How to get Steam wishlists before launch

Updated 8 November 2026 · By the Vast team

Put your Coming Soon page up early, show a trailer and real gameplay, and then give people reasons to click Add to your Wishlist: a demo, Steam Next Fest, posts where your players already are, and a giveaway. There is no official number of wishlists you need. Valve says Steam has no minimum wishlist count for showing your game, and the numbers you see quoted online are rules of thumb from other people's data.

Why wishlists matter

Valve says wishlists can be an important factor in where your game appears on Steam, and it ties several features to them. According to Valve's Steamworks documentation:

Valve adds that wishlisted games can show up in featured sections with a reminder, and upcoming games can appear in upcoming-game lists.

Your numbers are in the Wishlists section of the Sales & Activation Reports portal, which tracks additions, purchases and deletions and updates daily.

How many wishlists do you need?

Nobody can give you a number that guarantees anything. Valve's own wishlist docs say "there's no formula to accurately predict sales from wishlists." Here are two figures people quote. Treat both as rules of thumb.

ClaimSourceDateCaveat
About 7,000 wishlists is a useful goal before launch, tied to Steam's Popular Upcoming listChris Zukowski, howtomarketagame.comPosted September 2022, updated June 2026His rule of thumb, not a Valve number. His June 2026 update says Valve raised the bar for Popular Upcoming; on one day that month, the list's median game had 13,270 wishlists. Some games under 7,000 still made it.
Median of about 0.2 first-week sales per wishlist at launchSimon Carless, GameDiscoverCoJune 15, 2020A voluntary survey with 50 responses, counting all first-week sales, not only wishlisters. Results ranged from about 0.05 to over 1. The data is from 2020, so treat it as a rough starting point.

Valve has pushed back on fixed thresholds too. In a January 2024 post, Zukowski quotes a Valve talk in which Valve's Erik Peterson says the idea that you need a specific count, "maybe it's 50,000 or a 100,000 wishlists," to get featured is "simply not the case." Peterson adds that Popular Upcoming is affected by your wishlist count. Zukowski's summary: "There is no magic number."

A practical way to use this: pick a goal, track your wishlists per week, and judge your game by how fast you grow, not by one threshold.

When to put up your Coming Soon page

Earlier than feels comfortable, once the basics are settled. Valve's Coming Soon documentation says to publish "as soon as you are ready to start talking publicly about your game." It also says new products must have the page up for at least two weeks before release, and to submit it for review at least 7 business days before you want it live. Valve warns that if your game may change a lot, early wishlisters could be confused, so it suggests waiting until you're fairly confident in your art direction and core features.

Zukowski's March 2025 post gives a five-item checklist for being ready:

  1. Your genre is settled.
  2. Your art style is decided.
  3. You have enough art to show three unique environments.
  4. You have a professionally made capsule image.
  5. You have a trailer that shows gameplay.

He argues against waiting months for the perfect announcement, and he says wishlists don't lose value over time. That is his analysis of case studies, not a Valve claim. Valve's own docs say early wishlisters can be just as likely to buy as late ones, unless the game changes a lot.

Once the page is visible, Steam turns on your Community Hub, so you can post announcements and talk to fans.

Demos and Steam Next Fest

A demo is a separate app on Steam, linked to your full game, and Steam shows demo players a link to the full game. Valve's demo documentation says that once your demo is playable for the first time, you can send a notification to players who have the full game on their wishlist. You can send it once, from your demo's landing page, within two weeks of the demo's launch. Valve's Next Fest FAQ adds that the Fest doesn't give you a second one.

Steam Next Fest is a weeklong event that promotes upcoming games through playable demos. Valve says it runs three times a year, in February, June and October. To take part:

How many wishlists can a Fest bring? Zukowski collected 182 survey responses from games in the February 2026 Next Fest. The median wishlists earned during the Fest, by how many a game had the day before:

Wishlists before the FestGamesMedian earned
0 to 99971322
1,000 to 9,999601,006
10,000 to 99,999365,215

That is one Fest and a self-reported sample. In it, a game's wishlists going in were the strongest predictor of what it earned, so build some audience first.

Festivals and events

Third-party showcases and online festivals run through the year too. Check each event's own rules for dates, eligibility and fees before you plan around it, and don't assume you'll get a spot. Zukowski suggests limiting your pitching for big announcements, with festivals, influencers or press, to a couple of months. If nobody bites, post the page yourself.

Trailers, social posts, press and streamers

Your store page does the converting, so send everything there.

Giveaways and Steam keys, within Valve's rules

A giveaway can bring in wishlists, but the prize matters. Valve's Steam Keys documentation says:

So the simplest prize is hardware, a gift card or fewer than 100 keys. Past that, Steam customers need the same deal. If you're unsure, ask Valve before you promise anything.

Never ask for Steam reviews as part of an entry, and don't reward them. Valve's review rules say not to solicit reviews in exchange for games, DLC, money or other rewards. Keep entry actions to things like wishlisting, following and joining your Discord.

Host the giveaway itself off Steam, too. Steam's Online Conduct rules list "running contests" among the commercial activity not allowed on Steam.

Running a wishlist giveaway with Vast

Vast is our product, so weigh that. Other giveaway tools exist, and you can also run a giveaway by hand with a form and a spreadsheet. The upside of doing it by hand is that you control everything. The downside is that you have to check every entry yourself.

Vast's help center says the Integrations page lets players connect Steam, and that Steam actions check that the player played, owned or wishlisted a game, or joined a Steam group. Steam actions need the player's Steam profile and game details set to public, so say that on your giveaway page. Players with private profiles can't complete them.

To set one up:

  1. In the hosting menu, choose New giveaway to open the builder.
  2. Fill in the basics, prizes, dates and rules. Vast writes the terms for you, and you can edit them or use your own.
  3. Under How people enter, choose Add more actions and add a Steam wishlist action for your game, plus other actions like joining your Discord.
  4. Preview it, then publish.
  5. Share the link everywhere your players are.

Vast says winners are drawn at random from everyone who entered, and that no purchase is necessary to enter or win. The host runs the giveaway and delivers the prizes.

Giveaways are also covered by contest law where your players live. Our giveaway rules guide explains what official rules need to say. This isn't legal advice; check with a lawyer for your country and prize.

Tip: Describe the game in your giveaway description, so players know what they're wishlisting.

Mistakes to avoid

FAQ

How many wishlists do I need to launch?

There is no official number. Valve says there is no minimum count for Steam to show your game. Zukowski's rule of thumb is about 7,000 for Popular Upcoming, but his June 2026 update says that bar has gone up.

What share of wishlists turn into sales?

It varies a lot. GameDiscoverCo's June 2020 survey, with 50 responses, found a median of about 0.2 first-week sales per wishlist, with results from about 0.05 to over 1. It's old and voluntary, so use it as a rough rule of thumb.

When should I make my Steam page public?

As soon as you can talk about the game publicly and the basics are settled. Valve requires at least two weeks of Coming Soon time before release.

Can I give away Steam keys for wishlists?

Valve says keys shouldn't be given away for free unless Steam customers get the same deal, except for very small giveaways under 100 keys. If you're unsure, Valve will review a key request in advance through a support ticket.

Do wishlists lose value over time?

Zukowski says in his case studies they don't. Valve's docs add that early wishlisters can be as likely to buy as late ones, unless the game changes a lot.

Run a Steam wishlist giveaway on Vast. Steam actions are checked against the player's connected Steam account. Start a giveaway

Sources

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