In our previous article, we talked about Choosing the Right Genre for Success on Steam. We’ll now delve into how to choose the right price for your game.
As an indie game developer, you may be wondering how to price your game on Steam. There are a few things to consider when setting a price for your game.
- Are you targeting a niche audience? If so, you can probably charge more than if you were targeting a more general audience.
- How long will it take someone to finish your game? If it's short, you can probably charge less than if it's long.
- What is the production value of your game? If it's high quality, people may be willing to pay more for it.
- Are there any other similar games on the market? If so, what are they priced at?
First, take a look at the prices of similar games on Steam. If your game is comparable to other games in terms of quality and content, then you should probably price it similarly. However, if your game offers more content or higher quality than other games in its genre, you may want to price it higher.
It's also important to consider the value of your game. If your game is something that people will play for hours on end, you may want to charge more for it. On the other hand, if your game is shorter or less re-playable, you may want to charge less.
It’s critical to note that Steam automatically reprices your game in different countries based on the average wage in that country. So, if you're worried about your game being too expensive in certain countries, don't be - Steam will take care of that for you. However, if you are already priced very low in western markets this can mean if you don't override the prices in Steam your game is sold for next to nothing.
Think about any discounts or sales you want to offer in the future. Steam's algorithm was built around discounting, which means when someone buys your game at 20% off their usual price, they'll send an email telling all wishlisted customers about it! That way even if people don't buy right away players will get a nice reminder about your game.
Think about your goals for selling your game on Steam. If you're just looking to cover your development costs, then you'll likely want to price your game lower. However, if you're hoping to make a profit from your game, you'll need to price it accordingly.
Pricing is a fine balancing act between market trends and confidence in your game. It's important you get a fair price for your game on Steam so never sell yourself short, but you also have to be pragmatic and know gamers are only going to pay higher prices for games they feel offer something new or different.
Finally, its important to remember that setting a price automatically puts it into a kind of bracket for players both financially and mentally. Steam tiers its games by price point and gamers will often browse this way looking at all games under a certain price. Equally a game priced at $40 has much higher expectations placed upon it by gamers than one priced at $5.
Keep these things in mind when setting a price for your game on Steam and you'll be sure to find the right price for your game.
