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Kickstarter for indie games: fees, timing and your Steam page

, founder of NextWishlist · Updated · 3 min read

5%Kickstarter's fee, only if fundedKickstarter
3–5%payment processing on topKickstarter
Allor nothing: no goal, no chargeKickstarter
On this page
  1. How Kickstarter's money works
  2. A campaign converts an audience you already have
  3. Timing with your Steam launch
  4. Is it worth it?
  5. Measure the campaign's effect on Steam
  6. Prepare the campaign page

Short answerKickstarter is all-or-nothing: backers are charged only if you reach your goal, and then Kickstarter keeps 5% plus about 3% to 5% for payment processing. Open your Steam page and build wishlists and a mailing list first, since a campaign mostly converts an audience you already have.

A Kickstarter can fund the end of development and prove there's demand. It can also take months of work and end at zero. Here is how the money works and how a campaign fits with your Steam page.

01How Kickstarter's money works

  • All-or-nothing: nobody is charged unless the project reaches its funding goal.
  • Fees only if funded: Kickstarter keeps 5% of the funds collected, and its payment processor charges roughly 3% to 5% on top.
  • Rewards cost money too: physical rewards, shipping and taxes come out of what's left.

So set a goal that funds what you need after fees and rewards, not the round number that sounds good.

02A campaign converts an audience you already have

Crowdfunding rarely finds an audience from nothing: most backers come from the people who already follow the game. Before launching a campaign, build the same things you'd build for a Steam launch:

  • A Steam page collecting wishlists, which also shows backers the game is real (when to put your game on Steam).
  • A mailing list: your most reliable way to reach people on the campaign's first day (how to build an audience).
  • Clips that show the core loop in seconds, and ideally a demo.

03Timing with your Steam launch

  • Run the campaign while you still have months of development left, not weeks before launch.
  • Keep your Steam page live during the campaign and link it: backers who don't back can still wishlist.
  • Don't let the campaign collide with your Next Fest or your launch: both need your full attention (Next Fest dates).
  • Plan how backers get the game (Steam keys) and when, and count those copies: they won't buy again at launch.

04Is it worth it?

A campaign makes sense when you have an audience, a game far enough along to show, and a clear use for the money. Without an audience, the same months spent on your Steam page, a demo, festivals and creators usually bring more, and they build the audience a later campaign would need (how to market an indie game on Steam).

05Measure the campaign's effect on Steam

Put a tagged Steam link in your campaign page and updates, and watch your wishlists during it (Steam UTM links). NextWishlist shows what each event, campaign included, did to your wishlists.

06Prepare the campaign page

  • A video that opens on gameplay, like your Steam trailer (how to make a game trailer).
  • A goal you can explain: what the money pays for, and what happens if you get more.
  • Digital rewards first: physical rewards cost production, shipping and time.
  • Stretch goals you can deliver without delaying the game.
  • Day-one plan: your mailing list, your channels and creators ready, since the first days set the campaign's momentum.

Kickstarter for indie games: quick answers

How much does Kickstarter take from a game?

5% of the funds collected, plus roughly 3% to 5% in payment processing, and only if the project reaches its goal.

What happens if my Kickstarter doesn't reach its goal?

Nobody is charged and no fees are collected: Kickstarter is all-or-nothing.

Should I have a Steam page before my Kickstarter?

Yes. It collects wishlists from people who don't back, shows the game is real, and keeps working after the campaign.

Do I need an audience before a Kickstarter?

Practically, yes: most backers come from people who already follow the game, through a mailing list, social channels and its Steam page.

Sources

Valve's rules can change: the official Steamworks page always wins. Practitioner benchmarks are surveys of developers, given as ranges.

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