Social Media Branding for Indie Game Developers
Someone finds your game on Steam and wants to learn more. They search your studio name. They find your Twitter, your Discord, your YouTube. Each one uses a different logo, different colors, a slightly different studio name, and bios that sound like they were written by three different people after three different amounts of coffee. The effect is subtle but real: this studio doesn't have it together.
TL;DR: Claim the same handle on every platform before you announce. Use identical profile pictures everywhere. Create one banner image at 2560x1440 and crop it for each platform. Write your bio once and adapt it. This takes two hours and makes you look professional.
Key Takeaways
- Claim your handle on all platforms the same day. Handles get taken fast.
- Same profile picture (your studio logo) on every platform. No exceptions.
- Each platform has different image dimensions. Design for the largest (YouTube banner) and crop down.
- Your bio should follow: [Studio name]. [What you're making]. [Link]. Adapt tone per platform.
- Show the human behind the handle. Dev process content outperforms polished announcements.
Consistent social media branding solves this before it starts. It's one of the cheaper, faster parts of building your indie game brand, and it has an outsized impact on how professional your studio appears. You can set it all up in an afternoon. The hard part isn't execution. It's deciding on the details and then actually applying them everywhere.
Handle Strategy: Same Name, Every Platform
This should be your first branding decision, before the logo, before the colors, before the website. Claim the same handle on every platform you might ever use.
Every platform means:
- Twitter/X
- YouTube
- TikTok
- Discord (server name and vanity URL)
- Bluesky
- Threads
- Twitch (even if you don't plan to stream)
- Reddit (create a u/ account for community engagement)
Claim them all on the same day, even if you won't use most of them for months. Handles get taken. Squatting on your own name is free insurance. In practice, developers who delay claiming handles often find their preferred name taken by the time they need it—and then they're stuck with underscores or numbers that look unprofessional.
Rules for handles:
- No underscores if you can avoid them. @NovaStar reads cleaner than @Nova_Star_Games.
- No numbers unless they're part of your actual name. @CoolStudio47 looks like a backup account.
- No "official" or "HQ" suffix. It implies there's a fake version of you out there worth distinguishing from. There isn't.
- Keep it short. People need to type this, tag this, and remember this.
If your studio name is unavailable on a major platform, consider whether the name itself is the problem. An unsearchable, unclaimable name will fight you at every step. Better to rethink the name now than to work around it for years. The branding pillar has more on choosing a name that doesn't sabotage you.
Platform-Specific Asset Sizes
Each platform has its own dimensions for profile pictures, banners, and headers. Using incorrectly sized images results in cropping, blurriness, or awkward framing. Here are the numbers that matter:
Twitter/X
- Profile picture: 400x400 px (displays as circle)
- Header/banner: 1500x500 px
- In-feed images: 1280x720 px (16:9)
YouTube
- Profile picture: 800x800 px (displays as circle)
- Banner: 2560x1440 px (safe area for mobile: center 1546x423 px)
- Video thumbnail: 1280x720 px
Discord
- Server icon: 512x512 px (displays as circle)
- Server banner: 960x540 px (available at Server Boost Level 1)
- Server invite splash: 1920x1080 px (Level 1)
TikTok
- Profile picture: 200x200 px minimum (displays as circle)
- Video: 1080x1920 px (9:16 vertical)
- Profile picture: 320x320 px (displays as circle)
- Feed post: 1080x1080 px (square) or 1080x1350 px (4:5 vertical)
- Stories/Reels: 1080x1920 px
Bluesky
- Profile picture: 1000x1000 px
- Banner: 3000x1000 px
The Practical Approach
You don't need unique art for every single platform. Create one wide banner image (2560x1440 px, since YouTube is the largest) in your brand colors with your game's key art and logo. Then crop it for each platform. Make sure the essential elements (logo, game title) sit within the center safe zone that survives every crop.
For profile pictures, use your studio logo icon on every platform. Same image, same crop. Upload it at the highest resolution the platform accepts. If your logo doesn't work in a circle (because all platforms now display profile pictures as circles), adjust the icon version until it does.
Bio Optimization Per Platform
Every platform gives you a small text field to describe yourself. These bios are tiny billboards. Make them count.
The Formula
[Studio name]. [What you're making]. [Link.]
That's the minimum. You can add personality, but the information comes first.
Platform-Specific Tweaks
Twitter/X: 160 characters. This is tight. Lead with your game. "Making [Game Name]. [Genre pitch in 5 words]. Wishlist: [link]." Pin a tweet that shows your game in action (trailer or GIF).
YouTube: 1000 characters in the "About" section. Use the first two lines for the same short pitch (they display before the "Show More" fold). Below that, list your other social links and your press contact email. Your YouTube description is indexed by Google, so include your game name and genre naturally.
TikTok: 80 characters. Brutally short. "[Studio Name] | Making [Game Name] | [link]" is about all you get. Make the link tree count (Linktree, Carrd, or your website with clear navigation). For more on TikTok specifically, see our TikTok marketing guide for indie devs.
Discord: Your server description appears in the invite preview. Write it for people who don't know your game yet: "Official server for [Game Name], a [genre] game about [one-sentence pitch]. Dev updates, screenshots, and community."
Instagram: 150 characters plus a link. Same short pitch. Use the link slot for your website or a link aggregator page.
Reddit: Your u/ profile bio is short and most people won't see it, but your flair in subreddits like r/gamedev and r/indiegaming matters. Set it to your game name or studio name. Our Reddit marketing guide covers community engagement in more detail.
Content Style Per Platform
Each platform rewards different types of content. Posting the same thing everywhere with no adaptation is better than posting nothing, but tailoring to each platform is where results improve.
Twitter/X
Short text posts, GIFs, and screenshot comparisons perform well. Dev process content (before/after, bug showcases, "I just spent 6 hours on this animation" posts) gets strong engagement. Threads work for longer updates.
Tone: Casual, conversational, slightly self-deprecating. Twitter rewards personality. Being funny helps. Being helpful helps. Being a corporate announcement bot helps nobody. Developers who share genuine development struggles and small wins consistently report higher engagement than those who only post polished announcements.
YouTube
Long-form devlogs, trailers, and tutorials. YouTube content has a long shelf life. A devlog posted six months ago still gets views from search. Invest more effort per video; post less frequently.
Tone: Informative, enthusiastic, personal. Show your face if you're comfortable with it. YouTube audiences connect with people more than with logos.
TikTok
Short, visual, immediate. The first frame matters more than anything. Show gameplay, satisfying animations, impossible bugs, development time-lapses. No intros. No "hey guys." Start with the most visually interesting thing and let the clip do the work.
Tone: Unpolished is fine. Authenticity reads better than production value on TikTok. The "indie dev working in their bedroom" vibe is a feature, not a bug.
Discord
Community management, not content creation. Discord is where your most engaged fans live. Share work-in-progress screenshots, ask for feedback on mechanics, post patch notes, run playtests. The content is the conversation.
Tone: Approachable, responsive, genuine. Respond to messages. React to people's fan art. Be present.
Polished visuals. Instagram is still an image-first platform. Post your best screenshots, concept art, and short video clips. Reels can reach beyond your followers. Stories are good for casual, temporary behind-the-scenes content.
Tone: Visual-forward. Let the images speak. Captions can be brief.
Building a Recognizable Dev Persona
The studios that build loyal followings on social media have a recognizable voice. Not a marketing voice. A human voice. You can spot a Devolver Digital tweet without seeing the handle. You'd recognize ConcernedApe's calm, matter-of-fact update style anywhere. These aren't accidents. They're consistent personas maintained over time.
Finding your voice:
Look at how you naturally talk about your game when you're excited about it. That's your voice. If you're dry and sarcastic, be dry and sarcastic online. If you're earnest and enthusiastic, lean into that. The worst approach is performing a personality that isn't yours. It's exhausting to maintain and people can tell.
Consistency across accounts:
If your Twitter is playful and your YouTube is corporate, you've created two different studios in people's minds. Pick a tone and keep it across platforms, adjusting for format but not for personality.
The human behind the handle:
People follow people. Even if you're branding as a studio (not a personal account), showing the human side matters. Share your workspace. Talk about a problem you solved. Celebrate a milestone genuinely, not with a marketing graphic. Show the messy parts of development. Nobody trusts a studio that only posts polished announcements. We trust studios that show up as real people making real things.
The Social Media Branding Checklist
Do this in one sitting. It takes about two hours.
- Confirm you have the same handle on every platform you'll use
- Upload the same profile picture (studio icon) to every platform
- Create and upload platform-sized banners/headers using your brand colors
- Write your bio for each platform using the formula above
- Pin or feature your best game content on each profile (trailer, GIF, key screenshot)
- Add your website and wishlist link to every bio that allows a URL
- Review everything on mobile (most people will see your profiles on a phone)
Save your banner files and bio text in the same document where you keep your game and studio descriptions. When your game's key art changes or you hit a new milestone, you'll update everything from one place.
That's it. Two hours for a consistent presence across every platform your audience uses. No ad spend required. No graphic design degree needed. Just the discipline to decide on the details and then apply them everywhere, like keeping the same art style across all your game's levels. The players notice when it's consistent. They notice more when it isn't. What tends to happen in practice is that studios with consistent branding across platforms build recognition faster—people start recognizing your game from a thumbnail alone.
Free Tool: Creator Pitch Generator — Generate professional pitch emails for content creators and influencers. Runs in your browser, no signup required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I use my personal name or studio name for social accounts?
It depends on your long-term plans. If you're building a studio that will ship multiple games, use the studio name. If you're a solo dev whose personal brand is the identity (like ConcernedApe), use your name. Pick one and stick with it.
My studio name is taken on Twitter. What do I do?
Consider whether the name is worth fighting for. An unsearchable, unclaimable name will cause problems forever. Alternatives: add "games" or "studio" suffix, or reconsider the name itself before you announce.
How often should I post on each platform?
Quality beats quantity. Twitter: daily or every few days is fine. YouTube: when you have something substantial (devlogs, trailers). TikTok: 2-3 times per week if you're active there. Discord: be present and responsive, not scheduled.
Do I need to be on every platform?
No. Focus on 2-3 platforms where your audience actually hangs out. A strong presence on two platforms beats a weak presence on six. Claim handles everywhere, but only actively maintain what you can sustain.
Related Guides
This article is part of our series on branding. Start with the complete guide:
Also in this series: