In 2023, it has been pretty hard to stand out of the crowd when it comes to releasing games on Steam. Ayako's Mission is an experimental shoot'em up project which I released on Steam at $0.99. There has been almost 50% down in sales even at 40% discount compared to the last year August $0.99 game launch. It was a bit shock for me realizing how things have changed for indies within just a year. It may be possible that the recent changes(increment) in regional prices might be the cause for less sales. It is unfair to compare apple with orange because two of the titles are of different genres. It was a horror title which according to Chris Zukowski, is doing well on Steam while this one is a Shoot'em up game which usually falls under "low selling titles" bracket in most of the cases.
First lesson for me here is to not make a game on impulse. I know how much you want to create platformers or shoot'em ups but they don't work.
As per his advice, I have to get at least 10 reviews to start receiving traffic. I do have a horror game which have managed to get 19 user reviews and gets more traffic and sales during discounting sessions. So, I know it works when you have more reviews on games. It is extremely hard to accomplish at higher price point with $0 marketing budget.
So, for Ayako's Mission, I have managed to sell around 70-ish copies during the launch month and got 1 user review. It really does not matter if I get positive or negative reviews. I just have to get 10 reviews for the titles.
I. What I have done so far?
1. Nothing special. I've set $0.99 price tag because I am pretty good at selling more copies at this price point. It works even if you have a half-decent game.
2. I've set 40% launch discount because in the past having 20% discount reduces sales numbers. Here, I want to get as many sales as possible which increases the chance of getting more user reviews.
II. Next steps:
I am not sure! I have no marketing budget but I know how to sell games if you know what I mean. Weird, isn't it?
GOALS: Here are my goals. I will update the data from time to time. I will strike through them as soon as I reach my goals. Success is different for different people but for me my goal is realistic and it is quite achievable at this price point. Developers might say that you need to price higher. Trust me, it will only work if you have higher marketing budget and skills.
a) Making A Living:
The goal is to make a living creating video games. It is very much
possible because I am from a country(IN) with a low cost of living. I
basically need $200 a month to survive. It does not have to be from one
game but from multiple titles.
b) Marketing:
No, I am not going to invest in marketing. I might do some free
marketing here and there. I want to see how many copies it sells with $0
marketing budget.
Milestones:
Review milestone:
- Got First review!
- Got 5 reviews!
- Got 10 reviews!
- Got 20 reviews!
Anything above that is anomaly.
Net Revenue milestone:
- Made $50 in sales
- Made $300 in sales
- Made $500 in sales
- Made $1000 in sales
- Made $1600 in sales.
Anything above that is anomaly.
Also, I will get back Steam direct fee which I paid after my game makes $1000 in net revenue. That should be my target for now.
I share a few sales data from time to time and share if I have reached my goals. I will do this for $0.99 games only because it is hard to reach with higher price points unless it's a 3D game or something.
