How to make a game trailer, step by step
3 min read
By Eduardo Orellana ·
Open on your best gameplay in the first few seconds, because Valve says Discovery Queue viewers may give you under ten. Capture clean footage at 60 fps with a debug camera and the HUD on, cut it to a licensed track, build to one memorable moment, and end on the title, the platform and "Wishlist now". Make it readable with the sound off, keep it around a minute, and export H.264 at 1920x1080. Valve asks that your first trailer be mostly gameplay.
The first five seconds decide it
Valve's own guidance is that Discovery Queue viewers may give a trailer under ten seconds, and that many watch with the sound off. So the reasonable structure, logo then mood then gameplay, is the wrong one. Open on the verb: the thing the player does that no other game does, shown working.
Which trailer, and when
- Announcement or teaser: short, for the Steam page going up; shows the hook and the look.
- Gameplay trailer: the store page's first trailer; mostly gameplay, HUD visible, as Valve recommends.
- Launch trailer: the release date and what players say; for launch week and festivals.
Cinematic trailers suit studios with a known audience. For an unknown game, gameplay sells.
Capturing footage
- Record at 60 fps and at least 1080p; OBS is free and fine.
- Add a debug camera, a way to spawn situations and a god mode, so you can stage the moments rather than wait for them.
- Hide debug overlays; keep the HUD on gameplay shots.
- Record far more than you need: a minute of trailer often takes an hour of footage.
Cutting it
- Pick a track first and cut to its beats; a licensed library or a composer's permission, never a track you do not have rights to.
- Hook in the first seconds, then build: core loop, variety, one moment that escalates.
- Text over footage for anything sound would carry, short and large.
- End on the logo, the platform, the date or "Wishlist now".
DaVinci Resolve is free and enough. Common mistakes: long logo intros, footage that hides the HUD, and showing every feature instead of the one that matters.
Slow games and vertical cuts
A slow game shows its pace honestly but cuts faster between its best moments; a cosy game sells calm, not speed. Cut a vertical 9:16 version for TikTok and Shorts by reframing the action, not cropping the HUD off.
Getting it to Steam
Export H.264 with AAC audio in an .mp4, at 1920x1080, 30 or 60 fps, at 5,000 Kbps or more, as Valve recommends. Its first two trailers appear before the screenshots. See Steam trailer requirements for the full spec.
Where Flockbay fits
Flockbay's Video studio cuts trailers, devlogs and shorts from your real gameplay, on Flockbay's hosted AI or your own Claude or ChatGPT. Free in beta until 1 December 2026.