Case Studies

🎮 3 different games. 📽️ 300+ articles and videos. 🤼 135 million total reach.

👤 One person, me only.

From press like IGN, PC Gamer, Vice, Games Beat, to coverage from YouTubers with over 6 million subscribers — it’s been a journey, and i'm so grateful for each of you who supported the games 😍

Proud to be behind some of the most talked-about indie FPS and action games, roguelikes, horror games, and more, up to 45 indie games, more successful case studies, will be posted soon, in progress.

Including: Alpha Response, Lost Castle 2, Frozen Ship


gajda andreea case studies about indie games
gajda andreea case studies about indie games

Case Study: Alpha Response – From 3,000 Wishlists to 138,000

Role: PR Executive & Marketing Strategist
Timeline: June–September 2024
Platform: Steam (PC)
Genre: Tactical Co-op Shooter from the Creator of Counter-Strike

In early access

Overview




When I joined the project, Alpha Response had only 3,000 wishlists, no marketing presence, and mostly negative reviews,in early access.

Despite being developed by the original creator of Counter-Strike, the game was virtually unknown ,no announcements, no posts, no outreach, and zero media coverage.

My mission was clear:

Make Alpha Response visible, rebuild its reputation, and ignite the community before and during Early Access.

Top buyer regions included India, the U.S., Brazil, Germany, and several Asian territories ,confirming cross-regional appeal driven by organic coverage.

Player sentiment shifted positive before Steam Sale visibility, proving the PR-driven campaign’s independent traction.

Introducing the developer in livestreams and posts gave the game a human identity , transforming curiosity into community.

I coordinated the full Gamescom presence , from booth design and logistics to live press scheduling and influencer management.

I handled early press and influencers booking, printed materials (flyers, stickers, T-shirts), and community gifts.

We hosted the developer for live interviews and player introductions, supported by a German translator for media and gamers on-site.

The booth became a high-traffic hub for streamers, journalists, and players, generating over 50K new wishlists during the event.

Challenges

No prior marketing or community activity

Negative sentiment due to early impressions and graphics criticism (UE4 visuals not meeting 2025 expectations)

No press or influencer presence

Weak Steam page performance and poor discovery

Non-existent social media channels

Essentially, a great product hidden in plain sight.

Strategy & Execution

A. Public Relations & Press Activation

Created a full PR rollout connecting Alpha Response to its legacy:
“The new tactical co-op shooter from the creator of Counter-Strike.”

Reached out to over 200,000 press contacts, influencers, and gamers.

Secured coverage in over 210 outlets, including IGN, PC Gamer, Vice, PCGamesN, and multiple YouTube interviews. Translation it is a strong key, was globally reach, a turn into coverage from multiple regions, including china too.

Cross-promoted trailers and press features to sustain visibility cycles.

Accumulated a combined reach exceeding 60 million impressions (press + influencer + social).

B. Community and Content Loop

Encouraged the developer to announce the game personally and engage with players.

Organized Steam store livestreams, gameplay showcases, and Q&A sessions.

Built a community loop: players sharing screenshots, discussions, and co-streaming gameplay.

Focused entirely on organic visibility , no paid ads, only community-driven content.

C. Continuous Optimization

Updated capsule art, localized assets, and optimized Steam tags weekly.

Published bi-weekly game updates (small patches, improvements, news posts).

Audited the Steam page weekly to adjust visuals, wording, and keywords based on CTR and feedback.

Results

Wishlists: grew from 3,000 → 138,000

Peak CCU: over 10,000 players

Coverage: 210+ verified articles, 60M+ total media reach

Sentiment: shifted from negative to positive within three months

Visibility: featured on Steam charts and New & Trending during key periods

No paid ads used . Fully organic growth driven by PR and community content

Key Insights

Authentic storytelling (“from the creator of Counter-Strike”) was the strongest visibility trigger.

Real gameplay and dev presence outperformed all static promotional materials.

Community-driven visibility compounds faster than traditional ads when aligned with strong legacy appeal.

Regular updates and visible responsiveness to feedback converted skeptics into advocates.

Future Focus

The next phase centers on:

Responding to player feedback with a major update,

Expanding community engagement through co-streaming and user-generated content,

Maintaining visibility consistency to sustain CCU and conversion growth long-term.

Alpha Response proved that even a game starting from zero visibility can achieve massive traction through organic storytelling, consistent community work, and transparent communication.
No ads. No tricks. Just the right message, at the right time, from the right creator, the power of the FPS base, friendship, to play co-op, a very good marketing tool, that can create a long term community driven content.


Steam Next Fest Campaign for Degen Rivals

Steam Next Fest Campaign generated 2.09M+ earned media impressions across video and editorial coverage, resulting in 3,000+ demo players and a 30.6% Demo → Wishlist conversion rate.

Campaign Objective

Validate player acquisition, engagement, and multiplayer retention for:

A physics-driven 8-player PvP vehicle battle-royale during a constrained discovery window (Steam Next Fest – Feb 2026)

Secondary Objectives:

Wishlist growth pre-launch

Creator-driven discovery loop

Matchmaking stress-test under organic load

Demo → Wishlist conversion

Multiplayer session stability during festival traffic spike

Total Campaign Media Reach

Gameplay Coverage (Video) 1,237,600

Max reach in china

Editorial Press Coverage 859,123

Max reach in Japan

Twitch 377,600

YouTube 247,000

TikTok 613,000

Demo Players 4000+

Wishlists Gained During Event 14000

Conversion Rate 30.6%

Combined Gameplay Video Impressions

Demo → Wishlist Conversion

Key Takeaways

  • Multiplayer onboarding sustained during festival traffic

  • Queue times remained under 60 seconds

  • Creator-driven installs represented majority of external traffic

  • Session length exceeded typical demo benchmarks

  • Wishlist conversion surpassed 30% threshold

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