Hungry Horrors Dev Log: The Power of the Wishlist

When we first started developing our indie game Hungry Horrors, I had never really thought about wishlists. In fact, I used to think that wishlists on platforms like Steam were just a way to let your friends know what games you wanted for your birthday. It wasn’t until I started researching how to market our first indie game that I realised just how critical wishlists are—not only for developers but also for players.

What is a Wishlist Really?

A wishlist allows players to bookmark games they’re interested in without purchasing them immediately. On Steam, adding a game to your wishlist signals interest to both the platform and the developer. For players, wishlisting games ensures notifications about major updates, sales, or the game’s official release. For developers, it serves as a crucial pre-launch metric that helps boost visibility across various sections of the Steam storefront.

For Gamers: Why Should You Wishlist a Game?

Game Milestones: – Wishlisting a game ensures that you’ll be notified when it reaches important milestones like when a demo becomes available, when the game enters early access, or when the full version is released.

Sales: You’ll get notified when games you’ve wishlisted go on sale, helping you grab them at a discount.

Personal Recommendations: – By adding games to your wishlist, Steam gets a clearer picture of your gaming preferences, which improves the quality of future recommendations.

Supporting Developers: – Wishlists give indie developers, especially small teams like ours at Clumsy Bear Studio, the necessary boost for visibility. Every wishlist helps push a game higher in the Steam algorithm, making it easier for more players to discover it.

Why Are Wishlists So Important for Indie Developers?

Wishlists are the lifeblood of an indie game’s visibility on Steam, particularly before launch. According to Chris Zukowski, the indie marketing expert from “How to Market a Game”, wishlists are a “signal of intent” to Steam’s algorithm. Steam’s system uses wishlist counts to measure how much interest a game is generating, which helps determine whether the game should be given more visibility on key storefront sections.

Popular Upcoming

One of the most important pre-launch goals for indie developers is to appear in Steam’s Popular Upcoming section, which highlights the most wishlisted, soon-to-be-released games. This section boosts visibility just before a game’s launch, often resulting in a significant uptick in traffic to the game’s store page. Developers typically aim for 7,000 to 10,000 wishlists to land in this section, though Lewis Denby from “Game If You Are” suggests that 7,000 to 12,000 wishlists might be needed depending on the number of other games launching at the same time.

Appearing in Popular Upcoming can dramatically increase wishlist growth, with some games gaining 750-2,000 wishlists per day (“) once they’re featured. This boost helps the game build momentum leading into its launch.

New and Trending

Once the game launches, the goal shifts to being featured in Steam’s New and Trending section. This section showcases recently released games that are performing well in terms of engagement and sales. Developers again need 7,000 to 12,000 wishlists and strong “wishlist velocity” to increase the odds of appearing here.

“Wishlist velocity” refers to how quickly wishlists are being added. Games that see a rapid surge in wishlists in a short period are more likely to appear in New and Trending, giving them broader visibility on Steam’s homepage.

Discovery Queue

After launch, the Discovery Queue becomes another vital driver of traffic. The Discovery Queue is a personalized feature that recommends games to players based on their wishlist activity, play history, and interests. A higher number of wishlists makes it more likely that your game will be shown in players’ Discovery Queue, generating consistent traffic to the game’s store page long after launch.

Games that appear in Popular Upcoming and New and Trending often benefit from sustained visibility in the Discovery Queue, creating a snowball effect where wishlists lead to more traffic, which leads to even more wishlists and potential sales.

The 30-50K Wishlist Milestone

Many developers believe that accumulating 30,000 to 50,000 wishlists pre-launch can be a game-changer. Hitting this benchmark provides a strong cushion, ensuring that even with a lower conversion rate (the percentage of wishlists that turn into sales), the game still garners enough purchases to maintain visibility on Steam’s front page. This number increases the chances of success by keeping the game in the spotlight across various storefront sections.

What Does It Take to Get Steam’s Full Support?

Once a game surpasses 75,000 to 100,000 wishlists, Steam’s algorithm is more likely to promote the game even further. This level of wishlist support often leads to additional curated features, prime placements on Steam’s homepage, and more. Steam’s system reacts quickly to player interest, so the more wishlists, purchases, and engagement a game has, the more it benefits from algorithm-driven promotion.

Our Journey with Hungry Horrors

Hi! I’m Jerzy, one half of Clumsy Bear Studio. We’re currently working on our first indie game for Steam, Hungry Horrors. It’s a roguelite deckbuilder where you feed monsters and try to appease their taste. If you manage to do it correctly, they’ll let you pass; if you fail, they’ll eat you instead!

At Clumsy Bear Studio, we’re in the very early stages of building our Steam presence for Hungry Horrors. After three weeks, we’ve hit 1,000 wishlists, which is a great start, but we still have a long way to go. Every wishlist matters to us as it helps boost the visibility of our game and supports our efforts to bring it to life. Your wishlist support would mean the world to us—so if you’re excited about Hungry Horrors, we’d love your help. Please visit our Steam page and drop us a wishlist!

In Summary: A Game-Changer for Indie Games

Wishlists are more than just a ‘save for later’ button. Developers, especially small indie studios like ours, use them as a key metric for gaining visibility and building momentum before a game’s release. Whether you’re a player or a developer, understanding the power of wishlists can be the difference between a game’s success or failure on Steam.

At the end of the day, wishlists help games stand out in a crowded marketplace, drive early sales, and increase visibility. If you’re an indie developer, it’s essential to start gathering wishlists as early as possible. For gamers, adding a game to your wishlist helps ensure you don’t miss out on exciting new releases—and it gives developers a much-needed boost.

Sources:

Steam Store Documentation by Valve

How To Market A Game by Chris Zukowski

How many Steam wishlists does my indie game need? by Lewis Denby

A game developer's guide to Steam wishlists by Marie Dealessandri

Can week-one Steam sales predict first year sales? by Jake Birkett