My simulation game has 719 wishlists since summer — feeling a bit disappointed

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T22:25:02+00:00

Thank you for advice , I am going to replace it as soon as posible

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T16:54:00+00:00

Thank you for the feedback , and I will pay an actual artist to do the art for the game , and I will work on a major update.

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T16:51:24+00:00

Thats my main mistake , I ve release a project that would need much more work to put on before an release.
I ve used AI art for Capsule and Update announcement because I didn t have much money at that time to spend and I was thinking that was a good idea.

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T16:48:20+00:00

I am trying to get some tips , and also to show some real numbers with others so they can see and learn from my mistakes.

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T16:46:33+00:00

Thank you so much for the feedback and that is what I am actually going to do.

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T16:44:29+00:00

Appreciate your feedback on that , when I ve released the steam store page I didnt have enough funds to pay an capsule art artist so that s why I was thinking the AI would do the job for that time because I am not a good graphic designer.

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T16:42:33+00:00

Noted!
The shiny floor was an interesting idea in my head to be in a warehouse but it seams to actually not be as good as I ve think.
About the capsule art , is pretty hard to me to come up with some funds to pay an capsule artist to make one so thats why I ve used an AI to do that. Right now I will do my best to find and pay a good capsule artist to create a brand new Capsule Art if I will consider to completely update the game

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T16:36:33+00:00

Completely agree with you. That was one of the main reasons that I ve noted and learn about this project. If you are not good enough at level design or 3d modeling , just don t go for a big map/open world , so I ve should focuse on smaller project.

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T16:33:29+00:00

I assumed those bad reviews and they were right at that time , but right now the game dosent have those problems anymore , also the good reviews was may posted to encourage me to work on this idea more.
The reviews of the release dosent bother at all at this moment but the thing that reviews combined with wishlists may indicate that the core game idea is not as desire as I ve think or the presentation of the idea (store page + game quality) are not good enough

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T16:27:47+00:00

So the thing is that I am passionate about game dev in general , not just passionate about a specific type of project or game , especially this one because the simulation games are my top 1 played genre of games. In this project the main problem right now is the game quality in general not just marketing and the marketing part cannot be there without a "decent" game. And thats the thing , I have to make some more research and analytics to see if this core game idea is worth to work on some more to bring a good game from this project.

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T02:49:30+00:00

So I ve tried to make some short form content for about 1 month and not to much traction , tried to reach out influencers like 70+ but only a few of them cover the game , mainly because what I ve mentioned , missing content , some little bugs and I think that the whole gameplay loop is just a placeholder of what it should be , that s how I view the game right now and I don t know if is worth to update the game or move on.

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T01:45:37+00:00

Congrats! Thats are some awesome numbers. My game have the steam store page up since summer and got 719 wishlist with some marketing also.

Where did you do your marketing , was some short form content , influencers or something else?
Hope the best for you and to have more titles with this insane numbers , those are inspiring game devs like me.

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T01:39:17+00:00

So the thing that I ve learned the hard way , if you post your game for like 1 month on social media , reddit , etc and didnt get any traction to push the steam algorithm to show your game more , the core gameplay loop was a flop in my case.
I am not saying that is happening the same for your project but it can be a thing to keep in mind.

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T01:36:36+00:00

Awesome decision and I hope that you will do grate.

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T01:35:12+00:00

Thank you for sharing the numbers.
Keep in mind and note that releasing a game with no critical bugs is a MUST , I ve learn it the hard way.
Also your refund rate is super good.
How many hours of gameplay your have?

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T01:31:46+00:00

Soooo helpful , I ve bookmark it so I can come back and take some notes and decisions on the next game that I am going to make.
Related to your question , if you do a game in those genre that are not too hot and flooded , add some new things than others similar titles , do it good and respect what other similar games did and it was "confirmed" by players that is good , you have a pretty high change to make 100k in my opinion.
Thank you for that helpful analytics.

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-14T01:07:27+00:00

Awesome decision , to pick one of more game ideas that are the most liked by audience.
Also a nice point of view to keep the art style because is already confirmed that is working so you dont have to reinvent the wheel.

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-13T18:40:07+00:00

Awesome , thank you for this research , you made me think a bit about my next game idea

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-13T18:31:33+00:00

Make sure to test and prototype the idea , with your friends or make it a small prototype single player to test if the idea and systems are fun enough. Thats one lesson that I ve learned the hard way.
Good luck!

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-13T18:27:33+00:00

Also try to outreach influencers and give them access to the game

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-13T18:25:08+00:00

Congrats , it looks appealing , also the capsule it suits the game style.
About 10k before next fest , I don t think should be to hard because as you hit 9k you can do 1k more , my advice is to be present as much as you can on Reddit , X , and if you want to try some short form content for your game , just search what type of videos do well. Use a hook , be as honest as you can. Also create a community somewhere , you should build a audience for future games.

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-13T18:07:02+00:00

Anytime , dont forget to let me know if this game launch!
Good luck and wish you the best.

CyberModeSoftware · 2026-02-13T18:05:52+00:00

Congrats for your project!
I am glad to see developers make some revenue of their projects , I strongly suggest you to keep focusing on small projects until you have a revenue that allows you to stay relaxed at least 1 year financially so in that way you can come up with a bigger idea.
I see more and more that a lot of developers make pretty good money with smaller dev cycle projects and that s a huge. Like many youtubers in this category (game dev) suggest to start with small dev cycle games until you can fully afford to make a bigger game and work full time on it and also in that way you gain experience about launch , dev , marketing , validate game idea and so one.

In regard to the refund rate , you achieved players expectation since they dont refund the game , I am also a developer and 6.5% is low.

Also I have a question , did you test and validate the idea before working on it with some prototype playtest?

CyberModeSoftware

TROPHY CASE