The number one press kit mistake I see indie developers make isn't a missing section or bad screenshots. It's timing. They create their press kit the week before launch, then wonder why nobody covered their game.
By that point, you've already missed your announcement window, your demo phase, your festival appearances, and months of potential content creator coverage. Every one of those was a moment when a journalist or YouTuber might have found your game, checked your press kit, and decided to cover you. If the press kit didn't exist, they moved on.
Here's the timeline that actually works.
12 Months Before Launch: The Foundation
At this point, your game probably isn't ready to show. Your art is placeholder. Your mechanics are still being iterated. Your trailer is a dream you'll eventually wake up to finish.
You don't need a press kit yet. But you do need to start building the pieces.
What to focus on:
- Establish your studio identity (name, logo, basic website)
- Set up social media accounts under your studio name
- Start capturing development footage and screenshots, even if they're rough
- Write your first draft of your game description
The goal isn't to publish anything public. It's to build the raw materials so you're not scrambling later.
What goes wrong if you skip this: When announcement time comes, you'll spend three weeks designing a logo and setting up accounts instead of preparing your actual announcement.
6 Months Before Launch: Announcement Ready
This is when most games should announce publicly. Your Steam Coming Soon page goes live. Your press kit should go live the same day.
Your announcement press kit needs:
- 5-8 gameplay screenshots (not concept art)
- A trailer, even if it's just 30 seconds of gameplay with music
- Your capsule art and logos in high resolution
- A short description (1-2 sentences) with your hook
- A long description (2-3 paragraphs) explaining what makes the game unique
- Studio information and contact email
- Links to your Steam page and social accounts
That's it. Don't overcomplicate the announcement kit. You're providing the minimum materials a journalist needs to write a short piece about your game.
What goes wrong if you skip this: You announce your game, it gets some social media traction, journalists search for more information... and find nothing. The coverage opportunity evaporates. You can't get that moment back.
3-4 Months Before Launch: Demo and Festival Ready
If you're doing Steam Next Fest or other festivals, this is when your press kit needs to level up.
Add to your press kit:
- Updated screenshots from your current build (not the version from 6 months ago)
- A new trailer if your visual quality has improved significantly
- Demo-specific information (where to download, how long it takes to play)
- B-roll footage for content creators (60-90 seconds of raw gameplay, no overlays)
This is also when you should be doing content creator outreach. Every email you send should include a link to your press kit. If the creator clicks through and finds outdated screenshots or missing assets, you've wasted that outreach opportunity.
What goes wrong if you skip this: Content creators covering Next Fest need assets quickly. They're evaluating 50+ games in a week. If your press kit doesn't exist or looks amateur, they'll cover a different game instead. The ones who find professional, comprehensive press kits are the ones who get featured.
4-6 Weeks Before Launch: Press Outreach Mode
This is when you start sending press emails to journalists. Your press kit needs to be bulletproof.
Add or update:
- Launch trailer (this replaces or supplements your announce trailer)
- Final screenshots from the release build (9-12 total)
- Updated game description reflecting final features
- Pricing and release date information
- Review quotes from any pre-launch coverage
- Awards, festival selections, or other accolades
Every asset should be the highest quality you can produce. Screenshots at 1920x1080 minimum, ideally 4K. Logos with transparent backgrounds. Trailer as both an embedded video and a downloadable file.
What goes wrong if you skip this: You send pitch emails to journalists. They click through to your press kit. The screenshots show an old build, the trailer is from announcement, and the description mentions features that have been cut. The journalist assumes your game isn't actually ready and moves on.
Launch Week: Real-Time Updates
During launch week itself, your press kit becomes a real-time communication tool.
Update immediately when:
- Reviews start coming in (add quotes from positive reviews)
- You win awards or get featured by Steam
- You hit significant milestones (review count, sales if you're sharing publicly)
Launch week is chaos. Prepare a process for updating your press kit quickly. Know where your source files are. Have your website or press kit tool open and ready.
What goes wrong if you skip this: A journalist writing a launch day roundup visits your press kit looking for fresh angles. They find only pre-launch materials. They write about a different game that gave them something new to say.
Post-Launch: The Forgotten Phase
Most developers stop updating their press kit after launch. This is a mistake.
Your game will continue generating news: patches, content updates, DLC, ports to new platforms, sales milestones, community events. Each of these is an opportunity for fresh coverage, but only if your press kit reflects the current state of your game.
Update your press kit when:
- Major content updates ship (new screenshots, updated feature list)
- You release DLC (separate section with DLC-specific assets)
- You hit review milestones (change from "Positive" to "Very Positive")
- You port to new platforms (add platform icons, any platform-specific assets)
What goes wrong if you skip this: A journalist revisits your game six months later to cover a major update. Your press kit still shows launch materials. The article uses old screenshots and doesn't capture what's changed. You miss the opportunity to re-introduce your game to their audience.
The Common Failure Mode
Here's what I see over and over: a developer spends two years making their game, spends weeks on their trailer, spends hours perfecting their Steam page... and throws together a press kit in an afternoon the week before launch.
By that point, every window where a press kit could have helped has already closed:
- Announcement coverage: missed
- Festival coverage: missed
- Pre-launch content creator outreach: weakened by lack of materials
- Early reviews: compressed timeline
The press kit created in panic mode is always worse than one built incrementally over months. Screenshots get grabbed hastily instead of curated carefully. Descriptions get rushed instead of refined. Contact information gets forgotten entirely.
The Fix Is Simple (But Not Easy)
Create your press kit when you announce. Before you post to Reddit, before you tweet, before you send any email, before the world knows your game exists, your press kit should be live.
Then update it at every milestone. Demo release. Festival appearance. New trailer. Launch. Post-launch updates.
The work compounds. A press kit maintained for six months before launch contains six months of refinement. A press kit created in a weekend contains a weekend of panic.
The games that get consistent press coverage aren't luckier than the ones that don't. They're better prepared. Their press kits were ready when opportunities appeared.
Your game deserves coverage. Give the people who might cover it the materials they need, when they need them.
Free Tool: Game Fact Sheet Generator — Generate a professional fact sheet for your press kit at any milestone. Runs in your browser, no signup required.
