Steam curators are one of those systems that most indie developers either ignore completely or approach in the worst possible way. The developers who ignore curators miss out on a genuine visibility channel. The ones who approach it badly -- mass-emailing every curator with a generic pitch -- burn bridges and waste time.
There's a middle ground that works, and it's not complicated. It just requires understanding what curators are, what motivates them, and how to make their job easier.
What Steam curators actually are
Steam curators are individuals or groups who recommend games to their followers. They create curated lists that appear on Steam store pages, in the Steam client, and through personalized recommendations. When a curator recommends your game, their followers see that recommendation when browsing Steam, and it shows up directly on your store page as a curator review.
There are roughly 100,000+ curators on Steam, but the reality is concentrated. Most have tiny followings and are essentially inactive. The ones that matter -- those with tens of thousands to millions of followers who post regularly -- number in the low hundreds for any given genre.
The system is connected to Steam's recommendation algorithm. When a curator recommends your game, their followers are more likely to see it in their discovery queue and personalized recommendations. This makes curator outreach a discoverability play, not just a credibility play. For more on how these systems interact, see our breakdown of how Steam's algorithm works.
Finding curators who are actually relevant
This is where most developers go wrong. They find a list of the top 100 curators by follower count and blast all of them. This is the Steam curator equivalent of spam, and it works about as well.
Instead, find curators who cover games like yours. Here's how.
Check games similar to yours. Go to the store pages of games in your genre and niche. Scroll to the curator section and note which curators recommended those games. If a curator has recommended three games similar to yours, they're a strong candidate.
Filter by genre alignment. Many curators specialize. Some only cover roguelikes. Others focus on visual novels, or horror games, or cozy farming sims. A curator who exclusively covers hardcore strategy games isn't going to feature your puzzle platformer, no matter how good it is. Don't waste their time or yours.
Look for activity. Check the curator's page and see when they last posted a recommendation. If their most recent review is from 2024, they're probably not active anymore. Focus on curators who've posted within the last month or two.
Consider follower count in context. A curator with 5,000 followers who covers your exact niche is often more valuable than one with 200,000 followers who covers everything. The niche curator's audience is pre-qualified -- they're already interested in your type of game.
Check their recommendation quality. Read a few of their reviews. Are they thoughtful? Do they clearly play the games they recommend? Or are they obviously churning through free keys without engaging? Quality curators take pride in their recommendations, and their audience trusts them because of it.
How to pitch curators effectively
Once you've identified relevant curators, the pitch is straightforward -- but there are right and wrong ways to do it.
The right approach
Use Steam's built-in curator connect system. Steamworks has a feature called Curator Connect that lets you offer your game directly to curators through the platform. This is the preferred channel for most active curators. It's built into their workflow, and they can redeem a key and review your game without any external communication.
If you email, be brief and specific. Some curators have email addresses or contact forms for pitches. If you use them, keep your message short. Include: your game name, a one-sentence description, why you think it fits their curation focus, a link to your store page, and an offer of a key. That's it. No life story, no three-paragraph pitch about your development journey, no "we're huge fans of your work" flattery that's obviously templated.
Tailor the pitch. Reference something specific about the curator's work. "I noticed you recommended [similar game] and [another similar game] -- our game shares [specific mechanic or theme] with those titles and I think it would be a good fit for your list." This takes thirty seconds of research and immediately separates you from the hundreds of generic pitches they receive.
Provide a key or Curator Connect access. Curators aren't going to buy your game to review it. Make access frictionless. If you're using Curator Connect, the process is automated. If you're emailing, include a Steam key directly in the message.
The wrong approach
Mass emails to every curator on the platform. This is the number one mistake. It wastes keys, annoys curators, and gets you mentally filed under "spam developer." Target 20-30 relevant curators, not 200 random ones.
Demanding or entitled messaging. "We'd love a review by [date]" or "please let us know your posting schedule" -- curators are volunteers. They owe you nothing. Ask politely and let them operate on their timeline.
Following up aggressively. One follow-up after two weeks is fine. Multiple follow-ups are not. If a curator doesn't respond or review your game, move on. Pushing harder won't change their mind and might earn you a negative recommendation out of annoyance.
Pitching games that don't match the curator's focus. This is disrespectful of their time and signals that you didn't bother to research who you're contacting. It's the fastest way to get your email deleted.
What curators look for in a game
Understanding the curator's perspective helps you decide when and how to approach them.
A polished store page. Before pitching any curator, make sure your store page is fully optimized. Curators check your page before deciding whether to play your game. If your capsule art is amateurish, your screenshots are poorly chosen, or your description is full of typos, many curators will pass without even downloading.
A game that fits their brand. Curators build trust with their audience by recommending games that match the expectations they've set. A curator known for recommending challenging action games won't feature a casual mobile port, even if it's technically competent. Make it easy for them to see the fit.
Something worth writing about. Curators who write thoughtful recommendations need something to say. Games with a unique hook, an interesting mechanic, or a distinctive style give curators material. "It's a competent platformer" doesn't inspire a recommendation. "It's a platformer where gravity shifts based on the soundtrack" does.
Reasonable review scores. Many curators check existing reviews before investing time in a game. A "Mixed" rating makes curators cautious because recommending a poorly-reviewed game can damage their credibility. If your review score is below 70%, focus on improving it before investing heavily in curator outreach.
Timely access. Curators who cover new releases need keys before or on launch day. If you're approaching curators as part of your launch strategy, reach out 2-4 weeks before release with pre-release access. Pitching a curator six months after launch is fine if your game has been updated recently, but the urgency and relevance diminish over time.
Measuring curator impact
Steam doesn't provide direct "sales from curator recommendations" data, but there are proxies you can use.
Monitor traffic sources in Steamworks. After a curator posts a recommendation, check your traffic analytics for any uptick in page visits. The timing should correlate if the recommendation drove meaningful traffic. Track wishlist additions around recommendation dates similarly -- a spike shortly after a recommendation usually indicates it drove discovery.
The cumulative value matters most. The honest truth is that individual curator recommendations produce modest, hard-to-isolate traffic bumps. The value is in accumulation -- ten relevant curator recommendations on your store page collectively provide meaningful social proof and discovery advantages. They increase conversion rate for every visitor, not just visitors who clicked through the curator's page. Don't expect any single recommendation to move the needle dramatically unless it's from one of the very largest curators.
Common mistakes to avoid
Treating curators as transactional. Approaching them purely as a marketing channel, with no interest in their work, comes across clearly and puts them off.
Ignoring negative curator reviews. Don't argue, don't send angry emails. If their criticism is valid, learn from it. If not, move on.
Waiting until launch day to start outreach. Curators need time to play and write. Start 3-4 weeks before launch.
Ignoring small curators entirely. A curator with 2,000 followers who covers your exact niche can drive more qualified traffic than one with 100,000 followers who covers everything.
Not maintaining relationships. A brief thank-you, early access to your next game, or a Discord invitation builds lasting relationships that benefit future titles.
Frequently asked questions
How many curators should I reach out to?
Quality over quantity, always. For most indie games, targeting 20-40 curators who are genuinely relevant to your genre is more effective than blasting 200. Spend the time you would have wasted on mass outreach and invest it in making each pitch specific and thoughtful.
Should I use Curator Connect or email directly?
Use Curator Connect as your primary channel -- it's built into Steam and most active curators monitor it. Supplement with direct emails for high-priority curators who you've researched and can write a personalized pitch for. Many curators prefer Curator Connect because it keeps everything organized within Steam.
When is the best time to pitch curators relative to launch?
Three to four weeks before launch is the sweet spot. This gives curators time to receive the key, play the game, and write a recommendation that goes live close to your launch date. If your game is already out, you can still pitch curators -- especially alongside a major update that gives them a fresh angle.
Do curator recommendations affect Steam's algorithm?
Yes, indirectly. Curator recommendations increase your game's visibility to the curator's followers, which can drive traffic, wishlists, and purchases. Those engagement metrics feed into Steam's discovery algorithm. Additionally, having curator recommendations on your store page can improve conversion rates, which is itself an algorithmic signal. See our algorithm guide for how these signals interact.
What if a curator asks for payment to review my game?
Don't pay. Legitimate curators don't charge for reviews. If a curator asks for money in exchange for a recommendation, it's a red flag -- their recommendation is worth nothing if their audience knows they're paid placements. Stick to curators who review games because they genuinely want to help their followers discover good titles.
Curator outreach is a long game. It won't deliver overnight results, but a steady accumulation of relevant recommendations builds social proof and discovery advantages that compound over time. Start by identifying 20-30 curators who cover games like yours, set up Curator Connect in Steamworks, and begin reaching out 3-4 weeks before your next major milestone.
Make sure your store page is ready for the traffic by running it through the Steam Page Analyzer, and read our guides on review management and store page optimization to make sure every visitor a curator sends your way has the best possible chance of converting.
Browse our genre-specific optimization guides for strategies tailored to your game type, and check the Steam Page Leaderboard to see how top games optimize their store pages.