Midwest Games

Making a great game is not enough if nobody knows about it. The sooner you can start marketing, the sooner you can grow an audience and build momentum. We can help with that. See what we can do at midwestgames.com/services.

We have so much to talk about for Gamescom 2026 in the next few weeks. To start… - I’ll be there - We’ll (Midwest Games) be there - Our partners (TBA) will be there Big news, big things happening. Let’s do this! If we don’t have a meeting yet, let’s get booked soon!

See you next week at Games for Change in NYC. I'll be speaking on the Main Stage panel "How are games getting funded in 2026?" with the incredible group of Alexandra Takei, Matthew C., Mitu Khandaker (Moderating) along with sonia park introducing us. I'd love to connect with folks in NY while I'm there. I'll be around Hell's Kitchen from July 20th-23rd. Don't miss out! Learn more on the link in the comments.

A common mistake I see developers making: Not planning for Steam Deck as launch hardware. I often see pitches that don't even mention it! It's absolutely insane to leave the Steam Deck out of the equation. Analysts estimate that Valve has sold +/- 6 million Steam Decks since launching in 2022. For a steadily-growing number of Steam users, the Steam Deck is not a secondary device. It is where they play, discover, recommend and purchase games (this is me!) You MUST plan for Steam Deck alongside your PC launch from the beginning of development, not as a post-launch optimization. Launching into Early Access or 1.0 without Steam Deck or without a strong Steam Deck experience can cost you: - Sales during the most important commercial window your game may ever have - Wishlist conversions that may never return after launch excitement fades - Review scores damaged by performance, controls, stability, UI, or unreadable text - Creator/media coverage focused on technical failures instead of the quality of the game - Critical launch momentum that can be extremely difficult, expensive, or impossible to rebuild On the other side, launching with strong Steam Deck support can deliver: - Immediate access to a highly engaged and purchase-ready audience - Higher wishlist conversion when awareness and intent are at their peak - Stronger reviews, recommendations, and organic word of mouth - More opportunities for creators to showcase the game - A meaningful competitive advantage over games that treat handheld support as an afterthought - A longer commercial tail by making the game easier to play more often and in more places Don't confuse Steam Deck 1:1 launch with simply getting the game to boot on the device. It has to be great. Develop for the strengths and unique features of the hardware, just as you should/would for the PlayStation 5's hardware + controllers. This is another huge opportunity to make your game great, stand out from other games that failed here and maybe even do something strange and unique like our good friend and legend Hideo Kojima. Everything is on the table! You have to be carefully planning for controller support, UI readability, text size, performance targets, default graphics settings, shader compilation, suspend and resume, battery consumption, cloud saves etc. etc. etc. throughout the entirety of development. Don't phone this stuff in at the end! Your Early Access or 1.0 release is the highest-visibility moment in the life of your game. You cannot afford to leave out a meaningful portion of the Steam audience or have them discover that your game is either not available or not ready for the way they want to play. Steam Deck! Don't be crazy! Do it!

Develop Conference Brighton is almost here! Let us know if you’re attending in the comments, and say hi to Charlotte while you’re there.

⌛Limited time offer! Don't miss your chance to talk with Charlotte in Brighton at Develop Conference.

As games, media, technology, and audience behavior continue to evolve, the old publishing playbook is no longer enough. At GamesBeat Summit 2026, Midwest Games chief operating officer Adam Orth joined John Davison to discuss how the publisher is rethinking the business through flexible publishing models, deeper developer partnerships, and specialized services designed for today's market. Orth argued that while "publishing is broken," there are new ways forward. From bridge publishing that helps developers close funding gaps to shadow publishing that embeds Midwest Games' team inside other publishers to support marketing, social media, and launches, the company is betting that adaptability is becoming a competitive advantage. "Why is a publisher hiring you to publish their games? ... Everyone's been laid off, no one's working at these publishers anymore, and now these publishers have a much lower financial margin of operation, but they still have to publish their games," Orth said. Read more from Sam Smith: https://lnkd.in/g8e4yiKj

Develop Conference Brighton is next week! Charlotte Cook will be attending, so make sure you find some time to chat with her.

A very key discussion Christopher Dring and I had earlier this week. Check it out below 👇🏻 Also, follow what Chris is doing. He’s got one of the very best newsletters and podcasts covering the business of games. Always interesting topics, guests, and insights.