When should you start marketing your game?
2 min read
By Eduardo Orellana ·
Start as soon as there is something to show, often within the first weeks: short clips of the prototype find out whether the idea gets a reaction, which is itself useful design data. Put up the Steam page once the art direction and core loop are settled, since Valve says a wishlist from two years before launch converts about as well as one from two weeks before. The cost of starting early is small; the cost of starting at launch is every wishlist you did not collect.
Marketing early is also testing early
A clip of a prototype mechanic that nobody reacts to tells you something the code cannot. Developers who share early learn which ideas travel before they spend a year on the wrong one.
What to do when
- Prototype: clips of the core mechanic; note which get reactions.
- Look and loop settled: Steam page up, devlogs begin.
- Vertical slice: demo planning, creator list, festival calendar.
- Months before launch: demo, Next Fest, trailer.
The fear of being copied, or of a bad first impression
Ideas are rarely stolen; execution is the hard part. A rough early clip is forgiven; a polished launch nobody knows about is not. The real risk is showing placeholder art on the Steam page itself, so wait for the look before putting the page up.
Where Flockbay fits
Flockbay markets the game from the first build: clips and devlogs from real gameplay, the Steam page when the look is ready, posts and playtests, free in beta until 1 December 2026.