GamesPlatformers and metroidvanias playbook
Outpost builds a campaign around what this genre's players actually respond to: readable movement GIFs, a demo that shows the first ability unlock, Steam Deck-ready pages and the speedrun and genre communities.
01 · DISCOVERY
Platformer and metroidvania fans are a genre-literate crowd: they find new games through GIFs of movement and combat, 'new metroidvania' videos and lists, Steam's genre tags and demo festivals, and r/metroidvania. A smaller but loyal group arrives through speedrunning, where a game with routing depth can keep a community alive for years.
A clip shows a satisfying move or boss, the player checks the Steam page for map, abilities, controller and Steam Deck support, plays the demo, wishlists, and buys at launch or a sale. Comparisons to Hollow Knight, Celeste or Ori come up in nearly every review, so a clear hook matters.
02 · CHANNELS
Ranked 5 (essential) to 1 (optional) by the research for this industry.
A short loop of a dash-cancel or boss pattern sells the feel better than any text, and it travels on X, Bluesky, Reddit and Shorts.
Players want to feel the controls before they wishlist. A demo that reaches the first ability gate shows the metroidvania loop, not just the tutorial.
'New metroidvanias' roundups and challenge streamers drive wishlists, and a demo gives them something to cover.
A focused audience that discusses maps, abilities and difficulty; posting real progress works better than ads.
After launch, a speedrun.com board and leaderboard-friendly design can keep a game talked about long after release.
BUSINESS MODEL · LIVE
The same channel can be a strong fit for a paid game and a poor one for a free one. Each line below is a rule or rating from Outpost's knowledge base, with its source; your own plan is built from your answers.
HTML5 (browser-played) games on itch.io can only take donations; to sell access the project must be set to Downloadable.
itch.io offers three pricing modes per project: no payments, $0-or-donate (a suggested donation that can be skipped), and paid with the set price as a minimum that buyers may exceed.
Premium games are Steam's core model: discounts of 20% or more can trigger wishlist emails, discounts run 10-95% (launch discount max 40%) with 30-day cooldowns, and seasonal sales are exempt from the between-discount cooldown.
Free-to-play and Early Access games may enter Steam Next Fest if unreleased, with a public demo, a public store page, and only one Next Fest per title ever.
itch.io's quality guidelines tell creators to avoid sponsored installers and ads that block play until the player acts, and itch never puts ads on creator pages.
Steam does not accept applications with advertising-based business models, so an ads-funded game must remove ads or monetize differently for its Steam build.
itch.io has no general in-game purchase system; its 'sub-products' API sells add-ons through itch's checkout for redemption on the developer's own site or service.
Steam does not accept blockchain games that issue or allow exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs.
Free-to-play games on Steam are generally not eligible for curated discount spotlights (Daily Deals, Midweek and Weekend deals), and in-game content discounts are run from the developer's own backend.
Steamworks' onboarding rules, microtransaction, free-to-play and Inventory docs set no specific odds-disclosure rule for paid random items, so Steam loot boxes are governed by regional law, rating boards and the Steam Inventory drop system.
Desktop games installed through the itch app need an app manifest if they require redistributables (Visual C++, DirectX, XNA), have multiple launch targets or use the itch.io API; simple single-executable builds work without one.
itch.io's butler docs say the backend rejects builds above 30GB total uncompressed size; the itch app docs say 'the web limit is 2GB'; a 2020 community thread showed a 1 GB web-upload message, now likely out of date.
itch.io tags butler uploads by channel name: names containing win/windows, linux, mac/osx or android become Windows, Linux, Mac or Android downloads; architecture cannot be tagged.
itch.io HTML5 zips should not contain more than 1,000 files after extraction (a default limit; itch.io says to contact them if it doesn't suit the project).
Read from Outpost's knowledge base on Nov 8, 2026; every line links its source.
03 · YOUR FIRST MONTH
A sample month. Your own plan is built from your audit, stage and goal, and paid options only ever appear as optional boosts.
Week 1 · days 1–7
Week 2 · days 8–14
Week 3 · days 15–21
Week 4 · days 22–30
DEADLINES · LIVE
Read from Outpost's knowledge base when this page loads. Expected dates follow the organiser's usual pattern and are labelled until the organiser confirms them.
04 · WHERE TO BE LISTED
Costs are as published by each destination when the research was reviewed; check before you pay for anything.
partner.steamgames.com
The main demo window for the genre; plan the demo around it but test it earlier.
Free (needs an existing Steam app)
partner.steamgames.com
Platformers are a natural fit for handhelds and Deck-ready players filter for it.
itch.io
Metroidvania Month is a recurring genre jam; good for prototypes and meeting the community.
pcgamingwiki.com
Players check it for controller, frame rate and remapping details.
igdb.com
Feeds Twitch categories, which matters when streamers play your game.
speedrun.com
Home of speedrun leaderboards; games are added by request when they meet its criteria.
reddit.com
Dedicated genre community; read its self-promotion rules first.
PC STORES · LIVE
For PC games already on Steam: what Epic offers and asks, from Epic's own pages where they could be read.
Epic Games Store developers keep 100% of the first US$1M net revenue per product per calendar year (resetting each 1 January from 2026, applied automatically), then 88/12.
Epic First Run is an opt-in 6-month Epic-exclusive window paying 100% net revenue; it is open only to new games not previously released on another third-party PC store, and afterwards the standard 100%-of-first-US$1M then 88/12 terms apply.
Epic lets games use their own or a third-party payment solution for in-app purchases, keeping up to 100% of that revenue.
Epic requires multiplayer games sold on other PC stores to support crossplay with them, and products added to its publishing tools after 9 March 2023 to enable Epic achievements if they offer achievements on other PC stores.
Listing on Epic Games Store is paid. $100 per product plus local taxes; not refundable but recouped after $1,000 on EGS. Developer keeps 100% of the first $1M net revenue per product per year (resets every Jan 1 from 2026), then 88/12, applied automatically to Epic-processed payments. A separate opt-in 'Epic First Run' gives 100% for a 6-month exclusive. Free alternative: itch.io or the Microsoft Store PC path (free)
05 · SEARCH DEMAND
Primary search
metroidvania marketing
Below the provider’s reporting threshold: real demand, too small to report.
DataForSEO Google Ads, US/en, Oct 2026: primary keyword below reporting threshold. Related: 'metroidvania' 22200/mo, 'platformer games' 14800/mo.
Comparing: show why you
Comparing: show why you
Comparing: show why you
Learning: answer with guides
06 · AVOID
The genre's appeal is the loop of finding a new ability and opening old paths. If the demo stops before the first gate, players never feel it.
Busy UI, tiny characters and dark palettes make movement hard to follow in a feed. Crop tight and keep each loop to one idea.
The comparison helps search but invites direct judgement. Pair it with one clear difference so the game has its own reason to exist.
Platformer players care about input feel. Missing controller info or an unreviewed Deck status costs wishlists from the people most likely to buy.
speedrun.com looks at length, development effort, player base and optimisation potential, and only well-known users can request unreleased games, from 21 days before launch. Plan it as a post-launch community, not a pre-launch channel.
07 · WHAT OUTPOST DOES
Rewrites your Steam page copy around what this genre checks: controller, Deck and difficulty info
Drafts posts around your clips for Bluesky and LinkedIn, posted once you approve, with a receipt for each, and genre-community posts for you to post
Builds a shortlist of YouTube creators who cover new metroidvanias and platformers and drafts personal pitches for you to send
Drafts PCGamingWiki and IGDB entries for you to submit and tracks Next Fest deadlines
Publishes honest 'games like' and feature-filter articles on your site that build search traffic over months
Reports which clips, creators and fests lined up with the wishlists you share
Every action Outpost takes gets a receipt: the live URL, a timestamp and what it drove, or “nothing yet”.See how receipts work
08 · QUESTIONS
Long enough to reach at least one ability-gated area and one boss, so players feel the loop. Many developers aim for a self-contained slice rather than the start of the game cut short.
As soon as movement feels good. GIFs of an early build can start building a following long before the art is final, and wishlists need months to accumulate.
Usually not. Unreleased games can only be requested by well-known users from 21 days before launch, and games are judged on length, effort, player base and speedrun potential. Plan for it after launch.
For platformers, yes. Many players look for Deck-ready games in this genre, and Valve's compatibility review is free. Make sure the result and your controller support are visible on the page.
Rarely. Next Fest works best when the demo has already been tested with creators and smaller festivals and you have a GIF schedule running before and after it.
Clips and creator videos can move wishlists quickly but unevenly. Search traffic and community presence compound over months, which is why starting early matters.
Often yes, as a second store once your Steam page is working, if your game meets Epic's rules: Epic Games Store developers keep 100% of the first US$1M net revenue per product per calendar year (resetting each 1 January from 2026, applied automatically), then 88/12. Epic First Run is an opt-in 6-month Epic-exclusive window paying 100% net revenue; it is open only to new games not previously released on another third-party PC store, and afterwards the standard 100%-of-first-US$1M then 88/12 terms apply. Epic lets games use their own or a third-party payment solution for in-app purchases, keeping up to 100% of that revenue. Epic requires multiplayer games sold on other PC stores to support crossplay with them, and products added to its publishing tools after 9 March 2023 to enable Epic achievements if they offer achievements on other PC stores. Listing on Epic Games Store is paid. $100 per product plus local taxes; not refundable but recouped after $1,000 on EGS. Developer keeps 100% of the first $1M net revenue per product per year (resets every Jan 1 from 2026), then 88/12, applied automatically to Epic-processed payments. A separate opt-in 'Epic First Run' gives 100% for a 6-month exclusive. Free alternative: itch.io or the Microsoft Store PC path (free) Epic First Run is irreversible for its six months, so Outpost asks you to confirm it before planning it.
10 · EVIDENCE
Every fact on this page comes from one of these sources.
Game request criteria (length, effort, player base, optimisation potential) and the 21-day rule for unreleased games
Next Fest rules and February 2027 dates; dates listed on the page: Next Fest Oct 19-26, 2026; Steam Scream V Fest Oct 26 - Nov 2, 2026; Auto-Battler RPG Fest Nov 16-23, 2026; Winter Sale Dec 17, 2026 - Jan 4, 2027; Desktop Companion Fest Jan 14-18, 2027; Shop Keeper Fest Jan 25 - Feb 1, 2027; Couch Co-Op Fest Feb 8-15, 2027; Next Fest Feb 22 - Mar 1, 2027; Real-Time Strategy Fest May 10-17, 2027; Next Fest Jun 14-21, 2027; Summer Sale Jun 24 - Jul 8, 2027 (checked Oct 20, 2026)
Free Deck compatibility review
Metroidvania Month is a recurring itch.io jam
Don't debut a demo at Next Fest; vet it with streamers and other festivals first
Last reviewed . Search volume: DataForSEO Google Ads, US/en, Oct 2026: primary keyword below reporting threshold. Related: 'metroidvania' 22200/mo, 'platformer games' 14800/mo.
FREE WEBSITE AUDIT
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