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How many wishlists does a Steam game have? Followers to wishlists

, founder of NextWishlist · Updated · 3 min read

~10wishlists per Steam follower, central estimateGameDiscoverCo
7–20the usual range, depending on the genreGameDiscoverCo
Publicfollower counts, unlike wishlistsValve, Steamworks
On this page
  1. The followers to wishlists ratio
  2. How to estimate a game's wishlists
  3. What to do with it
  4. Follow games like yours automatically
  5. Where to find a game's followers
  6. A worked example
  7. Why the ratio varies

Short answerOnly a game's developer sees its wishlists, but its Steam followers are public: count about 10 wishlists per follower, usually between 7 and 20 depending on the genre (GameDiscoverCo, How To Market A Game). So 1,000 followers suggests roughly 7,000 to 20,000 wishlists.

Steam shows a game's wishlist count only to its developer. But the number of followers of its Steam community hub is public, and it moves with wishlists. Here is the ratio that public data gives, and how to use it.

01The followers to wishlists ratio

Developers who shared their numbers with GameDiscoverCo give these ranges for unreleased Steam games:

  • Strategy, 4X, survival×7.5–9.5
  • Narrative, cozy, puzzle×13–16
  • Other genres×7–20
Wishlists per Steam follower for unreleased games, by genre family: the range, and the middle of it (GameDiscoverCo; median about 12 across games).
  • 2021: most games had 5 to 14 wishlists per follower, a median of about 9.6.
  • 2023: most games had 7 to 20 wishlists per follower, a median of about 12.

How To Market A Game uses about 10 wishlists per follower as a rule of thumb. The ratio varies from game to game, with the genre and with where its players came from.

02How to estimate a game's wishlists

  1. Find its followers: they're public on its Steam community hub, and the top upcoming Steam games by genre lists them for upcoming games with a demo, refreshed daily.
  2. Multiply by about 10 for a central estimate.
  3. Give a range: a game with 5,000 followers, at a median ratio, has roughly 48,000 wishlists, but it could be anywhere from about 25,000 to 70,000.

This works for games that aren't out yet: the ratios were measured on unreleased games. Treat the result as a range, never as a count.

03What to do with it

  • Compare with games like yours: how far ahead are the leaders of your genre, and how fast do they grow?
  • Check your own ratio in Steamworks against the usual 7 to 20 range.
  • Set targets against public benchmarks: how many wishlists you need to launch.

04Follow games like yours automatically

NextWishlist reads the followers of thousands of upcoming Steam games every night and shows you where you stand against the games of your niche, and which of them just took off. Join the private beta.

05Where to find a game's followers

  • On the game's Steam community hub, the follower count is public.
  • Data sites such as SteamDB list followers and rank the most followed upcoming games (Steam analytics tools).
  • Our free top upcoming Steam games by genre ranks upcoming games with a demo by followers, and by their growth over the last week.

06A worked example

Say a game of your genre has 3,000 followers six months before its release date:

  1. Central estimate: 3,000 × 10 = about 30,000 wishlists.
  2. Range: 3,000 × 7 to 3,000 × 20 = about 21,000 to 60,000.
  3. Its follower growth over the last weeks tells you more than the total: a game adding hundreds of followers a week is on a different path than one that's flat.

Do the same for five to ten games around you, and you have a map of your niche. Then check your own wishlists against it in Steamworks (how to track your wishlists).

07Why the ratio varies

  • Genre: some audiences follow games more readily than others, which is why the range is wide (7 to 20).
  • Stage: the ratio is measured on unreleased games; after launch, wishlists turn into sales and the relationship changes.
  • Unusual spikes: a giveaway or a viral moment can move followers and wishlists differently.

Use it to compare orders of magnitude, never to quote a precise number for another game.

How many wishlists does a Steam game have? Followers to wishlists: quick answers

Can you see how many wishlists a Steam game has?

Only its developer can, in Steamworks. Others estimate it from the game's public follower count, at about 10 wishlists per follower, usually between 7 and 20.

What is a good Steam followers to wishlists ratio?

Public data from GameDiscoverCo puts most unreleased games between 7 and 20 wishlists per follower in 2023, with a median of about 12. A 2021 survey gave a median of about 9.6.

How many wishlists for 1,000 Steam followers?

About 10,000 as a central estimate, within a range of roughly 7,000 to 20,000, for a game that isn't released yet.

How do I see a game's Steam followers?

On its Steam community hub, where the follower count is public, or on data sites such as SteamDB. Our free top upcoming games list ranks upcoming games with a demo by followers.

Sources

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

NextWishlist

A Steam wishlist tracker that tells you what moved them.

Your wishlists read every night with a read-only Steamworks key, tied to your posts and tracking links, and compared with the pace of similar games. NextWishlist is a Steam marketing tool for indie developers, in private beta.

Join the private beta