Marketing reports and market data
1,533 documents·91 writers·5,954 charts and tables
Documents
How To Market A Game60 min
The best game at Steam Next Fest June 2026: Cat Mail Co
Cat Mail Co. emerged as a definitive success during the June 2026 Steam Next Fest, securing over 45,000 wishlists and achieving a prominent position on the platform’s Popular Upcoming list.
- Cat Mail Co. achieved significant commercial success following the June 2026 Steam Next Fest, securing over 45,000 wishlists and strong post-launch sales.
- Job simulation games provide a high-engagement, low-friction alternative to complex RPGs or platformers, allowing developers to scale content efficiently through repeatable, system-based gameplay loops.
- The game's design demonstrates that developers can achieve high replayability and player satisfaction without relying on extensive, resource-heavy narrative backstories or complex quest chains.
How To Market A GameJul 2026
Mobile Dev Memo45 min
S07, E24: Understanding rewarded user acquisition (with Tricia Han and Sampsa Jaatinen)
Rewarded user acquisition has transitioned from a niche Android-centric tactic into a sophisticated, primary growth engine for the global mobile gaming industry.
- Rewarded user acquisition has evolved from a niche strategy representing 1-2% of mobile gaming ad spend five years ago into a primary growth engine for the industry.
- The shift toward rewarded UA is driven by the ability to leverage rich, post-install behavioral data to optimize engagement and long-term retention, which is superior to the limited signals available in traditional ad networks.
- Machine learning and AI engines are now essential to manage rewarded ecosystems, specifically by determining the optimal timing and nature of rewards to ensure users are incentivized to discover new games without disrupting their current engagement.
Mobile Dev MemoJul 2026
Thomas Brush53 min
Let's Review Your Games — Ep. 057
Indie game development often hinges on the delicate balance between innovative mechanics and intuitive player guidance.
- Puzzle games must clearly establish gameplay rules and interaction mechanics early on to ensure players feel they have earned their progress rather than having solutions fall into their laps.
- Avoid 'pixel hunting' mechanics where players must randomly hover their mouse over the environment to identify interactive objects; instead, clearly communicate what can be picked up or manipulated.
- The core game loop should start with accessible, intuitive tasks that teach the player the mechanics before introducing more obtuse or complex puzzles in later stages.
Thomas BrushJul 2026
Thomas Brush22 min
My Game Just Got 100,000 Wishlists... Here's How To Do It
Achieving 100,000 wishlists on Steam requires a multifaceted strategy that prioritizes algorithmic visibility and clear market positioning.
- Steam's internal algorithm is the primary driver for high-volume wishlists, particularly when external traffic from events like Steam Next Fest signals to the platform that a game is gaining traction.
- The 'Trinity Hook' framework—consisting of a visual hook, a mechanical hook, and a story hook—is essential for capturing user attention quickly on a Steam page, which is critical for converting page visits into wishlists.
- Leveraging Steam Next Fest by launching a demo and coordinating streamer coverage is a highly effective strategy for climbing the platform's charts and generating significant wishlist growth.
Thomas BrushJul 2026
Deconstructor of Fun31 min
The Mobile vs Web User Acquisition: What Nobody's Talking About
The gaming industry is undergoing a fundamental shift toward a unified marketing infrastructure that bridges the historical divide between mobile, web, and console platforms.
- The gaming industry is shifting toward a unified marketing infrastructure that standardizes attribution metrics across mobile, web, and console platforms to eliminate fragmented, platform-specific tools.
- Developers are increasingly applying mobile-centric performance optimization strategies to web-based direct-to-consumer shops to diversify acquisition channels beyond mobile-only environments.
- AI-driven automation is transitioning from simple rule-based campaign management to handling complex, large-scale data synthesis and repetitive tasks like reporting and creative production.
Deconstructor of FunJul 2026
Mobilegamer.biz18 min
King and the Xbox cuts, Meta's 'TikTok for games', alot of Scopely news, game closures, MTG, more
The mobile games industry is currently navigating a period of significant structural realignment, marked by major workforce reductions at Xbox and a strategic pivot toward mobile-first engagement.
- Microsoft is cutting 3,200 jobs across its Xbox division, with 1,600 layoffs announced immediately and the remainder occurring throughout the financial year, primarily impacting PC and console operations.
- Meta has soft-launched 'Pocket,' an app that utilizes AI prompts to generate a TikTok-style feed of interactive mini-games, marking the company's latest attempt to enter the 'TikTok for games' market.
- Pokémon Go has generated approximately $6.37 billion in lifetime in-app purchase revenue over its 10-year history, with 39% of revenue originating from the U.S. and 30% from Japan.
Mobilegamer.bizJul 2026
Thomas Brush9 min
Why I Spent 5 Years On My Game (And Was It Worth It?)
The primary motivation for long-term game development is personal passion rather than purely commercial optimization.
- Prioritizing personal passion for a project is essential for long-term development, as creators are unlikely to finish games they do not love during multi-year production cycles.
- Game development cycles can be lengthy, with the speaker spending five years developing his BioShock-inspired title, Twisted Tower.
- Niche projects driven by deep personal interest can still find a viable audience, as there are likely 10,000 to 100,000 players globally who share specific, unconventional thematic tastes.
Thomas BrushJul 2026
Naavik64 min
Can Performance Marketing Finally Work On Steam?
PC and console gaming are undergoing a fundamental shift as they transition from traditional, brand-heavy marketing toward the performance-driven acquisition models that have long dominated the mobile sector.
- Performance-based marketing is projected to account for up to 50% of publisher marketing budgets within the next five years.
- Empirical data from over 100 titles indicates that paid traffic on Steam is comparable in quality to organic traffic.
- Studios are overcoming Steam's lack of native ad infrastructure by using mobile-first funnels, conversion APIs, and cross-device fingerprinting to track user acquisition.
NaavikJul 2026
Thomas Brush60 min
He Made Games For Twenty Years... And Finally Went Viral (w/ Jake Birkett) — Ep 69
Achieving breakout success in the independent game industry requires a transition from solitary development to a data-driven, collaborative strategy.
- To validate a game concept before full production, create a 'smoke and mirrors' trailer combining gameplay and real-life footage to test audience interest and prevent spending years on a 'dead duck'.
- Demos serve as critical marketing and testing tools; using AI to summarize player feedback from demos allows developers to identify sentiment and make necessary adjustments before the 1.0 launch.
- Managing player expectations is vital for high review scores; by clearly defining the game genre and avoiding misleading labels, developers can filter their audience to ensure the game reaches players who actually enjoy that specific type of experience.
Thomas BrushJul 2026
Report37 pages
Brands in Gaming 101: Virtual Worlds
Virtual worlds have emerged as a critical marketing frontier, fundamentally reshaping how brands engage with younger demographics.
- Virtual worlds command higher user attention than other channels, with 73% of players in a focused state compared to 57% for video streaming and 40% for social media.
- Gaming is a primary social space for Gen Z, as 92% of women and 93% of men aged 16 to 24 play video games, and 17.7% have engaged with a branded game in the past month.
- The virtual world market is dominated by four platforms: Roblox (380 million monthly active users), Minecraft (200 million), Fortnite (130 million), and ZEPETO (33 million).
GEEIQJul 2026
PocketGamer.biz39 min
NEW ** Panel: Payment Links vs. Web Stores: What Actually Drives Incremental DTC Revenue?
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategies have evolved into a critical component of the global mobile gaming market, which currently stands at $81.8 billion.
- Direct-to-consumer (DTC) revenue in the gaming industry has reached a $12 billion market size, with successful studios currently achieving between 15% and 30% of their total revenue through these channels.
- Industry leaders, including those at DECA, report that mature titles can reach up to 40% or more of their revenue through DTC, with expectations that large studios could reach 50% within a few years.
- DTC strategies should be viewed as a funnel where payment links are used for high-conversion in-game transactions, eventually transitioning players to web stores that offer better value and long-term loyalty.
PocketGamer.bizJul 2026
PocketGamer.biz29 min
Supercell's Vladislav Perge talks Community Management In 2025
Community management in 2025 requires a shift from traditional, scripted PR approaches toward authentic, human-centric engagement.
- Effective community management in 2025 requires moving away from formal, PR-style communication like 'Dear players' in favor of authentic, human-to-human interaction.
- Community managers should prioritize identifying and nurturing passionate, grassroots content creators over those with high follower counts, as passion is a more reliable indicator of long-term community growth.
- Transparency is critical to preventing toxic speculation; if a game issue arises, developers should immediately acknowledge the problem and signal that it is being addressed, even if a final solution is not yet ready.
PocketGamer.bizJul 2026