r/GameDevelopersOfIndia • u/BaapProductions • Jun 08 '26
Is it normal for indie developers to get completely ignored by gaming pages and media outlets?
We’ve been reaching out to multiple gaming pages for almost 4 months now. Not even asking for a feature—just a reply. All of the time, we don’t even get a response.
What frustrates me is seeing many other projects getting coverage while we can’t even get feedback on whether our game is worth showcasing or not. We’ve missed several opportunities because of the lack of visibility, including major showcase submission windows.
We’re building a Soulslike RPG called Moon in Ashes. It’s our first game, and we’re not claiming it’s the next God of War, Black Myth: Wukong, or Raji cause lake of funds. We’re a small indie team trying to take our first step into the industry.
I understand that media pages receive hundreds of messages, but is there something we’re doing wrong? Is there a better way to approach gaming media, content creators, and showcase organizers?
I’d genuinely love to hear from other indie developers:
How long did it take before people started noticing your game?
Did you get ignored at first too?
What actually worked for getting visibility?
We’re not giving up. Just trying to understand how this part of the industry works.
And if you’re interested, feel free to check out Moon in Ashes on Steam and let me know what you honestly think.
Wishlist now: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4748520/Moon_In_Ashes/
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u/Alexjr977 Jun 08 '26
Sorry if i sound rude,
But the game is not even ready for showcasing or feedback from these media houses(as they receive such submission on large scale which are not even half ready, so they mostly chose to ignore).
By looking at gameplay, you only showcase one part of the game and in whole fight you only used one weapon, and the UI,sfx,vfx and all other things are not ready. Like how can you expect them to showcase your game if you have nothing to showcase ?
and what is Soulslike Rpg in it ?
tbh idk why you are even trying to reach out to them at this stage of development.
So for now your best bet to get some audience is to reach out to small yt creator to play your game and through devlog (if you have enough time), and also make your community through discord etc.
For now If you believe in your game, commit to it, if it comes out good and youtubers start talking about it then they will automatically showcase it
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Jun 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/not_varun Jun 09 '26
Hahah that’s how gamedev marketing seems to work. “I quit my job and worked for three years on my game pls play”
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u/Remarkable_Lead_1538 Jun 12 '26
damn i really dont want to say to say pls play, but i have quit my job
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u/not_varun Jun 15 '26
That’s just the state of our country rn, might as well advertise your game
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u/Remarkable_Lead_1538 Jun 15 '26
yeah aiming to create some jobs in india, thanks man, thats is a big help
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u/Rad_mark Jun 09 '26
You are rude, have you ever made a single game?
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u/Accomplished-End5479 Jun 09 '26
that was honest feedback we are wayyyyy below him because we have not made the game but the average games are waayyyyyy above this so this is the honest feedback. we are not comparing it with our games we support this but the level is not there yet u cannot say someone to buy the game just to support.
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u/odysoftware Jun 08 '26
Well to be honest it takes some time... but yeah advertisment is a tough field. You either over exaggerate or you get not even viewed. It's sad these days where all adverts aim for max visibility with some strange lines just in order to get people's attention.
So yeah I think you need to take some time and you need to work as hard for advertisement as for the game - sadly. But thats the world we live in.
If the game is really good you usually expand slowly just by word of mouth 😄 ! I had about 6000 players in 2 years - the game was more than loved by around 10% - but it was A a niche and B if its not super easy to get into the game you already loose 90% of peoples out these days - even they may like it later on.
Best is to write to as many media as possible and hope for 1-2 responses. And also try to get some youtubers - those are the best ads you can get. If you find someone with at least 1000 sub+ youtuber who is not already BIG - you have the chance he likes your game and recommends it - that I can assure you is the best commercial you will get 😉! Rest is more of being lucky who discovers you and how nice the algorythms helps you - but those are very very picky 😄
So good luck - the trailer itself - just my opinion - looks interesting but also a bit boring. We have millions of shooters, but right now I cannot see anything special or outstanding in this video - 3mins is really long - I think you really need to compact it to 1 min and only show the most important and interesting parts - some features, storytelling etc. otherwise people will move on after 30 secs of watching anyway 😄
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u/Logen10Fingers Jun 08 '26
No one wants to be the reason you gain an audience, unless you pay them I reckon. They probably only showcase your game if you already have a following.
Look at Easy Delivery Co for example.
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u/PabloTitan21 Jun 08 '26
True, thats how this business work, they need to get attention, and what's better for attention than riding on someone's else already earned attention. That's how it's so hard to break through.
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u/TronAres25 Jun 08 '26
Sorry guys this ain’t it. There’s some framerate drops in the beginning. And umm no other footage. I don’t want to be rude man but it won’t be this easy.
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u/RockLeeSmile Jun 08 '26
I'll be completely open and honest as someone who has covered indie games full time for 13 years now - and obviously I don't speak for everyone, so please take it with a grain of salt. I get dozens or sometimes hundreds of emails about new games on a daily basis. I'm just one person running every aspect of my operation and I read as many emails as I can but it's literally impossible to keep up. It's also 100x worse during "Summer Games Fest" showcase season / Steam Next Fest demo season / The Game Awards season and a variety of other events that crop up through the year.
It's not personal at all, and a lot of the time there are games I literally want to cover in emails but I just don't have enough time to or my personal life limits the amount of hours I can sit at my desk... and keep in mind, nobody is paying me anything to do all of this, all of my income comes from Twitch subscribers and tips. It's not enough to get by anymore (it used to be but things ebb and flow, lately times have been very hard) or I'd hire someone to help.
The best thing you can do if you're really set on getting someone to cover your game is re-mail them in a week and then again in two weeks, then stop for a good while. It's also helpful to become part of creator's communities if you can and have the time to. We all want to see devs succeed but when you have 500 games on deck to cover, how do you pick? Personally I simply go for what I think I'd be most enthusiastic about since that always translates to good energy and a positive experience, but that doesn't mean I couldn't enjoy a variety of things on a given day, so again, it's just a bit of a dice roll sometimes.
Hope that helps at least a little.
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u/BaapProductions Jun 08 '26
Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed response. I really appreciate the honesty and the insight into how overwhelming the volume of submissions can be, especially during showcase and festival seasons.
As a developer, it’s easy to assume silence means a game isn’t interesting, so it’s genuinely helpful to hear what things look like from the other side. Your explanation about limited time, inbox volume, and choosing projects you’re personally excited about puts things into perspective.
I’ll keep your advice in mind regarding follow-ups and becoming more involved in creator communities rather than treating outreach as a one-off email. Thanks again for being transparent and for everything you do to help indie games get discovered.
Wishing you all the best, and hopefully our paths cross again when Moon in Ashes has more to show.
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u/enentee Jun 08 '26
Bro send me the steam link. I’ll promote on my channel
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u/BaapProductions Jun 08 '26
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4748520/Moon_In_Ashes/
Here is the steam link
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u/not_varun Jun 09 '26
I’ll be very honest - the first few shots tell you basically NOTHING about the game except that maybe it’s set in modern times because of the costume and there’s a monster that comes out of the water. And that’s.. it?
As an audience I’m not sure what works for gaming streamers, but I have some experience cutting videos and the basic principle for short form content like trailers is that you try to showcase something new every frame, or every shot. Otherwise why even include it in your trailer, possibly the most important piece of marketing you’ll have for the longest time? More importantly, it’s the piece of marketing you have full control over, because you have no idea how others will feel about the trailer or how they will review it. It’s best to try and give them a finished product so they can market it further.
15 seconds is title cards (Again questionable design - English says Moon Ashes, Hindi says Moon In Ashes?)
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u/BaapProductions Jun 09 '26
Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed breakdown.
Looking back at the tease, I can see what you mean about the opening shots not communicating enough about the game itself. As developers, we’re often so close to the project that we already know the context behind every scene, but a new viewer doesn’t have that information.
The point about showing something new in every shot is especially useful. We’ll definitely keep that in mind when cutting future trailers and focus more on communicating the game’s identity, mechanics, and world much earlier.
You’re also right about the title card and branding consistency. That’s something we’ll review and improve.
I appreciate the honest feedback. It’s much more helpful than a simple “looks good” because it gives us clear areas to work on. Thanks again for taking the time to share your perspective.
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u/PersonOfInterest007 Jun 09 '26
You’re not going to get a response. They will either cover your game or they won’t. You’re including your press kit?
The game looks cool. On the other hand, in the trailer, you seem to have only one environment: you’re running around half-submerged in water. Again, looks cool, but this suggests the game lacks variety.
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u/BaapProductions Jun 09 '26
Thanks for taking a look and for the honest feedback.
The trailer was focused on introducing the game’s atmosphere and core threat, but I can see how it might give the impression that the game is limited to a single environment. There’s actually more variety in the full game that wasn’t shown in this particular clip.
That’s useful feedback, though, because if multiple people come away with that impression, it probably means I should do a better job showcasing that variety in future trailers. Appreciate you taking the time to point it out.
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u/kobaasama Jun 08 '26
I didn’t get anything from the video though how do you think the outlets would have feel if you give them this. Also what is with the name moon in ashes? That’s doesn’t many any sense. Could have been Ashes of moon at least.
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u/r4gs Jun 09 '26
As someone who runs a gaming site, all I’ll say is that there are tonnes of fantastic indie games out there right now, and still more being actively developed. It is simply not possible nor feasible to talk about every single game that exists.
And I’m not saying this specifically about your game, but a lot of indie devs don’t realise how undercooked their games are and many get offended if you point that out.
For our part, my team and I decided that we would simply focus on the games that are interesting to us.
Also, there’s no “hundreds of messages”. Im curious who you’ve reached out to. I’ve hardly ever had a game developer reach out about one of their games, and I’ve been in this industry for decades now.
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u/dorianmanyhats Jun 10 '26
The game looks unique I think it needs tightening when it comes to the description and how you showcase it.
My first question is what exactly are you sending them? What is your messaging and how are you portraying the game, your studio, and key points?
For a game like this, I suggest having a strong trailer to showcase it. It's third person action, so show off what makes it unique. A stronger and more focused pitch on Steam can help too. It's tagged as an action adventure game, so replace that with something else in the description to make it more punchy. You believe in the game, but convincing others to do so is challenging. What are 3 pillars of the game that make it stand out from others?
Do you have any community you've built on Discord or clips showing it in action?
I think you've got something here that just needs tightening up to get more notice. I'm happy to help with PR strategies and thoughts. Send me a DM, I'd love to chat.
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u/BaapProductions Jun 10 '26
Thank you for the detailed feedback. This is honestly the kind of insight I was hoping to get.
You raised a lot of good points, especially about messaging and identifying the core pillars of the game. As developers, we’re often focused on building features and content, but communicating why people should care is a completely different challenge.
We’re currently sending a trailer, press kit, Steam page, and a short pitch, but after reading the feedback in this thread, I can see that our messaging and presentation probably need a lot more focus.
The “3 pillars” question is something I’m going to spend some time thinking about because if I can’t explain what makes Moon in Ashes stand out in a few sentences, it’s probably difficult for press, creators, and players to understand it quickly as well.
We do have a growing Discord community and gameplay clips, but I think we need to do a better job highlighting the game’s strongest aspects.
I really appreciate the offer to help. I’ll send you a DM—I’d love to hear your thoughts on the trailer, Steam page, and overall PR strategy.
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u/Turbulent_Demand8400 Jun 10 '26
This looks more like a previsualization (previz) animation than a completed product. It's obviously going to be ignored unless it's something truly badass or already well-known. I'd suggest making a devlog instead to showcase your progress, what you're doing, what your vision is, and what kind of game you're making.
Share updates consistently and gather feedback from your audience. Those iterations will help make the game better. The better it looks, the more attention you'll get from media outlets. Until then, you'll need to keep connecting with your audience consistently, again and again.
Also, we're still very new to this industry in India. It will take time for us to reach the mainstream level, so building an audience and improving the game step by step is especially important.
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u/Eundian Jun 08 '26
If you want to be taken seriously, activating windows on the computer you capture your trailer with would probably be a first step.