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Understanding Steam’s Popular Upcoming

Posted on by Helen Fan

‘Popular Upcoming’ is a coveted phrase in indie game marketing. The extra visibility on Steam’s homepage can be the difference between a good launch and a great launch, but how do you guarantee your spot among the AAAs, indie darlings, and viral overnight sensations? Thankfully, we’ve covered everything you need to know about Steam’s greatest marketing tool.

What Is Steam’s Popular Upcoming List?

Steam’s homepage features a number of lists to direct consumers to new games and assist titles with discoverability. These lists include New & Trending (recently launched games with high sales velocity), Top Sellers, and the coveted Popular Upcoming. The latter is a list of the 4,000 most-wishlisted games on the platform with an imminent release date.

How is Popular Upcoming Determined?

As mentioned, the top 4,000 most-wishlisted games will appear on Popular Upcoming. While there isn’t a specific wishlist target to guarantee your spot on the list–since the total number of games on the platform varies daily and can increase competitiveness–5000-8000 wishlists is a fair estimate to reach the threshold for inclusion.

From there, your placement on Popular Upcoming is determined by the game’s public release date and time. A game releasing at 9:00 will appear higher on the list than a game releasing at 19:00, and titles usually stay on the list ~30 minutes after launch. Differences in wishlist count will not affect your order in Popular Upcoming, only your inclusion. From there, the games disappear to make room for more upcoming titles.

The Exceptions

There are some exceptions to earning your spot on Steam’s Popular Upcoming chart. While the region and demographic information doesn’t impact your chances, Steam will not count wishlists from bot or spam accounts towards your total for the list. Wishlists earned through organic Steam page traffic–such as organic discoverability, clicks from an article or YouTube video, or an ad campaign–will count. Purchasing wishlists via third-party means, however, may be flagged on their side and will not.

Bot wishlists are in the minority of the wishlists you will receive, but if something seems too good to be true (i.e., someone proposing a one-time payment for a guaranteed number of wishlists), it likely is. Our team is highly experienced running campaigns with the goal of Popular Upcoming, but we also have resources available for developers looking to get started on marketing themselves.

Why Does It Matter?

Understanding how Popular Upcoming works is one thing; understanding why it is important is another.

When your game reaches Popular Upcoming, it is guaranteed a spot on Steam’s homepage ahead of launch. The length of time a game spends on the homepage varies by the amount of other titles launching at/around the same time, however that extra visibility is coveted. For players intentionally seeking out the Popular Upcoming list for new recommendations, your game may catch their attention. For casual browsers toggling through the list, maybe your game’s key art or genre tags will launch a new obsession. As opposed to directly marketing your game via exclusive ad campaigns or targeted content creator videos, Steam’s Popular Upcoming places your game in front of everyone visiting the store, allowing for maximum visibility when it matters. Our partners have nearly doubled their wishlist count by appearing on this list alone!

How Do I Get There?

With the algorithm data in mind, how do you reach this wishlist threshold for your indie game?

Thankfully, our team has compiled a number of resources to help you reach your wishlist goals. From optimizing your storepage and capsule art to managing a successful creator campaign, we’ve covered the most valuable marketing activities that can get your game seen.

Feeling overwhelmed about it all? Starfall PR is happy to create a bespoke campaign for your game to reach Popular Upcoming and beyond.

Quality Capsule Art And The Effect It Can Have On Game Marketability

Posted on by Helen Fan

We’ve all found ourselves endlessly scrolling Steam in search of our next 24-hour obsession. 

The dopamine hit of a colorful picture on a never-ending feed is what keeps us on TikTok, YouTube, and Bluesky for hours: So it shouldn’t be a surprise that our brains react the same way when we’re sifting through indies on Steam. If this is your debut game, you might not have a hoard of knowledge on the effects a bad capsule art can have, or the boost in interest a good capsule image can bring.

Getting Your Game Seen Vs. Getting Your Game Remembered

The capsule image you choose has a huge impact on how gamers view your game. A capsule image should encompass the overall ‘vibe’ of your game, or at least provoke a general impression of what gamers can expect. Your capsule image will be used in coverage and as a main promotional asset. Consider including a captivating character to showcase, and keep text to a minimum. Instead, focus on the placement of your title and ensure it’s legible. 

Your game is unique, so when creating your capsule image, you want to showcase what sets it apart from other games in the same genre. Someone scrolling for a roguelike deckbuilder is going to scroll a few hundred titles, so stand out and leave a lasting impression.

How Gaming Genres Influence Capsule Art

Capsule art for a cozy game should look different from, say, a first-person shooter. Reflect on the capsule art used for games like Schedule I or the Doom franchise. You can almost certainly guess what genre of game you’ll be playing without having any prior knowledge. Having a generic design might seem like a good way to entice multiple genres of audiences, but in reality, you’re losing the attention span of gamers who are looking for something that appeals to their preferences. It might help to scroll through different games that match the genre of your own, and pick up on the clichés or commonly used identifiers. Here’s a list of clichés that can be used to help identify your genre:

  • FPSs / Action-combat – Include a weapon (multiple if done in a non-overwhelming manner that does not distract from the main title), crosshairs are also commonly used. 
  • Cozy Life Sims – Furniture, a cozy background, pastels, or greenery, if applicable to the style of game. 
  • Horror –  The colors red and black are traditionally recognizable in this genre, a stretched or oozing font/darkness. 

 

Quality Art, And Consistent Fonts 

Research the sizing formats of the storefronts you plan on using. If your image isn’t sized correctly, it could ruin the quality. Your font across the digital space should be consistent and recognizable as being part of your media kit- (sometimes referred to as a press kit). We’ve covered the additional assets you’ll need to promote your indie, all of which will be included in your media kit.  

Create a few different designs and share them with a trusted group of friends. Peer review is important, as our own opinions can be biased. If this isn’t available to you, consider creating a Reddit thread for your game and asking for community feedback. 

Ensuring that your capsule art is ‘influencer thumbnail friendly’ and a good fit for your game’s marketability in its genre is peak. If you need a fresh set of eyes, message us, and we’ll be happy to take your launch campaign to the next level.

 

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