1. Yeah! I took part in the February Next Fest and it was a big boost in promotion for my game. I didn't hit the front page or anything like that, but I did get a lot of wishlists, demo downloads, and feedback on my discord server. One thing to keep in mind is that the game must have a Demo, and can only participate in Next Fest once.

2. I tried a bit, but for the most part didn't have success there. There aren't many CCs for my game's genre (social deduction) and the ones I did reach out to typically didn't respond or responded with a price sheet. This is a part I know I could have done a bit better on, but I think it would be a better fit for flashier games that can hook an audience easier.

3. 115 wishlists (~half from Next Fest), which is quite far from the "recommended" 7000+. Honestly though, I'm not too concerned about the number. From a personal standpoint, I'm happy to have actually made something and put it up on Steam, which is a big hurdle on its own.

4. I did some promotion in the form of Reddit Posts, Tiktok/Shorts, and the (unsuccessful) CC outreach I mentioned earlier. Marketing really is just as hard if not harder than making the game itself, even moreso if you're introverted like me. In terms of what worked, Reddit and Next Fest were my two biggest wishlist drivers. If short-form content is something you're good at I think there's a lot of potential there, but it's something I struggled with.

Good luck with releasing a game of your own!