Skip to main content

Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
TagsGame Engines
(2 edits) (+2)

The single biggest issue in why a game doesn't sell well (from my experience) tends to be a lack of marketing/hype.
There needs to be a person who has made a video on it and plays through the game; uninterrupted.  Not just a trailer but actual gameplay.

Indie devs are expecting streamers/youtubers to do work for free in exchange for a game key when most of them doing it professionally (with larger audiences) will balk at that kind of request.  Kindly don't waste their time.  If you are unable to have a budget for marketing then you end up doing the work instead.

So many indie devs don't bother setting up a website, Discord server, or any sort of presence outside of the store page itself and that does no favors.

The OP (MaxSMoke777) is vastly overestimating the audience that uses & plays VR games.  VR is incredibly niche and you would have a larger audience if your games were on a more widely-available platform instead of a VR-exclusive for specific headset brands.  VR is 0.5% of Steam's total playerbase and that says quite a lot in and of itself.

To be a bit frank, far too many of the responses in this thread seem to be self-deprecating crap (or even worse, blaming customers for not DARING to engage with your VISION) or egotistical rants on the gaming market.

If you are selling things then you need to treat yourself like a business and act accordingly.  Sink or swim; there's no room for floundering too long.  I've actually advised several indie devs on my FreshGaming discord server about a few bits; mostly harsh advice that they either improve upon or give up on.

The sheer sense of entitlement that I see here about devs who have some absurd expectation that money and customers will automagically appear just because they release a game...just wow.  >_>

Kindly temper your expecations accordingly, ok?  Ok.

Marketing 101; maybe only do game dev if you already have a regular full-time job to pay the bills.  Game dev is a hobby up until the point you start making enough money to do it full time.  Going full-time without a safety net is incredibly risky.

Show post...

Getting people to look at what you make can be hard, but don't get discouraged. Engaging with other people in the community forums helps in my experience; so does advertising in other venues. In particular, try getting the attention of people with similar interests, e.g. by commenting on their games. And take the long view: two months isn't enough time to build momentum, especially for a new creator with zero marketing budget. :) 

mod edit: removed the spam links from an otherwise helpful post

This post has some great advice; grassroots-style marketing does take longer but can be built-up over time.

Just make sure to follow the rules of whatever forum you post in so that you aren't 'spamming' adverts.

For example, on my Discord server I keep a dedicated channel for self-promotion, referral links, friend codes, and other such bits.  Anyone who just joins up and asks to partner (without having even participated) or tries to spam a link ends up getting booted.