We all know it can be hard for indie games to get discovered amidst a sea of new releases across various storefronts, and one publisher recently put this to the test — what if they spent "exactly $0" on marketing their new game?
The game is called Skinwalker (3D), and it's been on PS5 since December 5th, Xbox since December 26th, and Nintendo Switch since January 22nd. No marketing funds have been put into it whatsoever by the publisher, and it turns out that 51.2% of all copies so far have been sold on Xbox (40.8% on PS5, 7.9% on Switch), with the game having racked up $8,879 worth of revenue in its first 60 days of organic sales, which amounts to over 1,800 copies sold.
This proves, according to the publisher, that there's a "hungry, paying audience on consoles for small games":
"We took a small, niche indie horror game called Skinwalker and brought it to consoles. We didn't hire a PR agency. We didn't buy ads. We spent exactly $0 on marketing. The results prove that there is a hungry, paying audience on consoles for small games, and developers are leaving money on the table by ignoring them. Skinwalker is not a AAA masterpiece. It is a simple, atmospheric horror game. We priced it at $4.99 - the cost of a cup of coffee."
So, how does this happen? Upscale Studio points to three key areas that allow "small games to succeed on consoles", and a lot of it has to do with store visibility. The company praises Xbox for a "more curated flow of content" compared to the "waterfall of new releases" on Steam that make it difficult to be seen.
They also say that low pricing and console SEO have played a big role in its success so far.
1. Less Noise, More Visibility
"The "New Releases" tab on Steam is a waterfall; games disappear in seconds. On consoles, specifically Xbox and PlayStation, the flow of content is more curated. Even a small game gets its moment in the spotlight. Players browsing the "New Games" section actually saw our cover art. You don't need to fight an algorithm; you just need to be there."
2. The "Snackable" Audience
"There is a massive, silent audience on consoles looking for "impulse buys." Not everyone has time for a 100-hour RPG. Many players have $5 left in their digital wallet and want a fun, short experience for the evening. By pricing the game correctly, we tapped into an audience that big publishers often ignore."
3. Organic Search is Powerful
"We didn't push the game to players; players searched for it. By using a strong title associated with urban legends (Skinwalker), we captured traffic from players typing "Horror" or "Creepypasta" into the search bar. Console SEO is real, and it works."
Ultimately, the publisher concludes that "if you have a finished PC game sitting on your hard drive, you are sitting on potential revenue." Of course, they would say that — their experiment with Skinwalker is basically a marketing push on its own — but the results they're sharing here are pretty impressive considering the publisher spent $0 to market it!
It also suggests that people really are browsing the "New Games" section on Xbox to find games like these on a regular basis, and that's good to hear. A lot of these games don't get many user reviews on the Xbox Store, which makes it look like nobody's buying them, but clearly that's not the case with Skinwalker at least.
Anyway, this is interesting stuff! While we've got indie games on the brain, we'll leave you with a roundup of 10 upcoming Xbox indie titles to look forward to in February — lots of exciting titles on the way over the next few weeks!