Steam Next Fest Demo Wishlist Conversion Rate Median Found at 19.3%
The survey gives developers a concrete benchmark for demo effectiveness, while revealing that a large share of wishlist activity happens without any demo play.
Reporting from 1 source: Automaton.
A survey of 108 titles from the June Steam Next Fest found a median wishlist conversion rate of 19.3% among demo players. Half of the titles fell between 15% and 24%. The data also shows many users add games to their wishlist without playing the demo.
How To Market A Game analyzed data from 108 developers who participated in the June Steam Next Fest. The median rate at which demo players added a game to their wishlist was 19.3%, with half of all titles landing between 15% and 24%. The conversion rate ranged from 0% to about 50%.
The survey also highlighted a notable pattern: many users wishlist a game without ever launching its demo. In the case of 'Trash Day,' a raccoon physics adventure that ranked among the top 50 most-played demos, 6,143 people played the demo and then wishlisted, while 6,828 wishlisted without playing. The conversion rate for that title was roughly 18.7%.
Reasons for wishlisting without playing may include sufficient store page information, genre preference, or studio fandom. The findings suggest that demo distribution is only one factor in building wishlist momentum.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.