Video Game Marketing Agency: Wishlists, Launch Campaigns and Player Acquisition

Updated September 2026 · Written and maintained by the Progression Agency strategy team

A video game marketing agency builds demand for a game before release and turns that demand into players at launch: store pages, wishlists, trailers, creators and streamers, communities, paid user acquisition and press. Progression Agency works with independent and mid-sized studios and publishers on PC, console, mobile and tabletop games, and measures the work in wishlists, demo players, installs, retention and sales rather than impressions. Progression Agency is based in New York City and works with clients across the United States and worldwide.

What is video game marketing?

Video game marketing is everything that gets the right players to notice a game, want it and then play it: the store page, trailer and key art, wishlists or pre-registrations, creators and press, community, and paid acquisition. A video game marketing company runs that work around the moments that move players, such as an announcement, a demo, a festival, launch day and every update after it.

Ubersuggest counts about 1,300 US searches a month for “gaming advertising”, 720 for “video game advertising”, 480 for “gaming marketing” and about 210 each for “video game marketing” and “board game advertising” (September 2026), while “video game marketing agency” draws about 110. Across the 40 commercial game marketing phrases in our research the total is roughly 4,480 searches a month: a small market with expensive clicks, since advertisers bid $159.13 for a single click on “video game advertising”.

“Video game advertising” covers two different jobs, advertising a game to players and advertising a brand inside games; this page is about the first. Game development is out of scope too. Our app development team builds apps and software, while this service markets games that are finished or close to it.

Premium games on PC and console

Sold once, usually at a fixed price that is discounted over time. Marketing concentrates demand into launch and sale events through wishlists, demos, festivals, reviews and creators, because those are the moments the platforms notify players.

Free-to-play and mobile games

Earning from in-app purchases or advertising over months, so marketing is continuous user acquisition, judged against what each cohort of players goes on to spend or watch. The store page and creative testing carry most of the load.

Tabletop, board and card games

Often launched through crowdfunding, then sold through hobby stores and online retailers, and discovered through playthrough videos, reviewers and conventions rather than through app stores.

Where our work starts and game development ends

We market games; we do not build them. The studio owns the game, the builds and the platform submissions, and we own the plan that finds players: positioning, store pages, marketing assets, creators, community, advertising and measurement.

That split keeps responsibility clear. When a studio also needs companion apps, a website or back-end tools, those are scoped separately by our development and interactive website teams.

Steam game marketing: the rules that shape a PC launch

Steam game marketing is built around a handful of platform rules: a Coming Soon page that collects wishlists, Steam Next Fest for demos, and discount rules that decide when a game can go on sale. Plan around them and Steam’s own notifications do part of the marketing; ignore them and a launch can miss its best moments.

The Coming Soon page and wishlists

Steamworks advises publishing a Coming Soon page as soon as a studio is ready to talk about the game publicly, with one caution: if the game may change a lot before release, early wishlisters may be confused. Steam’s wishlist documentation says wishlists can be an important factor in where a game appears on Steam, and that there is no minimum wishlist count before Steam will show a game to players. The page’s capsule art, short description, trailer, screenshots and tags are therefore the first marketing assets we finish.

Steam Next Fest and demos

Steam Next Fest is a weeklong event for upcoming games with playable demos. To join, a game must never have taken part before, have a published and public store page, offer a publicly playable demo by the time the festival starts, not release before that edition ends, and not be a prologue or short version of a game already on Steam. We build press, creator and community activity around the festival week and measure demo players and wishlists added during it.

When can a Steam game go on sale?

Steam’s discounting rules allow a launch discount of 10 to 40 percent for 7 to 14 days, set before release, then block discounts for 30 days after release and within 30 days of any other discount. Seasonal sales are exempt only from the discount-to-discount cooldown. A first-year sales calendar is therefore drawn up before launch, not improvised.

Before a Coming Soon page goes public we check that it has:

• A capsule image that shows the genre and the hook even at thumbnail size.
• A trailer that reaches real gameplay within its first few seconds.
• Screenshots of actual play, not only concept art.
• A short description that names the genre, the core mechanic and what makes the game different.
• Tags that match how players of comparable games already browse.
• A release window, the platforms and a link to the community.

Steam game promotion outside Steam

A lot of video game promotion happens away from the store: trailers on YouTube, clips on TikTok, creators’ videos and streams, Reddit threads, press and paid campaigns. Paid steam game advertising happens on those channels, pointed at the store page so every click can become a wishlist.

Mobile game marketing: store pages, pre-registration and user acquisition

Mobile game marketing is a numbers discipline: the store page turns browsers into installs, pre-registration builds a launch audience, and user acquisition buys installs at a cost that the game’s revenue per player can support. Apple and Google both give studios tools to test store pages, and we use them before scaling spend, which is where a mobile game marketing agency earns its fee.

App store optimization for games

The name and subtitle, keywords, description, icon, screenshots and preview video decide how many people who see a game install it. Apple’s product page optimization tests up to three treatments with alternate icons, screenshots and app previews against the original page for up to 90 days, with a traffic split the developer sets, so changes are chosen on results rather than taste.

Custom product pages for each ad audience

Apple allows up to 70 additional custom product pages for an app, each with its own screenshots, promotional text and app previews and a unique URL. Keywords can be assigned to a custom page so it appears in App Store search, and Apple Ads can send ads straight to it, which lets a game show a strategy player and a casual player the page that matches the ad each of them saw.

Pre-registration on Google Play

Google Play pre-registration lets players sign up before launch in the countries a studio chooses. When the game is published, pre-registered users get a push notification to install it, and eligible devices install it automatically on launch day. A campaign can run for up to 90 days, and a studio can offer one pre-registration reward, which cannot be edited or deleted once created.

User acquisition and creative testing

Installs are bought through Apple Ads, Google’s app campaigns, Meta, TikTok and ad networks, and each campaign is judged on the players it brings: day-1 and day-7 retention and what each cohort spends, not the install count alone. New creative is tested continually, because ads wear out and their cost per install rises as they do. Our app marketing service applies the same method to non-game apps.

Console launches and age ratings

Console games reach players through platform stores that expect age ratings, so the rating is part of the marketing plan: it decides which audiences can be targeted and what the ads may show.

According to the ESRB, its rating system is voluntary, but all console manufacturers and certain US retailers and mobile or online storefronts require ESRB ratings for the games they offer. Digitally delivered games and apps are rated through the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC), which the ESRB helped found, and storefronts including the Microsoft Store, Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store and Google Play use IARC to display ESRB ratings.

What does an age rating change in advertising?

The ESRB’s advertising principles apply to qualifying advertising for physical games it has rated, and they say companies must not specifically target advertising for games rated Teen, Mature or Adults Only to consumers for whom the game is not rated as appropriate. Publishers of rated boxed games are also contractually bound by rules on how rating information appears in advertising. We apply the same age logic to every platform’s targeting, whatever the format.

Indie game marketing when the budget is small

Indie game marketing works when a small team concentrates on the few assets and moments that move players: a store page that converts, a trailer that shows the game in seconds, a demo, a festival, and a community that forms around the development. The rest is optional until those are right.

Capsule art and the trailer

The capsule image is often the first thing a player sees, in a grid next to dozens of other games, so it has to show the genre and the hook at small size. The trailer should reach real gameplay within its first few seconds. We write, direct and edit both, or art-direct the studio’s own artists.

Devlogs and building in public

Regular devlog posts, short clips and explanations of systems give players a reason to follow a game for months before it ships, and they give creators and press material to work with. They also build the list of people most likely to buy on day one.

Reddit and Discord

Reddit’s genre communities discuss games in depth, and each subreddit sets its own self-promotion rules, which a studio has to read and follow. A Discord server becomes the home for playtesters and the most engaged fans, with channels for announcements, feedback and bugs. Paid posts in the right communities run through our Reddit ads team.

Press kits and showcases

A press kit page with a fact sheet, descriptions, the trailer, screenshots, logos and a contact makes coverage easy. Digital showcases and festivals give an indie game studio a date to aim for, and the marketing plan treats each one as a small launch.

• A fact sheet: developer, publisher, platforms, release date or window, and price.
• A one-line pitch, a short description and a long description.
• The trailer, plus raw gameplay footage creators can cut.
• Screenshots and short clips at the resolutions outlets ask for.
• Logos, key art and capsule images with transparent backgrounds.
• The team, the studio’s location and a named press contact.
• The same facts as HTML text, not only inside a PDF or zip file.

Indie game promotion and indie game advertising follow the same order: prove the store page converts the traffic it already gets, then pay to send it more. The best indie game marketing is patient and specific rather than loud, and an indie game marketing agency should be judged on whether its plan fits the studio’s budget and genre.

Creators, streamers and esports

Players trust people they already watch play, which makes creators and streamers central to many game launches. The work is finding the right creators for the genre, getting them keys at the right time, and making sure every paid or gifted appearance is disclosed.

Keys, embargoes and creator lists

We build creator lists by genre, platform and audience fit rather than follower count, distribute keys through a tracked system, set embargo dates that suit the launch plan, and record who played, when and to what response. Larger programs run with our influencer program team.

Every creator brief we send covers the same points:

• The embargo date and time, with the time zone.
• What may and may not be shown, including spoilers.
• The disclosure wording, placed in the content itself.
• The key, the platform and the build it unlocks.
• Assets the creator can use: trailer, logo, capsule art.
• A contact for questions and bug reports.

Sponsored streams and disclosure

The FTC’s guidance puts a video’s disclosure inside the video, not just in the description text, and asks live streams to repeat it periodically so viewers who join late still see it. On YouTube, creators select the paid promotion option, which adds a disclosure label at the start of the video, and YouTube says creators and their partners remain responsible for complying with the law. Every creator brief we send says so.

Esports sponsorships and marketing for esports

A studio or brand looking for an esports influencer marketing agency, or an esports advertising agency, usually needs two things at once: sponsorship of teams, leagues, tournaments or players, and creator content around those competitions. We plan the creator side and the paid amplification; sponsorship contracts are negotiated by the brand or studio with the rights holders.

Gaming advertising: the paid channels compared

Gaming advertising works best where players already watch and talk about games: YouTube, TikTok, Reddit and the app stores, with Meta and programmatic video adding reach. The right mix depends on whether the goal is wishlists, installs or sales.

Search clicks on game marketing phrases are expensive: “video game advertising” carries a US cost per click of $159.13, and “game marketing company” and “game marketing agency” $51.07 each (Ubersuggest, September 2026). Paid campaigns run through our YouTube ads, TikTok ads, programmatic advertising and video advertising teams, planned from one media plan so the channels do not compete for the same players.

Social media marketing for gaming

Social media marketing for gaming is community work first: showing the game being made and played, answering players, and giving fans something worth sharing. The platforms differ in format, and on all of them real gameplay tends to travel further than polished advertising.

Game marketing on TikTok

Game marketing on TikTok works with moments that need no context: a surprising mechanic, a funny failure, a satisfying build, or a developer reacting to players. We post consistently from the game’s account, answer comments with new clips, and give creators footage to use.

Discord as the community hub

A well-run server has clear channels for announcements, feedback, bugs and off-topic chat, roles for playtesters and long-time fans, and moderators who keep it welcoming. Events in the server, from playtests to developer Q&A sessions, give the community a reason to come back.

Branding for video games

The logo, key art, capsule, color, typography and tone of voice have to hold together across the store page, trailer, social accounts and merchandise. Indie game social media marketing leans on that consistency, because a recognizable style is what makes the second and third clip easier to place. Our branding team handles identity work.

Board game advertising, promotion and crowdfunding

Board game marketing usually runs through a crowdfunding campaign and then retail: the aim is a pre-launch audience large enough to fund the print run early, and a following that carries the game into stores. Board game advertising supports that with targeted social ads, reviewer and playthrough content, and conventions. A board game marketing agency is most useful before the campaign opens, while that audience is being built.

How does crowdfunding change the plan?

Kickstarter runs all-or-nothing: according to its help center, no one is charged for a pledge unless the project reaches its funding goal. That is why most of the audience is built before launch, through a pre-launch page, an email list, playthrough videos and ads to lookalike audiences, and why the campaign page itself explains rules, components and delivery plainly.

Reviewers and playthrough creators

Many tabletop players watch full playthroughs and reviews before they back or buy. Prototypes or review copies go to creators who cover the game’s weight and theme, with the same disclosure rules as any gifted product.

Conventions, stores and distribution

Convention demos put the game on a table in front of the people most likely to buy it, and hobby stores reach players who never back crowdfunding. Convention work is planned with our trade show marketing and event marketing teams.

Card game advertising

Card game advertising, from party games to collectible and trading card games, targets players of comparable games and the communities around them, with ads that show a round being played. Board game promotion and card game promotion share the same logic: show the game at the table.

Which rules do game campaigns have to follow?

Game marketing is lightly regulated compared with gambling or finance, but four sets of rules shape it: age ratings, children’s privacy, loot box disclosure and endorsement disclosure. We build campaigns inside them; this is how we plan, not legal advice.

The stakes are real. In December 2022 Epic Games agreed to pay $520 million over FTC allegations: a $275 million civil penalty for violating COPPA by collecting personal information from children under 13 who played Fortnite without notifying parents or obtaining their consent, and $245 million in refunds over dark patterns the FTC said led players into unintended in-game purchases.

How players and studios ask AI assistants about games

Players now type the requests they once posted on forums into ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google’s AI Overviews, and studios ask the same assistants how to market a game and which agency to hire. The answers are drawn from pages the assistants can read, which puts a game with a thin store page and no site of its own at a disadvantage.

Store pages answer the player’s question

Player prompts describe an experience: games like a named title, the best co-op games for two on a particular console, cozy farming games without combat, or whether a game is worth its price. The store page and the game’s own site have to carry the genre, platforms, player counts, modes, price and comparable games in text, and markup using schema.org’s VideoGame type (gamePlatform, playMode, numberOfPlayers, genre, trailer) repeats them for machines.

Service pages answer the studio’s question

Studios ask how to get wishlists, whether Next Fest is worth it, what game marketing costs, and which game marketing agency suits an indie budget. For those questions assistants lean on agency round-ups, directories, reviews and agency pages that answer directly, so a page with platform rules, prices and plain policies is the kind they can quote.

Checking whether a game is being cited

Microsoft launched the AI Performance report in public preview on February 10, 2026; it counts how often a site is cited across Microsoft Copilot, AI-generated summaries in Bing and partner integrations. For the other assistants, a fixed list of player and studio questions, asked every month in the same words, shows whether the game and its studio are being named.

Press kits in HTML, not only in zip files

A press kit locked inside a zip file or a PDF gives assistants far less to work with than an HTML page carrying the same facts. We publish the fact sheet as text first and offer the download second.

How much does game marketing cost?

Monthly fees start at $850 for a single-platform community program and reach $10,000 for paid media and user acquisition management at the top of our published planning ranges, while PR retainers for mid-market programs run $5,000 to $20,000 a month. Ad spend, creator fees and asset production are billed separately, and the quote follows a written scope built around the launch date.

Our social media pricing, SEO pricing and video production cost guides publish these figures. Platform and third-party costs sit on top: the Steam Direct fee of $100 per app, recouped once a product reaches $1,000 in adjusted gross revenue; ad spend; creator fees; key distribution tools; convention space; and crowdfunding platform fees.

How much should a small studio spend on marketing?

Enough to finish the store page, capsule, trailer and press kit properly, run a community for months before launch, and put paid money behind a store page that already converts. The right number depends on the game’s price, platforms and genre; the written scope shows what each part costs, so the studio can decide what to keep in-house.

How to choose a video game marketing agency

Choose a gaming marketing agency that knows the platform rules as well as the players: it should be able to explain Next Fest eligibility, discount cooldowns and app store tests without looking them up, and show exactly how wishlists or installs will be reported.

Our marketing agency red flags guide and marketing agency contract checklist apply to game work as much as to any other.

A launch timeline and the numbers we watch

We plan a premium PC or console launch over six to twelve months from announcement to release, with a demo and a festival in the middle; a mobile launch centers on store tests, soft-launch data and a pre-registration campaign of up to 90 days. Every phase is planned against a number that can be read in the platform’s own dashboard.

Related services for studios and publishers

Each of the services below supports a game launch, and each can also be hired separately.

• Influencer and creator programs: larger creator campaigns with disclosure built in.
• YouTube ads: trailer and gameplay campaigns measured past the view.
• TikTok ads: paid reach for clips that are already working.
• Public relations: press and media beyond the games trade.
• App development: companion apps and software; game development itself is outside this service.
• App marketing: acquisition and retention for non-game apps.
• Mobile app PR: coverage for mobile launches.
• Reddit ads: campaigns in the communities where players talk.
• Programmatic advertising and video advertising: reach for bigger launches.
• Trade show marketing and event marketing: conventions, showcases and launch events.
• Video production: trailers, gameplay capture and creator-ready footage.
• Branding: logos, key art direction and identity for a game or studio.

Frequently asked questions