Indie developers spend hours building press kits. Screenshots get curated, descriptions get polished, logos get exported in six different formats. Then the press kit goes live and... silence. No analytics dashboard shows who visited. No confirmation that a single journalist ever clicked the link. The nagging question creeps in: does anyone actually use these things?
TL;DR: Yes, journalists use press kits consistently and actively. Screenshots are the most-downloaded asset (60-70% of downloads), followed by logos and trailers. Average time on page is 2-4 minutes, meaning journalists scan fast and grab what they need. Design your press kit for speed, not beauty.
Key Takeaways
- Screenshots are downloaded far more than any other asset because every piece of coverage needs at least one image
- Journalists look at screenshots first, then the fact sheet/description, then the trailer, and finally key art and logos
- Content creators use press kits differently, caring more about video assets and b-roll than written descriptions
- The minimum viable press kit (6-8 screenshots, one trailer, logo, one-paragraph description) is enough for an announcement
- Press kits that require login, registration, or "request access" permission lose visitors immediately
The short answer is yes. Emphatically yes. The longer answer involves how they use them, what they look at, and why a surprising number of developers build press kits that miss what journalists actually need. If you're working on your press coverage strategy, understanding the journalist's perspective on press kits changes how you build yours.
What Journalists Have Said Publicly
Game journalists don't talk about press kits often because, for them, it's like talking about email. It's infrastructure. It's expected. But when they do comment, the picture is consistent.
Kirk McKeand, who wrote for VG247 and TheGamer, has described his typical workflow when a pitch email arrives: he reads the hook, clicks the trailer link, and if interested, goes to the press kit for screenshots and details. The press kit is step three, not step one. But without step three, there's no article. He's noted that missing or low-quality screenshots are a dealbreaker. If the screenshots in the press kit don't look good enough to run as article images, he moves on.
Liam Dawe, who runs GamingOnLinux, has been vocal about press kit quality specifically for smaller outlets. His site doesn't have a team of graphic designers. If your press kit doesn't include high-resolution images that work as article headers, the article either looks bad or doesn't get written. He's noted that having a properly formatted presskit() or equivalent page is one of the signals that tells him a developer is serious.
Tom Sykes, who covered indie games as a freelancer for PC Gamer and other outlets, has mentioned that the ideal press kit lets him write a news item without sending a single follow-up email. If he needs to email you asking for your game's platforms, price, or a high-res version of that screenshot, you've added friction to the process. Some journalists push through the friction. Many don't.
Ana Diaz at Polygon has spoken about the volume problem: 100+ pitches per day during busy periods. In that environment, every extra click or missing asset is a reason to move to the next email. A press kit that loads fast, has clear navigation, and puts the most important information at the top gets used. One that requires downloading a 2GB ZIP file and extracting it to find a folder structure that makes no sense gets closed.
What They Look at First
Based on publicly available journalist accounts, conference talks, and the analytics data developers have shared, the order of attention is remarkably consistent.
1. Screenshots
Screenshots are the first thing journalists look at in a press kit, and they're the most frequently downloaded asset. This makes sense. A news article needs images. A tweet about your game needs an image. A YouTube thumbnail needs an image. Screenshots are the universal press asset.
What they need:
- High resolution (minimum 1920x1080, preferably higher)
- PNG format for lossless quality
- Variety (different locations, mechanics, and moods)
- No HUD clutter unless the UI itself is notable
- At least 8-12 options so they can pick what fits their article
What kills them:
- Low resolution (anything under 1280x720 is unusable for modern outlets)
- Only 2-3 images to choose from
- Watermarked screenshots (never watermark press kit assets)
- Screenshots that all look the same (five shots of the same biome tell one story)
Developers at larger studios have shared analytics from their press kit pages. Screenshots account for 60-70% of all asset downloads. Logos are around 15-20%. Trailers and other assets make up the rest. The pattern we see most often is that journalists grab screenshots first, then come back for logos and key art only when they're actively writing the article. Screenshots dominate because every piece of coverage, from a 200-word news blurb to a long-form review, needs at least one image.
2. The Game Description and Fact Sheet
After screenshots, journalists scan the game description for the core facts: genre, platforms, release date, price, player count, and the hook. They're looking for information they can slot directly into an article.
The fact sheet format (a one-page summary with key details in a structured list) is popular because it's scannable. A journalist covering 15 games for a roundup article needs to grab your details fast. A well-structured fact sheet lets them do that in 30 seconds.
3. Trailer
Journalists watch trailers to understand the game's feel and quality level. They'll embed the trailer in their article if it's hosted on YouTube (which it should be). Some outlets require a YouTube embed for their CMS.
A downloadable trailer file is valuable for outlets that create their own video content. They'll pull clips from your trailer for compilation videos or use it as B-roll.
4. Key Art and Logos
These get used for article headers, social media cards, and newsletter features. Key art with transparent background PNGs of your logo gives outlets flexibility in how they present your game.
Include both horizontal and vertical versions. Different placements need different ratios.
Analytics Data: What Developers Have Seen
Developers who host their press kits on platforms with analytics (like presskit.gg or custom-built pages with tracking) have shared patterns that line up with the journalist accounts above.
Traffic spikes correlate with outreach. Press kit visits spike within 24-48 hours of sending pitch emails. A secondary, smaller spike often occurs when articles publish (as other journalists or creators see the coverage and visit your kit).
Screenshot ZIP downloads are the most common action. When developers offer a "download all screenshots" button, it's the most-clicked element on the page. Individual screenshot downloads are second.
Average time on page is 2-4 minutes. Journalists aren't lingering. They're grabbing what they need and leaving. What developers who track press kit analytics consistently find is that the "Download All" button is clicked more than any individual asset—speed matters more than perfect organization. This means your kit needs to be organized for fast scanning, not designed for leisurely reading.
Mobile traffic is minimal. Under 5% of press kit visits come from mobile devices. Journalists access press kits from desktop computers where they're writing their articles. This doesn't mean mobile optimization doesn't matter, but it means desktop experience should be the priority.
Return visits happen. Some journalists visit a press kit multiple times: once when they receive the pitch, once when they start writing, and sometimes a third time when the article is in editing and they need one more asset. This reinforces why press kits need to stay up and stay current.
