More Than Just Pushing Games: What Indie Launches Really Need

This summer marked a milestone for F*MAD we helped launch our first game in Early Access, and five more are now lined up in our pipeline.

It wasn’t a viral smash and that’s okay. What mattered is that it was successful enough for the studio to keep building towards 1.0. The game proved there’s a clear demand in its genre: wishlists keep climbing, and the Discord is buzzing with passionate, dedicated people who care deeply about where the game goes next.

That experience taught us something important about what indie launches really need.

Publisher Playbooks vs. Indie Realities

When we started F*MAD, we expected to be doing the same things we did back at publishers and established studios: building campaign beats, managing big activations, timing announcements, scaling paid media.

But here’s the truth: those old-school AAA playbooks don’t translate. Too many in the industry keep trying the same tired tactics, expecting different results or clinging to outcomes that don’t exist in today’s market.

Indies don’t have the luxury of waste. They can’t burn through millions shouting into the void. They have to be sharper, faster, and more intentional. And that means focusing on the fundamentals the things that actually connect with players.

The Fundamentals That Matter

Understanding the audience – Who exactly is this game for? What motivates them to play?
Sizing the addressable market – How many potential players are out there, and how active are they today?
Clarifying the narrative Can the pitch be explained in a single sentence that makes people instantly interested?
Maximizing storefronts – A Steam page isn’t just “live”; it’s your storefront, and it has to convert.

Success Doesn’t Require a Big Budget

One of the biggest lessons so far: you can do a lot with zero or a super small budget.

Community building, joining festivals, polishing storefronts, and cultivating early champions can all create traction when the fundamentals are in place. These aren’t flashy moves, but they compound into momentum — and that’s what really matters.

Too often, marketing for indie games gets reduced to “pushing the game.” Post enough trailers, send enough tweets, and hope something sticks. But marketing done right is about structuring the story, aligning it with the audience, and making every opportunity count.

Where We’re Headed

For us, it’s not about parachuting in with a publisher playbook. It’s about helping indies strengthen the basics, build confidence, and give their game the best possible shot at finding its players.

That’s the kind of work we want to keep doing — and why we believe marketing is more than hype. It’s the foundation of long-term success.

— Lukas Freijd, Founder of F*MAD