What Game Journalists Actually Want in a Press Kit

Nearly 19,000 games shipped on Steam in 2024, and almost half received fewer than 10 reviews. Most of them had no press kit. A good press kit won't guarantee you a feature, but a bad one (or a missing one) will guarantee you don't get one.

Why Every Indie Game Needs a Press Kit

Rami Ismail, co-founder of Vlambeer, said it in 2012 and it's still true: "It's a general problem in the indie scene, where so many beautiful and lovely games go unnoticed simply because the developer doesn't know how to present their game to the press."

A 2024 survey by Big Games Machine of 150+ journalists from outlets including IGN, PC Gamer, Kotaku, and Eurogamer found that 64% cited lack of time as their most significant challenge. They are not going to hunt for your assets. If they can't pull screenshots, a trailer link, and a short description in under two minutes, they move on.

The Indie Game Press Kit Checklist

Putting all of this together from scratch takes real effort. You need to export screenshots at the right resolution, write multiple description lengths, track down logo files, and package it all somewhere accessible. Most devs push it off until launch week, which is exactly when they can least afford to spend time on it.

Here's everything your press kit needs.

1. Game Description (Two Versions)

Write two descriptions:

• Short (1-2 sentences): For roundup articles, social posts, and store listings. Lead with your game's unique hook, not a tagline.
• Long (2-3 paragraphs): For dedicated previews and reviews. Cover genre, core mechanics, story premise, and what sets your game apart.

Write them as facts a journalist can rephrase, not as marketing copy. From the same Ismail interview:

A press kit isn't supposed to look fancy or colorful. A press kit is supposed to be a resource with easy-to-access information and assets.

2. Screenshots (6-8 Minimum)

• Resolution: 1920x1080 minimum, 4K if possible.
• Variety: Different environments, mechanics, and UI states.
• No watermarks or logos overlaid. Journalists need clean images they can crop and resize.
• PNG format preferred. JPEG compression artifacts look bad in articles.

3. Key Art and Logo

• Your game's logo on a transparent background (PNG).
• Key art in at least two aspect ratios: 16:9 for article headers and 1:1 for social media thumbnails.
• If your logo is light-colored, include versions for both light and dark backgrounds.

Chris Zukowski of How To Market A Game recommends including your Steam capsule art in press kit downloads so streamers can grab it without hunting through Steam's backend.

4. Trailer and Video

• Link to your latest trailer on YouTube or Vimeo.
• If you have raw gameplay footage (unedited, no music), include that too. Many content creators prefer uncut footage they can talk over.

5. Contact and Links

• Steam store page URL
• Your website URL
• Social media links (Twitter/X, Discord, Bluesky)
• A real email address. Not a contact form. Journalists want to email you directly.

When you do reach out, make it count. Lewis Denby, founder of indie game PR agency Game If You Are, found that personalized emails with the journalist's name had a 60% higher click-through rate than generic mass emails.

6. Fact Sheet

A simple reference block:

• Developer: Studio name
• Release date: Even "TBA 2026" or "Early Access Q3 2026" is fine
• Platforms: PC, consoles, etc.
• Price: Or "Free to play" / "TBA"
• Genre: Be specific. "Action-adventure with roguelike elements" beats "indie game." Simon Carless of GameDiscoverCo has pointed out that if your top Steam tag is just "Indie," you're wasting your most valuable descriptor.

Where to Find Journalists and Creators to Contact

Once your press kit is ready, you need to get it in front of people. Here are some free places to start:

Press and Media Databases

• PixelProspector's Video Game Journaliser - Huge list of game sites, indie outlets, and YouTubers grouped by platform and country. Not updated anymore but still useful as a starting point.

YouTuber and Streamer Lists

• Itch.io Indie Game YouTuber/Streamer Database - Community-maintained list of smaller creators who actually cover indie games. Good for finding people you can realistically get a response from.
• GameDiscoverCo's YouTube Influencer Analysis - Simon Carless's breakdown of which YouTube channels actually move the needle on wishlists.

Other Resources

• Worthy Festivals for Indie Games (Google Sheet) - Community-maintained spreadsheet of game festivals and showcases worth submitting to.

Don't blast the same generic email to everyone on these lists. Pick 20-30 journalists who cover your genre, read a few of their recent articles, and write them something specific.

The #1 Press Kit Mistake Indie Devs Make

The number one problem isn't missing assets. It's making the press kit hard to find. If a journalist has to dig through your website to locate it, most won't bother.

Your press kit should be one click away from:

• A /press or /press-kit page on your website
• The "Visit Website" link on your Steam page
• Your social media bios

How Gamebase Helps

Gamebase generates a press kit page automatically from your Steam data. Screenshots, descriptions, trailer, and a downloadable ZIP are all organized in the format journalists expect. Use just the press kit, or turn on the full game website too: home page, news posts, the works. Everything lives at yourgame.gamebase.gg.

See it in action.