I hope this helps you understand Early Access better. If you have any questions or doubts about how to market your game feel free to DM me or email me at viral.indie@gmail.com.

If you still want to do Early Access, then be ready to actually launch your game.
That means a polished game and around 7k wishlists.
There are other ways to get player feedback as well, one example is a free demo.

Steam treats your Early Access as your launch and that's the main problem. The algorithm is ranking your game and treating it as a new release. A publisher will probably reject you if you are in EA because most of the money is made on the official launch.

Prepare yourself for a question like how much money would you ask for?

And remember, let your publisher earn their share. Don't take an offer you don't like.

A publisher is there because they see business potential in your game.
You already know your game, but make sure you know how much a game like yours can earn and what your unique selling proposition is.
A publisher likes your game, so be confident in it.

I shortened the links because of the character limit.

The name of the first video is "How to Make an Indie Game Trailer" and the second video is named "Top Game Trailer Mistakes and How to Fix Them".

Happy to help!

There is, but it works for the other side as well. Let me explain.
Pricing the game too low can also have a bad impact, if your game costs $5 players might think it's just a hobby project and not something serious. That can hurt sales as well.

You are welcome!

Yeah as @glitchinfluencers.bsky.social said, if it works then great.
The main reason why you want to start marketing early is to have enough time to collect wishlists and iterate on the game based on playtest feedback.
You can't do everything well in a week before release, nobody can.

PR agencies are something that can give you media coverage, but I don't think it's that crucial for a solo indie dev.
Especially since it costs money and you can otherwise spend it on a good capsule, assets, etc...

Even if you don't get media coverage you can succeed, Steam algorithm is the most powerful thing you can utilize as an indie dev. That will get you exposed to millions of players daily.
Media coverage is huge if you can get it, but if not it's not game over.

You can use resources like @glitchinfluencers.bsky.social sent, but generally speaking you need something special that will be given to media exclusively.
For example, you can try and email IGN something like "Hey, I'd like to release my announcement trailer (important) on your channel..."

That's a part of the journey!
Even if your project doesn't get far because of late marketing, you can always move on with a ton of game dev experience you gained.
On your next project, you will know what goes into marketing and when you should start. That gives you a good chance to succeed!

These are the steps that everyone making a game should do, they can bring a ton of wishlists.

I hope this post was useful to you, if you have any questions feel free to reach out!

I'd also make a list of streamers that I could contact and send them my game. Of course, this means that a press kit needs to be made along with a professional capsule. That would allow streamers to create their own thumbnails with my art.

As soon as I have decided on the art style and main game loop (basically finish the pre-production stage), I would create a Steam page and share it.
After that, apply for festivals and work on a demo to unlock more marketing options and get feedback.

I just checked out the website and it seems great! I didn't know about this person or their free resources before, but I'll definitely look more into this and share what I learn.
Thanks for sharing!

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