6 Free Tools for Indie Steam Developers: A New Resource Library
Four PDF templates and two interactive web calculators. All free. No email gate, no "request access," no upsell sequence. Built from 10+ years of publishing indie games on Steam, and a few weeks of writing down patterns I'd been seeing for a decade.
Founder, Mad Octopus
Why we made these (and why they're free)
Most indie publishing content on the internet falls into one of three buckets: (a) generic marketing speak with no specifics, (b) gated behind email walls so the "publisher" can hit you with a sales sequence, or (c) so out of date the benchmarks haven't been touched since 2019. I've spent a decade in this industry, building games at PlayWay, helping build companies like Rockgame and Games Incubator, running CreativeForge Games as CEO during its hardest year. The patterns are clear. I just wrote them down.
No email gate. No "request access." Just download.
We make money when our games sell. Sharing what we know is just doing the work. If you decide you want a publisher after reading these, great, talk to us. If you decide you don't, even better. You launch your game, you keep all your money, and we're happy you got something useful out of the site.
The library at a glance
Four PDFs to download, two web tools to use. All linked from madoctopus.fun/resources.
The Indie Steam Launch Checklist
A 12-month operational playbook. Eight phases from T-12 months: Foundation through T+365: long-tail revenue. Over 100 specific checkboxes, not "do marketing" but "Header Capsule: 460×215 px, logo legible at thumbnail size".
Includes 2026 indie benchmark tables (wishlist conversion, capsule CTR, refund rates), tool recommendations, and red-flag indicators that mean "delay your launch."
When to use: at any point in your dev cycle. Read it, see what you missed, fix what you can. If you have less than 12 months, skip earlier phases and start where you are.
Download Launch Checklist PDFThe Indie Game Press Kit Template
Most indie press kits are bad. Not because devs are bad at writing, because they try to write a marketing brochure when they should be filling in a form. This is the form.
Fact sheet, three description lengths (one-liner, short, medium, long), asset specs with exact Steam capsule pixel dimensions, Steam companion assets, quote templates, three cold-email templates for press outreach, and a hosting structure that journalists can navigate in 60 seconds.
When to use: 6–9 months before launch, to set up your press kit. Or right now, if you're already mid-cycle and your press kit is "TBD."
Download Press Kit Template PDFThe Publisher Pitch Deck Template
A slide-by-slide guide for pitching your game to any publisher, including us. Twelve core slides, six optional appendix slides. Each slide has its goal, a content checklist, a worked example, and a list of things to avoid.
Most decks I see fail for the same reasons: the first slide is the studio logo (it shouldn't be), they explain what the game is but not why it will sell, they have no numbers, and the ask is vague. This deck solves all of that.
When to use: when you're 3–9 months from launch and considering working with a publisher. Or right after a publisher meeting goes badly and you realize your deck wasn't doing the work.
Download Pitch Deck Template PDFThe Steam Page Optimization Audit
A scored rubric across 20 sections of your Steam page (0–5 each, total out of 100). Capsule art, trailer, screenshots, GIFs, copy (short and long), tags, system requirements, languages, pricing, demo, community features, reviews block, update cadence. Be brutal with yourself.
Most indie pages score under 60 the first time someone runs this rubric against them. That's normal. The grade bands tell you whether you're ready to launch, under 50 means "don't launch yet"; 70–84 means "launch-ready, but specific weak sections are leaving wishlists on the table."
When to use: right before launch (mandatory). Also: any time your wishlist velocity drops, or whenever you've made significant updates to your page.
Download Steam Page Audit PDFWishlist → Sales Forecast Calculator
Enter your wishlists and price; see projected launch revenue, year-1 forecast, and break-even point under three deal structures: self-published, Mad Octopus (our 100% / 10% deal with a 1,000-copy threshold), and a traditional publisher (30% cut as a generous baseline).
The math is real: Steam's 30% cut, 20% adjustment for regional pricing impact on effective ARPU, and the exact Mad Octopus threshold logic. Hit a budget input field and the tool also gives you the exact copy count needed to break even under each model.
When to use: when you're considering publisher deals. Or when you want to know what kind of wishlist count you need to make the project pencil out at your budget.
Open Wishlist CalculatorDemo / Next Fest Performance Tracker
Input your demo numbers, downloads, wishlists before/after, review counts, and get a graded readout. Three metrics get color-coded grades (Weak, Average, Strong, Exceptional) against 2026 indie benchmarks.
Better still: the tool gives you specific recommendations based on your exact results. Weak conversion suggests one set of fixes (the "first 60 seconds" problem). Exceptional uplift triggers a different recommendation ("don't lose momentum, schedule the next event within 60 days"). Different combinations produce different actionable next steps.
When to use: 1–2 weeks after your Next Fest or a major demo push, once the dust has settled and the numbers are in.
Open Demo TrackerHow they fit together
I designed these to be used as a sequence, not in isolation:
- 12+ months out: Open the Launch Checklist. See where you stand. Pick the next 3 phases of work.
- 9–6 months out: Use the Press Kit Template to set up your press kit. Steam page goes live around the same time, run the Steam Page Audit to score it. Fix the lowest-scoring sections first.
- 6–3 months out: Apply for Next Fest. Build the demo. After the event, use the Demo Performance Tracker to see how you did and what to adjust before launch.
- 3–1 months out: Run the Wishlist Calculator with your current numbers. Use the result to decide: ramp marketing harder, find a publisher, or both.
- Considering a publisher: Open the Pitch Deck Template. Build your deck before you reach out to anyone. Bring the math from the Wishlist Calculator with you.
These resources won't replace experience. They will replace some of the dumbest mistakes I see indies make every week.
What's coming next
We're not done. Already in the queue:
- A Polish-specific addendum to the Launch Checklist (CIT, VAT-OSS, JDG vs. sp. z o.o., the tax/legal stuff Polish devs always get wrong)
- A free Steam page review service, submit your Steam URL, get a 5-point audit response within a week
- Detailed case studies of specific Mad Octopus launches (what worked, what didn't, exact numbers)
- A Steam Curator Outreach Template for devs handling curator relationships themselves
If there's a specific resource you wish existed, drop into our Discord and tell us. Multiple requests jump the queue.
Why we don't gate any of this
Most publishers gate their best content behind email signups. We don't. Three reasons:
- The indies who actually need a publisher will find us anyway. Gating helps no one.
- The indies who don't need a publisher still deserve to launch well.
- We make money when our games sell. Sharing what we know is just doing the work.
Related Reading
After using these tools, want a publisher who actually does the work?
Mad Octopus partners with indie devs on Steam launches. Zero upfront fees, 100% revenue until 1,000 copies sold, then 10% to us. Send us your game.