Demo, bundles, and reasonable pricing — tinyBuild on the factors of success for The King is Watching
At the end of July, the strategy game The King is Watching was released on Steam and quickly achieved great results— it was purchased over 200,000 times in just two weeks. Vladimir Tolmachev and Arnaud Richard from tinyBuild discussed with GameDiscoverCo the factors that influenced the game's sales.
The King is Watching
According to representatives from the publisher, a key factor in the success of The King is Watching was the release of a demo version. It was made available a year before the game’s release and was downloaded half a million times.
"The demo helped gather a majority of the initial wishlists. Feedback from users who tried the demo impacted onboarding, user acquisition, and the clarity of gameplay," explained Tolmachev.
Another significant factor was the strategically chosen price point. TinyBuild stated that although The King is Watching is a pixel art indie game priced at 15 euros, its quality matches that of projects priced at 25 euros. This concept was indeed reflected in the game’s marketing. The idea was to surprise gamers with the depth and polish of the strategy.
Additionally, a substantial portion of sales—20%—came from bundles on Steam. The King is Watching was included in packs with 9 Kings, He is Coming, Drop Duchy, and Loop Hero, which increased its visibility.
Tolmachev and Richard also discussed the breakdown of The King is Watching sales by country. The top three markets were China (39%), the United States (16%), and Germany (9%). The significant share of sales in China is explained by targeted promotion in the region, which included both the demo and the game being localized into Chinese and partnerships with local influencers.