GamesSteam games playbook
Valve sells no placement. Wishlists come from a Coming Soon page that goes live early, one well-timed Next Fest, genre fests and steady updates. Outpost plans each step, drafts the copy and lines up the wishlists you report with what came before them.
01 · DISCOVERY
Steam players mostly discover games inside Steam: Next Fest demo pages, themed fests, tag browsing, curator recommendations, the Popular Upcoming list and the emails Valve sends to wishlisters. Outside Steam, attention comes from a trailer, a streamer, a Reddit clip or a press mention, and the wishlist button is where you keep it. Valve says wishlist counts and outside traffic are not direct visibility factors (Popular Upcoming is the exception). A wishlist is worth having because it triggers an email at launch and on discounts of 20% or more.
A player sees a capsule, clip or demo, opens the store page, wishlists the game, and then gets an email at launch or when a 20%+ discount runs for more than 8 hours. Many check recent reviews before buying, and many wait for a sale. During Next Fest the demo comes before the wishlist.
02 · CHANNELS
Ranked 5 (essential) to 1 (optional) by the research for this industry.
Every other channel sends people here. Valve recommends opening the page as soon as the game is shown publicly. Tags decide which genre pages and fests you appear in, and capsules may only show the game's title as text.
Valve's front-page demo festival is free and has no paid placement, and a game can appear only once. Pick the edition your demo will be polished for, not the next one on the calendar.
Genre events (horror, co-op, strategy, cozy and more) accept Coming Soon titles without a discount, so a tag-matched game gets free front-page time before launch.
Send up to 5 copies each to up to 100 curators through Steam itself. No loose keys can leak to resellers, and you can filter curators by tag and language.
A short clip that shows the hook in its first seconds is what gets people to click through and wishlist. r/IndieGaming and r/indiegames reward real gameplay footage but limit how often you can promote.
Valve shows real updates to owners and wishlisters in Recently Updated, and a 20%+ discount sends wishlisters an email (at most one every two weeks per app).
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.
Steam Curator Connect sends up to 5 copies to each of up to 100 curators as licences, which is a lever for paid games; how it applies to free-to-play titles was not verified.
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.
Steam's four seasonal sales are discount events that all games are invited to join with a discount, so they reward priced games; free-to-play titles have no base price to discount and are generally excluded from curated deal spotlights.
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.
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.
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.
In-game purchases in Steam games must go through Steam's microtransaction API and Steam Wallet, including both purchase paths in free-to-play games.
Steam enforces a 30-day waiting period between paying the Steam Direct fee and being able to release, and identity, tax and bank paperwork takes 15-30 days.
Steam games are limited to 100 achievements at first (more once the app reaches the Profile Features threshold), and achievements require Steamworks API integration (ISteamUserStats SetAchievement/StoreStats).
Steam build review requires the product to launch on every operating system listed on the store page and to implement every supported feature listed there; SteamPipe needs at least one launch option.
Steam Cloud only works after the developer sets a per-user byte quota and file count; Valve lists 100MB as the current maximum size for one ISteamRemoteStorage::FileWrite or FileWriteStreamWriteChunk call, and says these limits may change over time.
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
Free, high-intent demo traffic from Valve, and you get only one try. Feb 2027 registration closes Jan 10.
Free (needs a Steam app; the $100 Steam Direct fee is recouped after $1,000 in sales)
partner.steamgames.com
Genre-matched front-page events all year. Coming Soon games can join themed fests without a discount.
partner.steamgames.com
Reviewer copies sent through Steam, with no keys to leak. Up to 100 curators, 5 copies each.
yogscast.games
A Steam festival for teams of five or fewer, with creator coverage. Selective: 3,500+ entries in 2026.
Free to enter
howtomarketagame.com
Tracks festival and showcase deadlines and cost tags, with daily alert emails.
impress.games
A free press kit that imports from Steam, plus a key request widget and a creator CRM.
Free plan (up to 3 press kits)
igdb.com
Twitch's category list draws on IGDB, so streamers need an entry before they can tag your game.
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
steam wishlists
2,400searches a month
DataForSEO Google Ads, US/en, Oct 2026
Learning: answer with guides
Learning: answer with guides
Comparing: show why you
Comparing: show why you
06 · AVOID
Valve requires at least two weeks of Coming Soon (plus a 21-day wait after paying the fee), but that's only the minimum. Third-party VGI data shows many strong launches opened their pages 6-12 months ahead. Every week without a page loses wishlists you can't get back.
A game may appear in Next Fest only once. Entering the next edition by default, with a buggy demo, uses up the most valuable free event on Steam.
Valve's asset rules allow only the title as text on capsules. Generic or wrong tags put the game in front of players who won't wishlist it, and keep it out of the fests where it belongs.
Valve forbids incentivised reviews and in-game review prompts. Breaking these rules risks the store page itself.
Some free festivals upsell paid slots, and key-harvesting scammers pose as curators. Use Curator Connect and vet every key request.
07 · WHAT OUTPOST DOES
Rewrites your store page copy from your confirmed facts to each Steam field's limit, with the tags, assets and screenshot order it needs. You paste it into Steamworks, since Valve has no store-editing API.
Keeps one festival calendar (Next Fest, themed fests and showcases) matched to your game, with the deadlines, asset lists and a 'start preparing by' date for each.
Finds YouTube creators who recently covered games like yours and drafts a personal pitch for each from your confirmed facts. You send it from your own mailbox.
Counts the clicks on every tracked link and reads the wishlist numbers you share each week (typed in or a Steamworks CSV export), so each change sits next to the post, fest or update around it.
Gives every action a receipt (the live URL, a timestamp and the clicks that followed, or 'nothing yet'), so you can stop what isn't working.
Turns your Steam patch notes and notes into devlogs on your site, and prepares Steam event and Reddit versions for you to post from your own account, because these communities require a real person.
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
Not directly. Valve says wishlists aren't a factor in algorithmic visibility except on the Popular Upcoming tab, and that traffic to your page isn't a factor either. Wishlists matter because each one gets an email at launch and when you run a discount of 20% or more for over 8 hours.
As soon as you show the game publicly. That's Valve's advice. The hard minimums are 21 days between paying the Steam Direct fee and release, and two weeks of Coming Soon, which you submit 7 business days before it should go live. Treat those as a floor, not a plan.
The one your demo will be polished for. Each game gets one Next Fest, so a later edition with a better demo beats an earlier one with a rough build. The next two are Feb 22 - Mar 1, 2027 (register by Jan 10) and Jun 14-21, 2027.
Think of it as a deposit. Valve recoups it in the payment after your game reaches $1,000 in adjusted gross revenue. Everything that drives discovery on Steam (fests, curators, update rounds) is free.
No. Curator Connect is free and lets you send up to 5 copies each to up to 100 curators inside Steam. Curators don't have to review, so a personal pitch matters more than volume.
No. Steamworks changes need your account, and Reddit and Discord require real people. Outpost prepares the copy, the assets, the timing and the tracking, and you click submit. Wishlist numbers come from the Steamworks reports you share.
Festival weeks show up in daily wishlist data right away. Store-page fixes, curator coverage and content outside Steam build more slowly over months. Outpost reports week by week so you can see what each step did.
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.
Wishlists aren't an algorithmic visibility factor except Popular Upcoming; store traffic isn't a factor; games below 40% reviews are less likely to be featured; update visibility rounds
Launch emails; discount emails at 20%+ for over 8 hours; one wishlist email per app every two weeks; daily wishlist reporting
Open the Coming Soon page early; wishlisters are emailed at release
21-day wait, 2-week Coming Soon minimum, 7 business days' notice
$100 fee recouped after $1,000 adjusted gross revenue
Feb 22 - Mar 1, 2027 dates; Jan 10 registration; one appearance per game
Themed fest and seasonal sale dates Oct 2026 - Jul 2027; June 2027 Next Fest 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)
Up to 100 curators, 5 copies each; filters by tag and language
Capsule sizes, title-only text rule, screenshot requirements; at least 5 screenshots, 1920x1080 minimum
No incentivised reviews or in-game review prompts
Teams of five or fewer; 3,500+ entries in 2026
Third-party: many successful games opened store pages 6-12 months before release
Last reviewed . Search volume: DataForSEO Google Ads, US/en, Oct 2026.
FREE WEBSITE AUDIT
Paste your website. Outpost reads it, scores your visibility, finds your competitors and shows the first fixes, free. Then the playbook above becomes your own campaign, measured in wishlists and players.
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