This guide will talk about how to increase your revenue after you’ve released a game. Everything detailed here is only worthwhile if the game is somewhat successful.
Post-release promotion
After release, you should still do a bit of promotion around game updates. In my experience, they generally have little impact on sales unless some streamer picks up the game again.
Post-release localization
Many games launch with only a few languages and expand after they are successful. I did that with The Ouroboros King, and it probably wasn’t worth it. This is because I didn’t have enough volume.
It may be worth it for games that have sold over 20k copies in the first month (TOK sold 5k). And if you do post-release localization, try to bundle it with a game update and email streamers of those languages about it.
Discounts
Steam is very discount-centric, so try to discount at any opportunity you have, as it’ll bring a sales spike. I’m not sure what the optimal strategy is, but I try to make every discount 1-2% higher than the last.
Bundles
You can bundle before release, and I suggest you do, as it makes your game look more legit and helps other games. But the biggest impact is when you bundle with another game on its launch, as this will bring a sales spike.
I usually scout for upcoming similar games and try to play the demo and give feedback to the devs. If I like the game, I’ll propose to bundle.
Daily Deal
If your game is successful enough (>100k$ revenue), you may qualify for a Daily Deal on Steam. It may be offered to you, but you can also ask (via Steam support) if you think you have a chance. Try to make your case and convince them (talk about upcoming updates, good reviews, what discount you’re ready to make, …). You can ask multiple times (maybe wait 6 months between them). I was personally denied the 1st time I asked, but accepted the 2nd time.
High-discount bundles
When you reach about a 50% discount on Steam, it may be time to go to big-discount bundle sites like Humble Bundle and Fanatical.
They tend to buy lots of keys at a big discount (~90%), so it’s a good opportunity for extra cash.
Porting
If your game is successful, you can consider porting it to mobile and consoles as an extra revenue stream. You may not even have to do the porting yourself, as there are many porting publishers you can work with.
Conclusions
I hope you’ve found these ideas useful, and they help keep your studio afloat.