FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
Getting started
What is SteamLaunch?
It's a launch planner for indie games on Steam. You tell it your launch date and goals, and it gives you a roadmap of what to do, tracks your deadlines, helps you plan your content, and shows whether your wishlist growth is on track. Think of it as the checklist and dashboard you'd build yourself if you had time to read every Steam launch guide out there.
Who is SteamLaunch for?
Solo devs and small studios preparing their first or second Steam launch. You know how to build a game, but the Steam side (wishlists, Next Fest, page optimization, timing) is new territory. That's what SteamLaunch covers.
Do I need to create an account?
You need an account to save your project data. Sign up with Google, GitHub, or email. The onboarding takes about 2 minutes and sets up your launch date, Next Fest, goals, and roadmap.
Do I need to upload game files or content?
No. SteamLaunch only tracks planning data: tasks, dates, wishlist counts, and content schedules. You never need to upload builds, art, or documents. Optionally, you can connect a GitHub repository to browse your project files directly inside SteamLaunch, but nothing is stored on our side.
How does onboarding work?
5-6 steps: game name and genre, launch date, Next Fest selection (with a smart suggestion based on your date), Coming Soon page status, revenue goal and pricing. At the end you see a summary with projections. Your roadmap and deadlines are generated automatically from these inputs.
Is SteamLaunch affiliated with Steam or Valve?
No. SteamLaunch is an independent tool. The guidance is based on publicly available Steamworks documentation, community knowledge, and verified best practices.
Roadmap and tasks
What does the roadmap include?
71 tasks organized in 6 phases: Preparation, Steam Page Live, Wishlist Building, Next Fest / Demo, Launch, and Post-Launch. Every task has a priority level (critical, high, medium, low), a detailed explanation with data and sources, and a link to the corresponding guide chapter.
Are the tasks customizable?
The built-in tasks come from the knowledge base and can be checked off as you complete them. You can also add your own custom tasks in any phase. The built-in task titles and explanations always come from the knowledge base to stay up to date.
What are phase deadline badges?
Each of the 6 phases shows a completion milestone in its header with a countdown and color-coded urgency. For example, Phase 0 (Preparation) shows when you need to submit your page to Valve, and Phase 4 shows launch day. Colors go from neutral (30+ days) to amber (8-30 days) to red (7 days or less) to green (done).
How do the 15 deadlines work?
10 are relative to your launch date (Steamworks account, capsule art, page submission, page goes live, announce date, pricing, build upload, pre-launch checklists, launch day, first sale). 5 are relative to your selected Next Fest (registration, demo press preview, demo public, materials final, fest begins). They update automatically when you change your dates.
Content calendar
How does the content calendar work?
When you first access the content board, you choose one of three modes: SteamLaunch suggestions (auto-generated plan), Import my plan (bring your own plan from an AI or spreadsheet), or Manual (empty calendar). Each mode gives you a different starting point, and you can switch at any time.
What are SteamLaunch suggestions?
A content plan generated from the knowledge base based on your launch date, Next Fest, Coming Soon page date, and your configured content cadence (devlogs, screenshots, lore posts, trailers). It includes a launch window with 8 pre-planned posts around your release date, and content intensity ramps up before key dates like Next Fest and launch.
Can I import a plan from my AI assistant?
The Import mode accepts a JSON plan via paste, file upload, or drag-drop. There's a downloadable prompt template pre-filled with your project dates that you can hand to your AI. If you re-import later, SteamLaunch shows what changed. Imported plans work alongside SteamLaunch's operational milestones like launch window and Next Fest deadlines.
Can I move or dismiss suggestions?
Drag suggestions to different dates, dismiss the ones you don't need, or convert a suggestion into a real content draft. Your changes stick between sessions.
Guides and knowledge base
What guides are available?
Five guides with 26 chapters total: Steam Page (8 chapters, covering capsule art, trailer, description, tags, screenshots), Next Fest Playbook (3 chapters), Launch Day (5 chapters), Marketing & Growth (6 chapters, including community building, devlogs, streaming), and Algorithm & Discovery (4 chapters).
Where does the data in the guides come from?
From Steamworks official documentation, Chris Zukowski's research (howtomarketagame.com, "60 Game Marketing Mistakes"), GDC talks, and real postmortems shared by developers on Reddit and gamedeveloper.com. Every rule has a source. Nothing is guessed.
How are guides connected to the roadmap?
Every guide chapter lists the related roadmap tasks as action items. In the roadmap, every task has a book icon that links to the guide chapter that explains it. Coverage is 99% (70 out of 71 tasks are linked).
Wishlist tracker and forecasting
How does the wishlist tracker work?
You log your wishlist count periodically. SteamLaunch calculates your weekly velocity, projects where you'll be at launch based on that pace, and compares it to your target. The dashboard shows a chart with your actual data, projection line, and target line.
What is the forecast engine?
A revenue projection tool with two modes. Goal Mode: you set a revenue target (like $50K in year 1) and SteamLaunch calculates how many wishlists you need. Estimate Mode: based on your current wishlists and velocity, it projects your revenue for week 1, month 1, year 1, and lifetime. Results are shown as Low/Median/High ranges.
What factors affect the forecast?
Price, Steam's 30% cut, additional deductions (roughly 15%), whether you're launching in Early Access (0.67x multiplier), review score impact, and how long your Coming Soon page has been live. Conversion rates are based on wishlist tiers: higher wishlist counts tend to convert better.
What is the Goal Planner?
A 4-step wizard accessible from the dashboard. You set your launch date, select a Next Fest edition, configure your Coming Soon page status, and define your revenue goal with pricing. It shows a complete revenue breakdown and updates your roadmap deadlines accordingly.
Next Fest
How does Next Fest selection work?
During onboarding or in the Goal Planner, SteamLaunch suggests the best Next Fest edition for your timeline: the one closest to your launch that ends at least 40 days before release. You can override this suggestion. The selection generates 5 festival-specific deadlines in your roadmap.
What if I don't want to do a Next Fest?
Totally optional. Skip the Next Fest selection and those 5 festival deadlines just don't get generated. Everything else works the same.
AI integration
What is the MCP integration?
MCP (Model Context Protocol) lets AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, or Claude Code connect to your SteamLaunch data directly. You generate a personal token in Settings, add it to your AI client config, and the AI gets 24 tools to read and modify your project data.
What can the AI do through MCP?
24 tools across three areas. Content: import/read content plans, list/create/update/delete content items, get suggestions. Checklist: list tasks, mark complete/incomplete, create/delete custom tasks. Project: read project data, update dates/goals/strategy, get a dashboard summary, log wishlists.
How do I set it up?
Go to Settings > API, generate a token, and copy the configuration block for your AI client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code, or generic). The setup guide is included with the complete list of available tools.
Is the AI integration required?
Not at all. SteamLaunch works fine as a standalone web app. The MCP integration exists for devs who already use AI assistants and want to manage their launch plan without switching tools.
Other features
What is the Markdown-to-BBCode converter?
Steam store descriptions use BBCode, not Markdown. The converter lets you write your description in Markdown and converts it to BBCode ready for Steamworks. It handles headings, bold, italic, lists, links, and images.
What is the GitHub Docs viewer?
You connect a GitHub repository and can browse your project files (design docs, planning docs, changelogs) directly inside SteamLaunch with full Markdown rendering. Optional. Useful if your game's documentation lives in a repo.
Can I customize the theme?
In Settings you can change the base color and accent color of the interface.
Data and privacy
Who owns my data?
You do. We don't sell, share, or monetize your data in any way.
Where is my data stored?
In Supabase (PostgreSQL) hosted on AWS, with Row Level Security enabled. Your data is encrypted at rest and in transit. Only you can access your project data. No other user can see your information.
Can I delete my data?
At any time, from Settings. Deletion is permanent and immediate.
Does SteamLaunch use cookies?
Only for authentication (session token) and UI preferences (sidebar state, theme). No analytics cookies, no tracking pixels, no advertising.