.
Indie Game Pricing Psychology: Anchoring and $X.99 on Steam
Deluxe editions anchor your base price, $9 endings lifted demand in every field test, and sub-$5 pricing reads as low effort. Behavioral pricing for Steam.
How Many Games Are on Steam? 20,282 in 2025
More than 19,000 games released on Steam in 2025 (Zukowski tally: 20,282), about 55 a day. Year-by-year counts and why trackers disagree.
Steam Short Description: Rules, Examples, and Templates
Steam’s short description caps at 300 plain-text characters and renders in at least three places. The exact rules, 10 real examples graded, and fill-in templates.
Steam Launch Strategy: The 12-Week Backward Plan (2026)
A 12-week Steam launch plan built backward from release day: page freeze at week 4, Next Fest timing, two creator key waves, and wishlist checkpoints.
7 Best Steam Page Analysis Tools for Developers (2026)
Seven Steam page analysis tools compared: free AI page grades, Steamworks UTM analytics, SteamDB, VG Insights, Gamalytic, SteamSpy, with 2026 prices.
How Much Does It Cost to Make a Video Game? (2026)
Documented budgets run from $5K indie releases to $700M for Call of Duty. Disclosed vs estimated figures for indie, AA, and AAA games in 2026.
How Many Wishlists Before Launch? 7,000 Floor
Treat 7,000 wishlists as the launch floor; Zukowski’s 2026 tiers run 5,000 to 90,000. What each tier earned in week one, and how to check yours.
Best Steam Store Page Examples: 10 Teardowns for 2026
Ten real Steam pages torn down one element at a time: Balatro’s 3-word hook, Cult of the Lamb’s capsule, Stardew’s 12 languages. What to copy from each.
Steam Launch Day Checklist: Hour-by-Hour Strategy (2026)
Press Release App at 9-10am Pacific, set the 10-15% launch discount before release, and send Curator Connect copies a week early. The full hour-by-hour runbook.
Steam Next Fest 2026: Demo, Items and Press Deadlines
Registration closed Aug 31. The chain that is left: demo build due Sep 14, all items Sep 28, Press Preview Oct 8, fest Oct 19-26, per Steamworks.
Steam Review Labels: All 9 Score Thresholds
Overwhelmingly Positive needs 95% across 500+ reviews; Very Positive 80% across 50. All nine Steam rating labels with the exact cutoffs.
Famous Indie Game Development Budgets: 12 Documented Examples
Documented indie game budgets: Undertale’s $51,124 Kickstarter, Hollow Knight’s A$57K, Vampire Survivors’ £1,100, plus Gothic 1 Remake and Mixtape (2026).
How Much Do Indie Game Developers Make? (2026 Income Data)
Most indie game developers earn under $20,000 a year from their games. 2026 income data: solo devs vs studio founders vs salaried roles, and the take-home math.
Steam Discount Rules 2026: Cooldowns, Caps, and the Algorithm
Steam’s discount cooldown is 30 days in 2026, with seasonal sales exempt. Verified caps (10-95%), no-discount windows, and what the algorithm rewards.
Cheapest Steam Regions 2026: Price Data for Game Developers
Ukraine is the cheapest Steam region in 2026, with games near 25-45% of US prices. Verified country-by-country data and what low regions do to revenue.
SteamDB Owner Estimations: What They Mean
SteamDB publishes no sales. Turn its review counts (x30-40) or peak CCU (x8-14) into a units range, and see where owner estimations come from.
Steam Reviews to Sales Ratio: 2026 Lookup Table
The Steam review to sales multiplier in 2026 is about 30x for recent releases, a 20-40x working range. Lookup tables by genre, game age and price tier.
How Long Does It Take to Make an Indie Game? Real Timelines
Real indie game dev timelines by scope - from 3-day jam games to 7-year projects like Animal Well - plus when to launch your Steam page on that timeline.
How to Get Steam Wishlists: Tactics Ranked by Real Data
How to get Steam wishlists before launch: real numbers on Next Fest, demos, Reddit, streamers, and paid ads, with benchmarks for what actually works.
Indie Game Marketing Budget: What to Spend
What indies actually spend, from $0 to $50K, and the split that works: capsule art first, then a wishlist ad test at $1-2 per wishlist.
Indie Game Publisher vs Self-Publishing: The Real Math
What indie game publishers actually take and provide: real revenue share data, recoup clauses, contract red flags, and the per-copy math vs going solo.
Do Steam Achievements and Trading Cards Boost Sales? (2026)
Steam achievements and trading cards: what the data says about sales, the confidence metric that gates new games, card economics, and design tips.
Steam Bundle Strategy: How Indie Devs Lift Revenue in 2026
How Steam bundle strategy works for indie devs: Complete-the-Set mechanics, soundtrack bundles, cross-dev partners, and real attach-rate data.
Steam Next Fest 2026 and 2027: Every Fest Window
Feb 23-Mar 2, Jun 15-22 and Oct 19-26 in 2026, then Feb 22-Mar 1 in 2027. Every registration, demo and Press Preview deadline, read off Steamworks.
Steam Page A/B Testing: How to Test Without Native Tools
Steam has no built-in A/B testing. Learn how indie devs test capsules with paid ads, UTM links, and before/after traffic data - and which metrics to trust.
Steam Store Page Localization: Which Languages Are Worth It
Which languages to translate your Steam store page into, ranked by ROI. Real wishlist data, Steam language share stats, and Steamworks setup steps.
Steam Popular Upcoming List: Wishlists to Qualify
What Steam’s Popular Upcoming list is, the wishlist counts that get games on it, how the June 2026 store refresh changed it, and how to time your launch.
How Much Does It Cost to Make an Indie Game?
Median indie game costs $30K-$60K including opportunity cost. Budget ranges for 11 genres and 5 team sizes, with what each line buys.
Steam Refund Rates: Average Percentage & Success Rate (2026)
The median indie game loses 10-15% of Steam sales to refunds. Requests under 2 hours’ playtime are approved automatically. Genre data for 2026.
Steam Page Conversion Rate: 8-12% Is Median
Median Steam pages convert 8-12% of visitors to wishlists and 2-5% to purchases. Benchmarks by genre and traffic source, and what moves them.
How Many Copies Does the Average Steam Game Sell? (2026 Data)
Data on average Steam game sales: median copies sold, revenue distribution, and what to realistically expect as an indie developer. Includes featured snippet answer.
Boxleiter Method: Steam Sales Multipliers Explained (2026)
One Steam review equals roughly 20-60 sales. How the Boxleiter number works, which multiplier fits your genre, and when the estimate breaks down.
How Much Does the Average Steam Game Make?
Most Steam games earn under $10K lifetime. Median revenue, the power-law split, and worked examples from real review counts. Updated 2026.
Steam App ID: How to Get One for Your Game ($100)
Getting an App ID for a game you are making means the $100 Steam Direct fee, tax paperwork and about 30 days. Just looking one up? Use the finder.
How to Market an Indie Game on Steam: Capsule to Launch Day
The full sequence: capsule, screenshots, description, wishlists, Next Fest, launch week, pricing. Why $14.99-$24.99 beats $9.99, plus three free Steam tools.
How to Publish a Game on Steam: Complete Steamworks Guide (2026)
Step-by-step guide to publishing your game on Steam in 2026. Covers the Steamworks partner setup, $100 app credit, store page creation, build uploads, pricing, review process, and common pitfalls.
How Many Copies Do Indie Games Sell? 500-2,000
The median indie game sells 500-2,000 copies, about half earn under $5K and 10-20% recoup dev cost. Full 2026 distribution and method.
Steam Community Hub Best Practices: Announcements, Updates & Engagement
How to use your Steam Community Hub effectively: writing announcements that drive traffic, formatting patch notes, managing discussions, and building a community that sells your game for you.
Steam Click-Through Rate (CTR) Benchmarks: What’s a Good CTR and How to Improve It
Data-backed Steam CTR benchmarks for indie games. Learn what a good click-through rate is (2% = poor, 7%+ = excellent), where to find your CTR in Steamworks, how to improve it by genre, and the direct link between CTR and sales.
Steam Curator Guide: Find Curators & Use Curator Connect
Steam has 100,000+ curators but only a few hundred per genre matter. How to find the right ones, pitch via Curator Connect, and measure the sales impact.
Steam Deck Optimization for Store Pages: What Developers Need to Know
How the Steam Deck Verified program affects your store page visibility and sales. Covers Deck compatibility badges, testing requirements, input considerations, and store page optimization for handheld players.
Steam Demo Best Practices: Build a Demo That Converts
How to build a Steam demo that converts: length, content selection, wishlist prompts, analytics, and the most common mistakes to avoid.
Steam Discount Strategy: When and How Much to Discount Your Game (2026)
Data-driven guide to Steam discounting. Learn optimal discount percentages, timing around sales, the algorithm’s response to discounts, and common pricing mistakes.
Steam Early Access Strategy: When to Launch, How to Price, What to Expect (2026)
Complete guide to Steam Early Access strategy for indie developers. Covers when EA makes sense, pricing approaches, optimal timeline, communication expectations, review management, the 1.0 launch bump, and genre-specific considerations.
Steam Next Fest Results: What Developers Actually Earned (Case Studies)
Aggregated data and case studies from Steam Next Fest participants. See real numbers for wishlist gains, demo downloads, and how Next Fest performance translates to launch sales.
Steam Game Page Requirements: Every Asset You Need (Dimensions, Specs & Checklist)
Complete reference for every Steam store page asset. Exact pixel dimensions for all capsule images, screenshot specs, trailer requirements, library assets, and a downloadable checklist.
Steam Playtest vs Demo: Which Should You Use?
Detailed comparison of Steam Playtest and Demo features for indie developers. Covers technical setup, wishlisting impact, Next Fest eligibility, conversion data, and when to use each approach.
Steam Regional Pricing: Valve’s 2026 Multipliers
How Steam regional pricing works and what Valve recommends for 40+ currencies. Taking the defaults can cut effective revenue to $10-12 a sale.
Steam Revenue by Genre: How Much Do Games Make in Each Category? (2026)
Revenue benchmarks for every major Steam genre. See median and top-10% earnings for roguelikes, survival, city builders, RPGs, and more. Data-driven guide for indie developers.
Steam Revenue Estimators Compared: 4 Tools Tested
SteamSpy’s playtime returns zero, VG Insights no longer publishes a price, Gamalytic starts at $25/mo. Accuracy and cost, tested side by side.
How Much Does Steam Take? 30% (25% Over $10M)
Steam takes 30% of gross, falling to 25% above $10M and 20% above $50M per game. After VAT and refunds your real take-home is nearer 60%.
Steam Sale Dates 2026: Full Schedule & Registration Deadlines
Steam Summer Sale 2026 is expected June 25-July 9. Full-year schedule of every sale, Next Fest, and registration deadline, plus discount planning tips.
Steam Search Ranking: How to Rank Higher in Steam Search (2026)
How Steam’s internal search ranking works and how to optimize for it. Covers tag strategy, keywords, review scores, and the ranking factors that matter most.
Steam Summer Sale 2026: Developer’s Preparation Guide
Everything indie developers need to know about the Steam Summer Sale 2026: expected dates, registration deadlines, optimal discount percentages, store page preparation, and strategies for maximizing revenue during Steam’s biggest event.
Steam Update Visibility Rounds: How Post-Launch Updates Drive Sales
Complete guide to Steam’s Update Visibility Rounds system: how they work, how to earn them, what makes a qualifying update, timing strategies, and real examples of post-launch updates that rebooted revenue.
Steam vs Epic Games Store for Indie Developers (2026)
Honest comparison of Steam and Epic Games Store for indie developers. Revenue share, audience size, discoverability, tools, and which platform deserves your focus.
Steam vs GOG vs itch.io: Where Should Indie Developers Release?
Honest comparison of Steam, GOG, and itch.io for indie developers. Revenue share, audience size, discoverability, DRM policies, curation, and when each platform makes sense.
Best Time to Release a Game on Steam: Launch Date Strategy (2026)
When should you launch your Steam game? Analysis of the best and worst months, how to avoid AAA conflicts, and why Tuesday releases outperform other days.
Best Steam Tags 2026: Top 20 Most Popular Tags & Strategy
The 20 most popular Steam tags in 2026, ranked, plus the 15-tag strategy top indie games use to win discovery queues, search, and More Like This.
Indie Game Revenue: Median $5K-$15K (2026 Data)
The median indie game on Steam earns $5,000-$15,000 lifetime and the top 5% pass $1M. Full distribution by genre, with the method behind it.
Steam Coming Soon Page Guide: Set Up for Maximum Wishlists
How to set up and optimize your Steam Coming Soon page for maximum wishlist accumulation. Covers timing, required assets, description strategy, and building pre-launch momentum.
Steam Discovery Queue Algorithm Explained: How Games Get Selected (2026)
Deep dive into Steam’s Discovery Queue algorithm. Learn how games get selected, what affects your position, and how to optimize for maximum impressions and clicks.
Steam Pricing Strategy Guide: How to Price Your Indie Game (2026)
Data-backed guide to pricing your indie game on Steam. Covers price points by genre, regional pricing, launch discounts, and the psychology behind pricing that maximizes revenue.
Steam Screenshot Guide: Dimensions, Tips & What Top Games Do Right
Complete guide to Steam screenshots: required dimensions, optimal number, ordering strategy, and real examples of screenshot carousels that drive wishlists.
Steam Store Page Checklist: 40+ Items Before You Go Live
Complete checklist for launching your Steam store page. Covers Coming Soon setup, capsule images, descriptions, screenshots, tags, trailer, and system requirements.
Steam Trailer Best Practices: Make a Trailer That Converts (2026)
How to create a Steam game trailer that drives wishlists. Covers ideal length, structure, what to show first, common mistakes, and budget-friendly production tips.
Steam Wishlist Conversion Rate: 12% of Wishlists Buy at Launch
Wishlist-to-sale benchmarks: the median Steam wishlist buys at about 12% on launch day and 10.5% in week one, per a GameDiscoverCo study of 420 games.
Steam Capsule Art: 5 Rules That Get Clicks
Players decide in about half a second. Five capsule rules that survive thumbnail scale, with seven examples and what our 373-page audit found.
How to Write a Steam Game Description That Converts (With Templates)
Proven formulas for writing Steam short descriptions and long descriptions that drive wishlists. Includes fill-in templates, formatting tips, and copy frameworks used by top-selling indie games.
Steam Next Fest Tips & Checklist 2026: 30+ Tasks Before, During & After
Top Steam Next Fest 2026 tips and complete timeline checklist: what to do 4 weeks before, during the fest, and the critical post-fest follow-up to convert demo players to wishlists.
How the Steam Algorithm Works in 2026: Discovery Explained
Steam boosts games above 4% CTR and buries those under 2%. How the Discovery Queue, search ranking, and review thresholds decide your visibility.
Steam Page Optimization: What to Fix First (2026)
Steam page optimization ranked by impact: capsule first, then short description, screenshots, trailer, tags, reviews, pricing. Medians and a fix order.
Steam Review Management: How to Improve Your Score & Handle Negativity
Practical guide to managing Steam reviews: the rating thresholds that affect visibility (70%, 80%, 95%), how to respond to negative reviews, and recovering from a Mixed rating.
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