Should you run ads for your indie game, and how much to spend?
2 min read
By Eduardo Orellana ·
Run ads only once your clips already get reactions organically: ads amplify a hook, they do not create one. Start with a test budget you can afford to lose, split across a few creatives on one platform, and judge it on cost per wishlist and how those wishlists convert, not on clicks. Scale what works in steps, stop what does not after a fair test, and spend most around moments that convert: a demo, Next Fest, launch and sales.
Ads amplify, they do not invent
If a clip gets no reaction when posted for free, paying to show it to more people mostly buys more of no reaction. The games that do well with ads tend to be the ones whose organic posts already travel.
Testing on a small budget
- Pick one platform where your genre's players are.
- Make three to five creatives that differ in their first two seconds.
- Run them for a week at a budget you can afford to lose.
- Measure cost per wishlist in Steamworks against the spend, and keep the best creative.
Demo ads or launch ads
Before launch, ads build wishlists, which Steam turns into launch-day visibility. At launch and during sales, ads can drive purchases directly. Many indies spend on wishlists early and on the launch window.
Common mistakes
- Optimising for clicks or video views instead of wishlists.
- Sending traffic to a page that is not ready.
- Judging a creative after one day.
- Broad targeting with no genre signal.
- Spending money the game's development needs.
Where Flockbay fits
Flockbay drafts campaigns on your own Meta, Google, TikTok and Reddit ad accounts, with creatives cut from your real gameplay; you press Launch, and spend is billed by the platform to your account. Free in beta until 1 December 2026.