01Free tools on OUR data: localisation priority calculator + Europe↔Asia store-chart explorer
Phase 1 · start nowSafe betcertainty medium
We build(1) Localisation priority calculator: Steam language share and store revenue by country x cost per word -> ranked language list for the visitor's genre. (2) Monthly-refreshed explorer of top-grossing / top-free charts by country (UK, DE, PL, TR, KR, JP, VN, ID...) and Steam tag growth by country. Result saved and refreshed by email = opt-in.
Cash$450 to first result · $150/mo
Result50–400 subscribers a month · 6–16 weeks
Your partone-time: approve brand name and domain
Stop ifMonth 4 (week 16): <1,000 tool sessions AND <100 new subscribers from tools.
Why + sources
Visitor enters their genre/price/platform; tool returns a country/language plan from our dataset; "send me this monthly" captures the email.
Certainty: Data tools work in this niche (SteamDB 40.9-60.1M visits/month, Semrush 2026; Gamalytic 193-273k), and monthly-changing per-country data cannot be generated by an AI Overview. But a new domain has zero traffic; months 1-3 depend on PR, swaps and communities to send people.
Cash: Gamalytic Pro $75/month (Steam estimates), hosting/DB ~$25, chart scraping/proxies ~$50 (estimate); newsletter on Substack is free. 3 months to first meaningful result.
Result: Estimate for months 4-6: 1,000-5,000 tool sessions x 3-8% opt-in (average opt-in 2.1%, well-optimised 3-8%, bdow 2026). Mature references: Gamalytic 193k-273k visits/month, 55% direct (Similarweb, Jul-Aug 2026); How To Market A Game 131.5k (Similarweb, Jun 2025).
Monthly Europe↔Asia Games Index pitched to trade press
Phase 1 · start nowSafe betcertainty medium
We buildMonthly index: country chart movers, Asian titles entering Europe, Steam tag growth by country, KR/JP market data in English; CSV + embeddable charts; one press email per month to PocketGamer.biz, GamesIndustry.biz, Game Developer, 80.lv, mobilegamer.biz, Game World Observer, DOU GameDev.
Cash$300 to first result · $100/mo
Result10–150 subscribers per trade-press pickup · 6–16 weeks
Your partone-time: approve the press sender identity (name on pitches)
Stop if0 trade-press pickups after 3 monthly issues (week 20) -> change angle (Asia-only data) before dropping.
Why + sources
Journalists quote a number and link the index page; every chart page has the opt-in.
Certainty: Publishing the index is certain and cheap; pickups are not: a search for trade-press articles citing Gamalytic data found none, so third-party data is not automatically quoted. Earned media drives 84% of AI citations (Muck Rack, May 2026), a side benefit.
Cash: Shares the data stack of g02; pitching is email (estimate).
Result: Estimate: 300-2,000 referral visits per linked mention x 2.9% (B2B referral conversion, Ruler) to 8% (optimised opt-in). 0-3 pickups a month. PocketGamer.biz reach: ~496k users (Kochava media index).
Free newsletter recommendations and swaps (Substack network)
Phase 1 · start nowSafe betcertainty medium
We buildHost the newsletter on Substack (free, list exportable, direct sponsorships allowed); recommend peers and ask for reciprocal recommendations/one-off swaps with GameDev Reports (8k), Naavik (9k), Elite Game Developers (10k), AI and Games (11.3k), Brutally Honest/Lancaric (15k), Video Games Industry Memo (4k).
Cash$0 to first result · $0/mo
Result30–300 subscribers a month · 4–12 weeks
Your partnone
Stop if<50 subscribers/month from recommendations + swaps by month 4.
Why + sources
Reader subscribes to a peer -> Substack shows our newsletter as a recommendation; swaps = a paragraph in each other's issue.
Certainty: Mechanism is proven and the whole games-newsletter scene is on Substack (GameDiscoverCo is #1 in Games); peers reciprocate only after we have ~500+ subscribers and 3-4 good issues.
Cash: Free.
Result: Estimate. Substack says recommendations + its app drive ~50% of all new subscriptions (secondary report); a single cross-promotion yields 50+ subscribers and recommendations 1,000+ over time (anecdotal).
LinkedIn personal profile of the owner (AI drafts, owner posts)
Phase 1 · start nowSafe betcertainty medium
We build3 data-chart posts a week from the index, drafted by AI; owner posts and replies to comments.
Cash$0 to first result · $0/mo
Result30–200 subscribers a month · 4–12 weeks
Your partrecurring: ~30-60 min/week to post and reply (breaks the one-time-setup rule; owner must decide)
Stop if<500 followers gained and <30 subscribers/month by week 12.
Why + sources
Personal profiles get ~65% of feed distribution vs ~5% for company pages (aggregator); the B2B games-newsletter writers (Lancaric 15k, Achren 10k, Katkoff) grew with LinkedIn presence.
Certainty: Channel proven for B2B games newsletters, but it only works with a real face posting consistently; automated posting from a personal account breaks LinkedIn rules (not re-checked this round).
Cash: Free.
Result: Estimate after month 3, with consistent posting.
Direct sponsor and listing sales to vendors (the money side)
Phase 1 · start nowSafe betcertainty medium
We buildPublic rate card from day one (founding prices), Payoneer/SWIFT invoices; outreach to 30-50 vendors: UA networks, publishers, outsourcing/art/porting, localisation/QA, engines and tools.
Cash$0 to first result · $0/mo
Result0–600 sponsor $ a month · 6–20 weeks
Your partone-time: approve rate card and invoice template
Stop if0 paid sponsors or listings by week 20 with >=1,000 subscribers -> the audience is not what vendors want; change persona or vertical.
Why + sources
Anchors: GameDiscoverCo $2,500/issue on 31k subs = $224 per 1k opens (8-pack $134); AI and Games $200-500 on 11.3k; directory listings $200-350/month (DesignRush); job posts from $49.
Certainty: Vendors do buy gamedev newsletter slots (published rate cards), but studio budgets are shrinking (Poland: one in four studios closed in two years) and a small new list sells at a discount.
Cash: Email outreach; Passionfroot listing optional (5-15% fee; payout to Ukraine not checked).
Result: Month-6 estimate on a 650-2,500 list: 1-2 founding issues at $150-300 + 0-3 founding listings at $50-100. CPM-only deals fell to 51% of deals in 2026 (Newsletrix) -> expect CPA/click guarantees.
Give-to-get databases: publisher deal-terms DB + CPI/LTV-by-country benchmark
Phase 1 · start nowMoonshotcertainty low
We buildAnonymous submission forms: devs submit publisher deal terms (rev share, recoup, MG, marketing commitment) or their CPI/D7 ROAS by country; they unlock the aggregated table by email.
Cash$100 to first result · $30/mo
Result20–300 subscribers a month · 8–24 weeks
Your partnone
Stop if<30 verified submissions by week 12 -> stop collecting, publish only a public-source compilation.
Why + sources
Submit one data point -> see everyone's; AI anonymises, de-duplicates and flags outliers; monthly digest of new entries.
Certainty: Needs devs to share confidential terms (NDA limits not checked); demand exists (GameDiscoverCo writes on contract terms) but no proof that a newcomer gets submissions.
Cash: Form + DB hosting (estimate). AI does moderation.
Result: Estimate. No published gamedev give-to-get volumes found. Value is mainly the proprietary dataset (press hooks, sponsor and data-product material).
Reddit data posts by a real, disclosed person (r/gamedev, r/IndieDev, r/godot, r/Unity3D)
Phase 1 · start nowMoonshotcertainty low
We build2-4 posts a month with original numbers ("what 1,200 Steam pages in 8 countries show"), full data in the post, link only where allowed. Posted by a named human who says where the data comes from.
Cash$1.2k to first result · $600/mo
Result50–600 subscribers a month · 3–10 weeks
Your partrecurring: a human must post and answer comments (hire to keep owner out)
Stop if6 posts with <20 subscribers each by week 10, or any removal/ban for promotion.
Why + sources
r/gamedev (2.07M) restricts promotion but values postmortems/data; r/IndieDev (454k) no promotion rule; r/godot (376k) allowed with limits; r/Unity3D (481k) "more than just links".
Certainty: Hit-driven; mods remove promotion; Reddit removes ~100k bot accounts a day and asks flagged accounts to verify they are human (Mar 2026), so it must be a real person.
Cash: Part-time human poster/community voice $400-800/month (estimate, not sourced); AI does the analysis and drafts. $0 if the owner posts.
Result: Estimate: 20-300 per strong data post. Game-post analogues: a typical successful post brings 100-150 wishlists; a viral one 11,000 wishlists in 24h (Laysara).
Syndication: Game Developer blogs (+ Medium/LinkedIn articles)
Phase 1 · start nowSlow & steadycertainty medium
We buildEach index issue re-cut as an 800-2,000-word analysis posted to Game Developer's open blog section under a named author, with a link to the tool.
Cash$0 to first result · $0/mo
Result20–150 subscribers per post · 3–10 weeks
Your partone-time: lend a real name as author (or use the hired voice)
Stop if3 posts with <20 subscribers each.
Why + sources
Game Developer approves community blogs in 3-5 business days; posts must be about making/selling games and not advertise services.
Certainty: Publication is near-certain (3-5 day approval, published guidelines); traffic per post is unknown.
Cash: Free to post.
Result: Estimate. Precedent: How To Market A Game posts are republished on Game Developer (e.g. "Marketing meatball theory").
Ukraine: DOU GameDev columns + Ukrainian gamedev Telegram
Phase 1 · start nowSlow & steadycertainty medium
We buildUkrainian-language data columns on DOU (index cut for UA studios and outsourcers) and a mirror Telegram post; optional paid posts in UA IT channels.
Cash$0 to first result · $0/mo
Result30–300 subscribers per column · 3–10 weeks
Your partone-time: approve a Ukrainian byline
Stop if2 columns with <30 subscribers each.
Why + sources
DOU GameDev Telegram 10.7k subs; dou.ua 3.15M visits/month (all IT). UA top-25 gamedev firms employ 7,196 people; UA outsourcers are also our sponsor/directory buyers.
Certainty: Owner's native language and market; DOU is the main UA IT media; pool is shrinking (-420 people in top-25 in six months).
Cash: Columns are free (DOU column policy not verified); UA IT Telegram ads 300-900 UAH per 1,000 views if used.
Result: Estimate. Small pool, but it contains the outsourcing studios that buy slots and listings.
Warm: Vortex Games link and owner's tooling clients
Phase 1 · start nowSlow & steadycertainty high
We buildOwner sends 10-30 personal intros once: issue #0 to Vortex people, and asks Vortex which vendors (UA networks, outsourcers, loc studios) sell to them.
Cash$0 to first result · $0/mo
Result20–100 subscribers a month · 1–3 weeks
Your partone-time: send 10-30 intro messages
Stop if<20 subscribers and 0 vendor intros by week 4.
Why + sources
Seed readers who forward it; first sponsor names come from a real studio's vendor list.
Certainty: Existing relationship; small numbers. Vortex IP cannot be reused; only the relationship and the proof.
Cash: Free.
Result: One-off estimate (first month), plus 1-3 vendor introductions.
Formula calculators (Steam wishlist -> sales, revenue estimator)
Phase 1 · start nowTrapcertainty low
We buildGeneric wishlist-to-first-week-sales and revenue calculator on our domain.
Cash$30 to first result · $10/mo
Result5–60 subscribers a month · 4–12 weeks
Your partnone
Stop if<300 sessions/month at week 12 -> keep only as a widget inside the data tools (g02).
Why + sources
Dev types a wishlist count, gets an estimate; email gate for a PDF.
Certainty: Commodity: 9+ free clones found in one search (Oct 2026); the formula (GameDiscoverCo 0.10-0.15 sales per wishlist) is public; Google answers formula queries on the results page (honeyb, Aug 2026).
Cash: Hosting only; AI builds it.
Result: Estimate: 200-1,000 visits x 2-6% opt-in. At least 9 free wishlist/revenue calculators already exist (Wayline, presskit.gg, Steam Page Analyzer, Immutable, Steamforecast, StraySpark, GameDevProducer, generalistprogrammer), and since 19 Aug 2026 Google builds calculators inside AI Overviews.
Events as a business visitor (meetings + QR to the index)
Phase 2 · after proofSafe betcertainty medium
We buildPrinted one-page index + QR; pre-booked meetings via MeetToMatch with vendors (sponsor pipeline) and studios (subscribers).
Cash$700 to first result · $200/mo
Result30–150 subscribers per event · 2–10 weeks
Your partrecurring: a human attends (owner or hired rep); check owner's ability to travel
Stop ifAn event with <10 meetings booked 2 weeks before -> skip it; 2 events with 0 sponsor conversations -> stop events.
Why + sources
Cheapest passes: gamescom asia (Bangkok) business visitor free in advance; TGS business day free with code; Games Gathering Kyiv business EUR 229; PGC London 2027 from GBP 115-165 (~3,000 attendees, 1,600 companies, 7,000+ meeting slots); Nordic Game EUR 299-349; G-STAR BTB KRW 150-300k; devcom $113+.
Certainty: Meetings are bookable in advance; prices are published; the best place to meet vendor marketing budgets face to face.
Cash: One pass (EUR 229-349 / GBP 115-165) + budget travel $300-500 (estimate). ~$0 travel if the person is already in Bangkok/Kyiv.
Result: Estimate: 15-40 meetings + QR scans; plus 1-3 sponsor conversations per event. Exhibitors average 50-200 leads per show (aggregator) - a visitor gets fewer.
LinkedIn hired / partner voice (industry person as co-author)
Phase 2 · after proofMoonshotcertainty low
We buildA named games-industry person (ex-UA lead, producer) fronts LinkedIn, podcasts and Reddit; paid retainer or 20-30% of sponsorship revenue (estimate).
Cash$500 to first result · $500/mo
Result50–300 subscribers a month · 6–16 weeks
Your partone-time: choose and sign the partner
Stop ifNo signed partner by week 10, or <50 subscribers/month from them by month 4.
Why + sources
Partner posts AI-prepared data; their network becomes our first readers and sponsor intros.
Certainty: Finding a credible partner who will put their name on it is the uncertain step.
Cash: Retainer $500-1,000/month or revenue share (estimate, not sourced).
Result: Estimate; depends on the partner's following.
Remote event partnerships (data report in attendee packs, online talk, co-branded "State of X")
Phase 2 · after proofMoonshotcertainty low
We buildOffer organisers (Games Gathering, DevGAMM, PGC, Nordic Game online day) a free country/Asia report for their attendees, opt-in on download.
Cash$300 to first result · $0/mo
Result50–300 subscribers per event · 6–20 weeks
Your partnone
Stop if0 of 5 organisers accept by week 20.
Why + sources
Organiser gets content; we get distribution to thousands of attendees without travel.
Certainty: Organisers sell sponsorship themselves (PGC: 70% of packages sold early), so free partnership slots are not guaranteed.
Cash: Design/print share (estimate).
Result: Estimate; no published conversion found.
Vendor co-branded index ("powered by" engine/tool/outsourcer/publisher)
Phase 2 · after proofMoonshotcertainty low
We buildA vendor sponsors the monthly index and sends it to its own client list.
Cash$0 to first result · $0/mo
Result100–1,000 subscribers per partner send · 8–24 weeks
Your partone-time: sign the partner agreement
Stop if0 of 20 pitched vendors interested by week 20.
Why + sources
Precedents: GameDev Reports runs as "powered by Mellow" (Jan 2026; earlier "powered by Xsolla"); Xsolla partners with PG Connects and powers MeetToMatch Nordic Edition 2026.
Certainty: Precedent exists, but vendors want an audience or brand first; we have neither at launch.
Cash: Sales effort only; partner pays us.
Result: Estimate; plus $500-2,000/month title-sponsor fee (estimate).
Search / AI-answer discovery of data pages built from our dataset
Phase 2 · after proofMoonshotcertainty low
We buildOne page per country x genre with our own numbers (>=3 unique data points each), no thin template pages.
Cash$300 to first result · $50/mo
Result0–500 subscribers a month · 12–40 weeks
Your partnone
Stop if<1,000 organic visits/month at month 9.
Why + sources
Pages get found in Google and cited in AI answers; each links to the tool and opt-in.
Certainty: Google spam policy names scaled AI pages and translation; Aug 2026 spam update hit programmatic sites (prior round).
Cash: Hosting/data (estimate).
Result: Estimate for months 6-12. Gamalytic gets 55% of desktop visits direct (habit), i.e. search is not the only driver.
Sponsoring small gamedev newsletters (AI and Games, VGIM and similar)
Phase 2 · after proofSlow & steadycertainty medium
We buildCheap in-article slots offering the free tool/index.
Cash$400 to first result · $200/mo
Result55–450 subscribers per $1k spent · 2–6 weeks
Your partnone
Stop ifCost per subscriber > $8 after two buys.
Why + sources
AI and Games: $200 in-article / $400-500 headline on 11.3k subs, 48% open. VGIM: GBP 1,000 on 4k subs, 44% open (bad value for us).
Certainty: Small, testable buys with published rate cards; per-subscriber cost overlaps our affordable ceiling only at the low end.
Cash: Two $200 slots (AI and Games rate card).
Result: Calculation for AI and Games $200: 11,300 x 0.5-2% = 57-226 clicks x 20-40% = 11-90 subscribers -> $2-18 each. VGIM GBP 1,000: 4,000 x 0.5-2% x 20-40% = 4-32 -> $42-330 each (avoid).
Meta ads to the tool / lead magnet (indie-dev tier)
Phase 2 · after proofSlow & steadycertainty medium
We buildLead ads or landing-page ads targeting Unity/Unreal/Godot/game-development interests in EU (cheap CPM markets first: PL, TR, SEA).
Cash$500 to first result · $500/mo
Result200–1,000 subscribers per $1k spent · 1–4 weeks
Your partnone
Stop ifCost per subscriber > $3 or day-30 open rate < 25%.
Why + sources
Cheapest subscribers available, mostly indie/hobby devs and students; useful for engine/tool/asset sponsors, not for UA networks.
Certainty: Volume is near-certain; persona quality is low (hobbyists), which lowers what sponsors pay.
Cash: One-month test (estimate).
Result: Inbox Collective: newsletter subscribers for $0.70-1.50 on Meta; Newsletrix: Meta lead ads $3-5 with 22-30% day-30 opens; niche B2B 20-40% cheaper on Meta. Meta CPM: DE ~$9, PL ~EUR 5.5, ID $1-3 (aggregators).
Reddit ads targeted at gamedev communities
Phase 2 · after proofSlow & steadycertainty medium
We buildPromoted posts with a chart from the index, targeted to r/gamedev, r/IndieDev, r/Unity3D, r/godot audiences.
Cash$500 to first result · $250/mo
Result70–280 subscribers per $1k spent · 1–4 weeks
Your partnone
Stop ifCost per subscriber > $8 after $500.
Why + sources
Community targeting reaches working devs better than Meta interests.
Certainty: CPCs are published and stable; landing conversion is our estimate.
Cash: Two-month test (estimate).
Result: Calculation: CPC $1-3 in B2B/tech (median $1.25, aggregators 2026) / 20-35% landing conversion (estimate) = $4-15 per subscriber.
Guest appearances on existing gamedev podcasts
Phase 2 · after proofSlow & steadycertainty medium
We buildPitch the index findings to GameDiscoverCo Show, Two & a Half Gamers (Lancaric), Naavik Pod, Deconstructor of Fun, Game Dev Unchained.
Cash$0 to first result · $0/mo
Result20–150 subscribers per appearance · 6–16 weeks
Your partrecurring: 1 hour per appearance (owner or partner voice)
Stop if0 bookings from 10 pitches, or <20 subscribers per appearance after 2.
Why + sources
Host gets fresh data; guest gives a free-report URL.
Certainty: Hosts need guests with new data; but a human guest must speak.
Cash: Free.
Result: Estimate. B2C reference: an author got 4,200 signups from 30 shows (~140 each, aggregator). Podcast-sourced subscribers have the highest LTV (Newsletrix).
Accelerators, universities, talent programs (EVA, GameFounders, Games Factory Talents)
Phase 2 · after proofSlow & steadycertainty medium
We buildFree tools and the index as a resource for cohorts; a guest data session per cohort.
Cash$0 to first result · $0/mo
Result10–100 subscribers per program · 6–20 weeks
Your partnone
Stop if0 of 6 programs reply by week 16.
Why + sources
EVA phase 3: up to 10 studios; GameFounders: 100+ studios supported; Games Factory Talents runs the Finland Game Talent Fair and partners with Nordic Game and PGC Nordics.
Certainty: Programs need free content; numbers per cohort are small by design.
Cash: Free.
Result: Estimate; small but founder-level audience.
Job board as acquisition (Europe + Asia studio jobs digest)
Phase 2 · after proofSlow & steadycertainty medium
We buildFree job posting for studios + weekly jobs digest and alerts by country/role; studios that post become sponsor/directory leads.
Cash$100 to first result · $50/mo
Result50–400 subscribers a month · 8–24 weeks
Your partnone
Stop if<20 postings/month or <50 alert subscribers/month by month 6.
Why + sources
Devs subscribe for alerts; employers get free reach. Posting fees are hard to charge: Hitmarker made posting free for the rest of 2026; Work With Indies charges from $49 (~250k monthly pageviews, 43k Discord).
Certainty: Job alerts reliably convert job seekers; but it attracts devs, not decision-makers, and incumbents are entrenched.
Cash: Board hosting (estimate). Only direct submissions and link-outs; no scraping other boards (ToS not checked).
Result: Estimate after months 3-6; demand exists (layoff market), supply of postings is the bottleneck.
Steam store-page grader (rule-based)
Phase 3 · scaleTrapcertainty low
We buildGrader for a public Steam page: capsule/screenshot/trailer/tag/description checks against genre medians from our dataset. Rule-based, no paid model calls.
Cash$60 to first result · $20/mo
Result30–200 subscribers a month · 6–16 weeks
Your partnone
Stop if<50 subscribers/month from the grader by month 4.
Why + sources
Paste a Steam URL -> score + fixes; email for the full report and a re-check after changes.
Certainty: Steam Page Analyzer already gives free page scoring (capsule, description, screenshots, tags) with no account; we would be a me-too.
Cash: Hosting (estimate).
Result: Estimate. Audience = indie devs (lower value to sponsors than studio heads).
Paid recommendations as advertiser (SparkLoop Partner Network, beehiiv Boosts)
Phase 3 · scaleTrapcertainty low
We buildA fixed cost-per-subscriber offer shown in other newsletters' signup flows.
Cash$500 to first result · $500/mo
Result70–250 subscribers per $1k spent · 2–4 weeks
Your partnone
Stop if<20% of paid subscribers say "I work in games" in the welcome survey, or <25% open 3 of first 4 issues.
Why + sources
We pay only for confirmed subscribers; Boosts needs a beehiiv publication.
Certainty: Count is predictable but relevance is not: "niche B2B ... almost no SparkLoop inventory" (Newsletrix). Sponsors pay for studio people, not generic readers.
Cash: Minimum meaningful test (estimate).
Result: Boosts $2-3, SparkLoop $4-7 per subscriber (Newsletrix, May 2026), plus 8-14% of SparkLoop imports fail validation. Most subscribers come from general business/AI newsletters, not game studios.
Sponsoring a big gamedev newsletter to buy subscribers (GameDiscoverCo $2,500)
Phase 3 · scaleTrapcertainty low
We buildOne sponsored issue offering the free index/tool.
Cash$2.5k to first result · $0/mo
Result12–99 subscribers per $1k spent · 2–6 weeks
Your partnone
Stop ifCost per subscriber > $15 on the first buy -> never repeat for growth.
Why + sources
31k subscribers, 36% open; one image, three paragraphs, three links.
Certainty: Clicks are fairly predictable (sponsored-link CTR 0.5-2% on delivered, aggregator benchmarks) but $10-81 per subscriber is far above the ~$1-4 we can afford (12-month payback at $0.10-0.30 per subscriber per month).
Cash: GameDiscoverCo single issue $2,500 (8-pack $1,500/issue).
Result: Calculation: 31,000 recipients x 0.5-2% sponsored-link CTR = 155-620 clicks x 20-40% landing conversion (estimate) = 31-248 subscribers per $2,500 -> $10-81 per subscriber.
Engine Discords, IndieDB, itch.io forums, big gamedev Discords
Phase 3 · scaleTrapcertainty low
We buildAnswer questions with our data in #marketing/#business channels; share the index where a sharing channel exists.
Cash$600 to first result · $300/mo
Result10–100 subscribers a month · 4–12 weeks
Your partrecurring: human presence (hired)
Stop if<30 subscribers/month after 2 months of presence.
Why + sources
Work With Indies Discord has 43k members; How To Market A Game's Discord is described as one of the biggest in game dev.
Certainty: Self-promotion rules are strict and enforced per server; Discord/Telegram terms ban self-bots; results are small and slow.
Cash: Share of the hired human's time (estimate).
Result: Estimate; server rules not checked (closed communities).
Polish gamedev communities and press (local-language)
Phase 3 · scaleTrapcertainty low
We buildPolish-language cut of the index with Polish-market data; posts in Polish gamedev groups and pitches to Polish trade press.
Cash$800 to first result · $400/mo
Result30–200 subscribers a month · 6–16 weeks
Your partnone
Stop if<50 Polish-sourced subscribers by month 3 of the test.
Why + sources
Poland: 824 active studios/publishers, 14,568 people; one in four studios closed in two years; fewer than a third earn regularly.
Certainty: No evidence a Polish edition adds subscribers beyond English; the pool is shrinking and budget-poor.
Cash: Native Polish editor/poster part-time (estimate). Pure translation counts as scaled content abuse in Google policy.
Result: Estimate. Polish studios mostly work in English, so the English list already covers them.
Korean / Japanese communities and editions
Phase 3 · scaleTrapcertainty low
We buildKO/JA editions and posts in local communities. (Different from g05, which puts KR/JP data IN ENGLISH for European readers - that part is kept.)
Cash$1.5k to first result · $750/mo
Result0–100 subscribers a month · 8–26 weeks
Your partnone
Stop ifDo not start before month 10; then <100 subscribers after 3 months.
Why + sources
6,221 KR + 4,916 JP Google Play developers (42matters, Feb 2025); business is introduction-driven with 6-18 month cycles (prior round).
Certainty: Language, closed communities, relationship-driven buying; no warm path except possibly Vortex.
Cash: Native editor per language (estimate).
Result: Estimate; local community rules and channels not checked.
LinkedIn Ads (lead-gen form for the index report) to game-industry titles, EU/Asia
Phase 3 · scaleTrapcertainty low
We buildDocument ad / lead-gen form: "Europe↔Asia Games Index, free monthly".
Cash$1k to first result · $500/mo
Result17–40 subscribers per $1k spent · 2–6 weeks
Your partnone
Stop ifCost per subscriber > $20 after $500.
Why + sources
Target job titles (producer, UA manager, studio head) at games companies.
Certainty: Volume is predictable but $25-60 per subscriber never pays back at $0.10-0.30 per subscriber per month. Only useful once we sell CPL campaigns to sponsors at >$60 per lead.
Cash: Two months at $500 test (estimate).
Result: Calculation: EMEA CPC ~$5 / 13% lead-gen-form conversion = ~$38 per lead; range $25-60. Europe B2B CPL benchmark $120-150; lead-gen forms ~EUR 170 for demo offers.
X (Twitter): organic gamedev posting and X ads
Phase 3 · scaleTrapcertainty low
We buildChart threads from the index; optional promoted posts.
Cash$300 to first result · $150/mo
Result0–50 subscribers a month · 2–8 weeks
Your partnone
Stop if<30 subscribers in the first 2 months.
Why + sources
Gamedev X is still active but link posts got 30-94% less reach in tests.
Certainty: Link penalty; no gamedev-specific cost data found.
Cash: Small ads test (estimate; X ad prices not checked).
Result: Estimate.
Google Search ads on tool queries ("steam wishlist calculator", "game localization cost")
Phase 3 · scaleTrapcertainty low
We buildSearch ads to the tools.
Cash$500 to first result · $250/mo
Result20–150 subscribers per $1k spent · 1–4 weeks
Your partnone
Stop ifCost per subscriber > $8 after $300.
Why + sources
Captures active intent, but volumes are tiny and AI Overviews answer formula queries.
Certainty: Unknown volumes; queries already served by 9+ free tools and AI Overviews.
Cash: Test (estimate). Modelled CPC PL ~$0.84, DE ~$1.04, UK ~$3.47.
Result: Estimate; keyword volumes not checked.
Events as exhibitor / sponsor (booth, demo station, branded talk)
Phase 3 · scaleTrapcertainty medium
We buildA sponsor package or table at PGC London/Helsinki or Nordic Game.
Cash$4.5k to first result · $0/mo
Result50–200 subscribers per event · 8–20 weeks
Your partrecurring: human staffs the booth
Stop ifDo not buy before newsletter revenue >= $2,000/month.
Why + sources
PGC entry-level sponsorship from $3,000; Nordic Game demo station EUR 1,500 (normally EUR 3,000).
Certainty: Leads arrive, but at $20-90 per subscriber; worth it only for sponsor sales once we have a product to sell.
Cash: $3,000 package + travel/print $1,000-1,500 (estimate).
Result: Trade-show averages 50-200 leads per exhibitor; cost per lead $112-811 across sources (aggregators).
Own podcast / YouTube with screen-recorded data
Phase 3 · scaleTrapcertainty low
We buildMonthly 15-minute walk-through of the index charts.
Cash$200 to first result · $100/mo
Result10–80 subscribers a month · 8–26 weeks
Your partnone
Stop if<500 views per episode after 6 episodes.
Why + sources
Long-form, screen-recorded; side asset only (owner rule: no faceless video as the core asset).
Certainty: Slow discovery; YouTube (Jul 2026) demotes mass AI-made material.
Cash: Editing tools (estimate).
Result: Estimate. Benchmark: AI and Games has 231k YouTube subscribers but 3.6k views per video.