August 22, 2026 (updated September 3, 2026)12 min read
Steam Launch Checklist 2026: The Complete 12-Month Game Launch Plan for Indie Devs
Over 30,000 games ship on Steam every year, and most launch to silence - not because they are bad, but because nobody handed the developer the actual operational sequence. This is that sequence: 157 tasks in 9 phases, from registering a company twelve months out to the patch you push in month six. Tick items as you go - your progress is saved in this browser - or download the free PDF and print it.
I've spent over a decade in the indie game industry - working with PlayWay, helping build companies like Rockgame and Games Incubator, and running CreativeForge Games as CEO during its hardest year. This game launch checklist is what I wish someone had handed me before my first title shipped. It is not a marketing brochure. It is the month-by-month operational sequence that gives an indie game its best shot on Steam.
Three notes before you start. First, don't panic if you have less than 12 months - skip the earlier phases and start where you are; many of my own launches compressed phases 1-3 into a few months. Second, you don't need to do every item - you need to know they exist and consciously decide which ones you skip. Third, use the 2026 benchmarks at the end to check whether your numbers are on track. If you are earlier in the journey, start with our guide to publishing your game on Steam and the wishlist calculator; for timing your launch around Valve's events, see the Steam sales calendar and our Steam Next Fest guide. The last twelve weeks are broken down week by week in the Steam launch timeline, and the money side (the $100 fee is the smallest line) in how much it costs to publish on Steam.
Prefer a printable version?
The same checklist as a free PDF - no email required.
Tick items as you complete them - progress is saved in your browser, so you can come back anytime. Prefer paper? Grab the free PDF version.
Phase 0: The Foundation (T-12 months and earlier)
0/11 done
Done long before you "feel ready" to start marketing. Skip this and you'll regret it during launch week.
Business setup
Game readiness
Phase 1: Audience & Identity (T-12 to T-9 months)
0/13 done
Before anyone sees your game, you need to know who they are and why they'd care.
Audience research
Competitive positioning
Visual identity
Phase 2: Steam Page Foundations (T-9 to T-6 months)
0/29 done
Goal: a high-converting Steam page goes live, and you start measuring.
Steamworks setup
Required Steam page assets (production-ready)
Steam page copy
Pre-launch features
First wave press kit
Phase 3: Audience Building (T-6 to T-3 months)
0/19 done
Goal: build the audience that will buy your game. Wishlists are the by-product, not the goal.
Community channels
Content cadence (sustain for 12 weeks minimum)
Outreach
Wishlist gates
Mad Octopus benchmark: A "healthy" indie launch in 2026 needs 15,000–30,000 wishlists to break out of the indie crowd in the first week. Below 5,000, expect a quiet launch unless something viral happens.
Phase 4: Steam Next Fest (T-3 months, or earlier)
0/17 done
This is the single biggest free marketing event Valve gives you. Do it right.
Pre-Next-Fest
During Next Fest
Post-Next-Fest
Phase 5: Pre-launch Push (T-3 to T-1 month)
0/22 done
The launch trailer drops. Reviewer keys go out. Influencers get embargoed builds.
Launch trailer
Reviewer & influencer keys
Final assets & QA
Paid marketing (optional but recommended)
Phase 6: Launch Week (T-7 days)
0/16 done
Everything is set. This week is about not breaking anything and being present.
T-7 days
T-3 days
T-1 day
Phase 7: Launch Day
0/16 done
Be present. Respond fast. Don't panic.
Hour 0–2 (release goes live)
Hour 2–8
Hour 8–24
First 7 days
Mad Octopus benchmark: For most indie titles, the first 7 days deliver 30–50% of total Year 1 revenue. After that you're on the long tail. Plan accordingly.
Phase 8: Post-launch (T+30 to T+365)
0/14 done
The launch is not the end. Many games make more in months 2–12 than in month 1, if you keep showing up.
First 30 days
Months 2–6
Months 6–12
Key benchmarks for 2026
Compare your game against these numbers as you work through the checklist. They shift year to year, so sanity-check against current data when you read this.
Metric
Weak
Average
Strong
Wishlist→sale conversion (first week)
5–8%
10–15%
20%+
Wishlist→sale conversion (year 1)
15–20%
25–35%
40%+
Capsule click-through rate (Discovery)
<3%
5–8%
10%+
Trailer watch-through (Steam page)
<20%
25–40%
50%+
Refund rate
8–12%
5–8%
<5%
Steam review score (% positive)
<70%
80%
90%+
Demo→wishlist conversion (Next Fest)
<10%
15–25%
30%+
Tools we recommend
Steam analytics & competitive intel
VG Insights, paid, best-in-class for sales estimates and tag analysis
SteamDB, free, essential for understanding any game's Steam history
Gamalytic, paid, complements VG Insights with revenue modeling
DaVinci Resolve, free, professional trailer editing
CapCut, free, fast short-form video editing
Community
Discord, obvious
Carrd or Notion, simple game websites
Buttondown or ConvertKit, newsletter
Reference
Chris Zukowski, howtomarketagame.com
Ryan Clark (Brace Yourself Games), "Clark Tank" videos
Jason Della Rocca (Execution Labs), funding advice
Mad Octopus blog, madoctopus.fun/blog
Red flags that mean "delay your launch"
If you tick more than 2 of these, seriously consider pushing the date:
You have fewer than 5,000 wishlists with launch less than 6 weeks away
You haven't participated in a Steam Next Fest
No press, influencer, or curator has covered the game yet
Your day-1 patch isn't tested
You don't have 24-hour coverage for launch day
Your demo (if you have one) has a sub-15% wishlist conversion rate
Delaying a launch is professional. Botching one is fatal.
Need help with any of this?
Mad Octopus partners with indie devs on Steam launches, and we keep things radically transparent: every contract is tailored to your game, we only earn when it earns more, and released games are welcome too. No upfront fees. If any of the items above feel overwhelming, that is literally what we do for a living - and our free Dev Hub covers the bundle and creator-outreach items on this list even if you never pay us a cent.
Either way, good luck. The fact that you read to the end of a 12-month checklist means you take this seriously. That alone puts you ahead of most.
One honest note to close on. Knowing what a launch needs and having the hands to do it are two different things, and the gap between them is exactly where we work. If the list above is longer than your team, we publish on a lean revenue share from 10% with no upfront fees, and for games that cannot get finished or launched without a budget we now have investors on board (a minimum 50% share, the investment recouped first, said plainly). Both applications live in the Dev Hub, next to the free tools.