You made a game. Or you're making one. Either way, you've got an itch.io page and you're watching the wishlist counter not move. Here's the thing nobody tells you: itch.io is a store, not a press room. It does one job well. Everything else is your problem.
Why itch.io isn't enough
itch.io is genuinely good for what it is. It's where people browse, where demos live, where the indie community hangs out. You should absolutely be on it.
But when a gaming journalist, a YouTuber with 200k subs, or a hardcore fan who wants to know if you're the real deal lands on your itch.io page, they get a store listing. A description, some screenshots, a price. That's not enough for them to write about you, cover you, or vouch for you.
The people who actually move wishlists need more than a store page. They need somewhere to dig. That's what a site is for.
itch.io gets you found. Your site gets you covered.
What press actually needs
Gaming journalists and content creators aren't mean people. They're just busy and they get a lot of pitches. If you make their job harder, they move on. If you make it easy, you're already ahead of 80% of the devs who emailed them this week.
A press kit is not optional. It's a single page on your site with everything they need:
- A short, honest description of the game (not your itch.io blurb -- something a human would actually say)
- High-res screenshots they can use without asking you
- A trailer embed or direct download link
- A press-ready logo and any key art, zipped up
- Your name, what you go by, and a real email address
- One or two sentences on who you are -- solo dev, small team, what city, whatever's true
That's it. Don't make it a PDF they have to download. Don't make them email you for the screenshots. Put it on a page that loads fast and doesn't have a cookie banner blocking half the screen.
If someone can do a write-up about your game using only what's on that press page, you built it right.
The devlog section
A devlog is not a diary. It's proof that you're real, that the game is real, and that you ship things.
A lot of indie devs either skip the devlog entirely or write exhaustive technical deep-dives that only other devs read. Neither builds an audience. The sweet spot is something a fan could read in five minutes and walk away feeling like they know you and they're rooting for the game.
Post when something actually happens. New mechanic, big bug you fixed, a playtest that changed your mind about something. You don't need to post every week. You need to post when there's something real to say.
Three things a good devlog post does:
- Shows progress (even if slow)
- Has at least one screenshot or GIF
- Ends with something the reader can do -- wishlist, follow, join the Discord
The archive matters too. A journalist doing research on your game will scroll back through your devlogs. Twelve posts over two years says you're serious. Zero posts says you might not finish it.
Wishlist CTA
The wishlist button should be impossible to miss and it should be everywhere. Not annoying-everywhere. Just present on every page that makes sense: homepage, press kit, every devlog post.
Don't bury it. Don't make it subtle because you think subtle looks cool. You spent months on this game. Ask people to wishlist it.
| What to avoid | What actually works |
|---|---|
| "Click here to support the game" | "Wishlist on Steam" with a button that goes directly there |
| A link buried in the footer | A button above the fold on the homepage |
| Generic "stay tuned" language | Telling people exactly when you're planning to launch |
| Asking once and never again | CTA at the end of every devlog |
If you're pre-Steam or not on Steam at all, the CTA changes but the principle doesn't. Email list signup, itch.io follow, Discord link -- pick one thing and make it the obvious next step everywhere.
Build it fast
You have a game to make. You should not spend three weeks building a website.
You need: a homepage that explains the game in under ten seconds, a press kit page, a devlog section, and a clear way to wishlist or follow. That's the whole thing. It doesn't need to be elaborate. It needs to exist and it needs to load.
If you're on misfitlinks.me, there's an indie game template built around exactly this structure -- press kit, devlog, wishlist CTA all in the right places, designed to look like a game site without requiring you to be a designer or write CSS for two days. You customize the copy and screenshots, point your domain at it, and get back to actually building the game.
The studios with marketing budgets have whole teams running their sites. You've got yourself. The answer isn't to do less -- it's to have the right things in the right places so the work you do put in actually converts.