How To Sell More Games on Steam! (Store Page Optimization)

I hate how most trailers say nothing about how a game actually plays. Somehow the most important aspect of a game is secondary and instead you just get cutscenes and cinematic nonsense that has nothing to do with anything. Super Snail Boy does a great job showcasing the gameplay in its trailer

re: the capsule of dorf romantik, something i’ve said many times to people, a distinctive logo looks good when drawn in just black and white. you gotta focus on clean shapes/forms that read well without anything fancy, and then selectively and carefully add those elements back if you want.

Really good video thanks

Priceless information, thank you!

This information here is actually really really valuable!

Just curious, I saw that you updated your tags since this video and was curious if your discovery queue numbers actually went up like was predicted? And if so by how much did it increase?

this is amazing info/advice thank you so much!

God, I hate clicking through a trailer (exactly like he said) and there's little to no game play. That's all I want :(

I agree, I hate when steam pages don't even have gameplay in their trailer at all.. only cinematics and graphics tht have nothng to do with the actual gameplay. I usually just leave the steam page and go on youube to watch an actual gamplay video as soon as Isee that the trailer doesn't have any.

Thank you so much for this! It feels like enormous value added for free

Very Great!
Thanks!

Hello, I have a question : do we have a percentage, how many people buy our games after coming on the page ?

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.

great vid

this guy knows what he's talking about, yeah thats exactly how i shop! i refuse to buy games that don't show game play in their trailer. just makes me think "oh ur trying to over emphasise the narrative because the game play sucks.

Of course people skip watching trailers, and skip straight to screenshots, when every f*(&#$ game trailer on the market obscures or leaves out totally the gameplay... people are so dumb who create that. Nobody ever since the creation of video games sold games by showing large inspiring animated text on screen with some random graphics you will never see in the game...
People would love to watch trailers and would ignore screenshots, if only they went straight to the point, after investing, paying, installing, okay, then show the intro, story and win peoples hearts...
I would be happy to be proven that I am wrong.

How to sell more games on steam:
• Get 10,000 or more wishlists.

10,000 wishlists!!! oh dear, i have 60 😱

This is really interesting, thanks for the information

So true, I always look for videos from the game. If the game is like over 5 EU I go to discussions to search for what other plp say about it. I started my project where I will play a demo/free new game a day. Demos are really cool way to sell.

Currently building my steam page now. Just to get early wishlists. Thanks for the insights. ☺️🙏

A veces uno como desarrollador se sorprende por lo informado aquí, pero es justamente la manera como nosotros nos comportamos como compradores; y es cierto, miramos los screenshot, no miramos los tráilers, revisamos si está en "juegos similares", si es parte de una franquicia que nos asegure un buen juego, salteamos demasiado los tráileres, etc. Todo un de detalle esto.

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.

Best game advertising ever made. I'll definitely snail! :)

To be honest Jonas, when I watch your trailer I thought it is "just another platformer" with neon lights -_- . I didn't even notice there is this AI anticipation component untill now

The slow dread and increasingly lacking attentiveness in Jonas' voice is bang on for 'dev who has now noticed a dozen things to fix and is compiling a mental list'

Er sagt die Wishlist kann bei superguten Streamer wie Jonas, das bist Du, schnell mal 500-2000 hochschnellen. Ich schick Dir mein Spiel und Du machst ein Stream. Ich bete dann. Aber ich glaube eher, Ich werde Ignoriert😂. Angebot ok?

As a frequent steam player, who very recently started working on my first game, I can confirm that pretty much everything he said was accurate in my case. The capsule needs to look interesting to click. Like half the games I get (or more) come from the Recommended "Because you played..." section of the store. I rarely watch an entire trailer (there's just too many to browse). I never read the "second trailer" section - just skim images usually. Usually my priorities are (in order) -
1. What does the gameplay look like.
2. How are the reviews.
3. Is there an interesting or unique aspect to the game (Ed McMillen's art for example can really get my attention). I'm not really into roguelikes, but I bought binding of Isaac based on its art, rather than gameplay, and found I enjoyed the gameplay. It's a rare case where story and/or art gets me to buy a game, even if I'm unsure about the gameplay.

But the top top priority is always - does the gameplay look fun. I care a lot about excellent story aspects, like in Disco Elysium or Celeste, for example, but I usually don't know if that's good or the extent of it until I'm in the game - it usually ends up being a bonus and not the reason for buying a game, unless I hear about the game from somebody else or in the reviews.

I’m just seeing this but I have bough that snail game and I have bought that shit for at least 6 other ppl I feel everyone should try that one especially if you think your good at platforms

This is amazing, thank you for putting this video together.

This sh*t is so interesting. Thank you to both of you!

CUT THE FKNG HAIR FAG STYLE!!

So much to learn here! 🙏
Great vid! 🙌

dein englisch macht mich sauer... 😡😡

he is so wrong about the many trailers. people love that

is it okay to have a bad Coming Soon page? it's currently asset-flippy, but planning to make it more and more original. do you think this affects ?

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 <3

How do I deal with reviewers claiming I copied another dev when a game I released was a collaboration with that dev?

This is a pot of gold. Super useful, thanks for putting this together!

the answer is clear, have YT channel with 100k+ subs, hehe

I believe that in the future, AI, will likely have the capability to effortlessly create entire games with just a click. However, it's essential to consider the various stages that will precede this transformative development. Initially, AI may primarily assist human game developers rather than completely taking over the creative process. Already, many individuals receive assistance from AI in the form of generating images, codes, and stories—a trend that is already underway.

During this transitional phase, we can expect to witness a prolonged period where AI helps humans in game creation. Subsequently, as AI-generated content becomes widespread on the Internet, there is a possibility that it may lead to a certain level of uniformity or generic content. However, it is also conceivable that this might not be the case. Following this influx of AI-generated content, a resurgence of creative efforts by human developers may emerge, leading to a new era of innovative and diverse games.

Simultaneously, the implementation of laws regulating AI usage is likely to become more prevalent. Challenges such as limitations in hardware, data availability, and financial constraints will continue to play a significant role in shaping the extent of AI's impact. As a result, there may be periods of restriction and control over AI capabilities until a breakthrough discovery occurs. This breakthrough could involve new methods for optimizing AI, leaving us with uncertainties about the full range of its capabilities.

The danger of making your steam page too early is that people in the target audience might hit ignore and never see your game again

Me looking up slimekeep in 2024: oh, it's still not released 😅

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

You have different games under different developer names on steam? Did you also participated in thronefall creation?

heres a question I have. When it comes to tags on steam is there a potential to oversaturate your games recommendations by applying too many tags? Even if those tags are relevent and would reccomend game within the same category?

I wish I would have seen this video a couple years ago. Still, I'm super happy I got to see it at all!

Hi folks Chris (the guest) here in the Comments. Feel free to ask me anything