How Not to Launch a Game on Steam
summary
A personal indie release, The Square Game goes on Steam with a £1.50 launch price, a $100 app fee, and store rules that require in-game screenshots and a trailer for release. A mistaken upload leaves the beta live for five months (forgot to switch active build). Analytics show 88 sales with 5 returns (≈6%) and a median playtime of 12 minutes (88 sales, 5 returns (≈6%)); wishlist activations account for about half of purchases (wishlists drove ~50% of purchases). Advice: have the store page up months earlier and price above a cup of coffee.
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