Wishlist velocity: why the rate matters as much as the total
2 min read
By Eduardo Orellana ·
Wishlist velocity is the rate at which a game is gaining wishlists, usually per day or week. Developers who watch Steam's Popular Upcoming list, including Chris Zukowski, describe its ranking as a mix of total wishlists, recent pace and release date; Valve does not publish the formula. So a game gaining fast in the weeks before release can outrank a bigger, stalled one. Time a trailer, a demo or creator coverage for those weeks.
A stalled 15,000 can lose to a rising 8,000
Totals take years to build and say little about now. Pace says whether players want the game this week. For pre-release lists that compare games launching in the same window, observers find pace near release counts alongside the total.
Measuring it
Take net daily additions from Steamworks' wishlist report and average them over a week. Track the trend: rising before launch is what you want to see.
Timing a push
Keep something back for the last weeks before release: a launch trailer, a final demo update, a creator wave, ads. Spending every beat early leaves a big total with a flat line just when the list is ranking you.
Where the principle breaks
Velocity is not a substitute for total: a tiny game with a spike still has few people to email at launch, and launch-week sales follow wishlists. Build the total over months; shape the pace in the final weeks.
Where Flockbay fits
Flockbay reads your daily wishlists from your own Steamworks key, free, and prepares the launch trailer, posts and ads on your own accounts for the final push, free in beta until 1 December 2026.