How to Create an Indie Game Press Kit

Step 1: Assemble Your Core Press Kit Assets

A complete press kit contains seven categories of assets. Missing any one of them gives a journalist a reason to skip your game in favor of one with a complete kit.

Game description: A compelling, accurate summary of your game in three lengths. A one-sentence pitch for headlines and social media. A one-paragraph summary for article introductions. A full description (3 to 5 paragraphs) for in-depth coverage. Each version should communicate genre, platform, what makes the game unique, and what the player experience feels like.

Factsheet: A structured list of key details. Game title, developer name, release date (or expected window), platforms, price, genre, player count (single/multiplayer), engine, and any notable technical details. Journalists scan this first to determine if the game fits their coverage area.

Visual assets: At least 8 high-resolution screenshots, your game logo in multiple formats (PNG with transparency and JPEG), key art, and optionally GIFs showing gameplay in motion. Every screenshot should show gameplay, not menus or loading screens.

Video: Your game trailer hosted on YouTube, with a direct link. Include any other video content like devlog episodes, gameplay walkthroughs, or behind-the-scenes footage.

Developer information: Who made the game, where you are located, your development history, and links to your social media and website. Journalists include developer background in their articles, especially for human-interest angles.

Contact information: A dedicated email address for press inquiries. This should be a real email you check frequently, not a generic contact form. Include the name of the person handling press.

Review key access: Instructions for how journalists and content creators can request a review copy of the game. Include a direct link to request keys or state that keys are available upon request via email.

Step 2: Write an Effective Game Description and Factsheet

Your game description is the text journalists will copy, paraphrase, or use as the basis for their own coverage. Write it as if it will be quoted directly, because it often will be. Avoid marketing superlatives like "revolutionary," "ground-breaking," or "the most innovative game ever made." These claims trigger skepticism and no journalist will reproduce them. Instead, describe what the game is and what makes it interesting using concrete language.

A strong one-sentence pitch follows this formula: "[Game Name] is a [genre] game where [core activity] in [setting/context]." For example: "Hollow Keep is a roguelike deckbuilder where players construct spell combinations from procedurally generated cards to defend a crumbling fortress against waves of shadow creatures." This sentence tells a journalist the game's name, genre, core mechanic, and setting in one breath.

The full description should cover the core gameplay loop (what does the player do moment to moment), the setting and context (where and why), the key differentiator (what makes this game different from others in the genre), and the scope (how long does a session or playthrough last). Write in third person and present tense: "Players explore procedurally generated dungeons" rather than "You will explore dungeons."

The factsheet should be scannable at a glance. Use a simple two-column format with labels on the left and values on the right. Include: Developer, Publisher (if applicable), Platform(s), Release Date, Price, Genre, Players, Engine, Languages, Website, and Social Links. Journalists copy factsheet details directly into their articles, so accuracy matters. Double-check every detail before publishing your press kit.

Step 3: Prepare Screenshots and Visual Assets

Screenshots are the most-used asset in your press kit. Journalists embed them in articles, social media posts use them as thumbnails, and store pages display them as the primary visual representation of your game. Invest time in capturing high-quality screenshots that represent your game at its best.

Capture at least 8 to 12 screenshots at your game's maximum resolution. Each screenshot should demonstrate a different aspect of the game: different environments, different mechanics, different moments in the gameplay loop. If your game has multiple biomes, show each one. If it has different gameplay phases (exploration, combat, crafting), represent each phase.

Compose screenshots deliberately. Apply basic photography principles: rule of thirds for character placement, leading lines for environmental shots, and interesting framing for action moments. Avoid screenshots where the player character is centered in an empty space with nothing happening. Capture moments of action, discovery, tension, or beauty.

Provide screenshots in both widescreen (16:9) and square (1:1) formats. Widescreen is standard for articles and store pages. Square format is used on social media, thumbnails, and some press layouts. If you can only provide one format, choose widescreen and let editors crop as needed.

Your game logo should be provided as a PNG with transparent background at a minimum of 1024 pixels wide. Include a version with a solid background for use on light or dark contexts. If your game has distinct key art (a single promotional illustration), include it at the highest resolution available.

Name your files descriptively. "hollow-keep-screenshot-forest-combat-01.png" tells a journalist what the image shows without opening it. "screenshot_2026-03-14_14-22-01.png" tells them nothing. Good file naming is a small detail that makes journalists' work easier, which increases the likelihood they use your assets.

Step 4: Write Your Press Release

A press release is a structured document that announces something newsworthy about your game. The most common occasions for a press release are your game's initial reveal, a major milestone (like a demo release or trailer premiere), and your launch announcement. Not every update warrants a press release. Save them for moments that are genuinely newsworthy.

Lead with the news. Your first paragraph should answer who, what, when, where, and why in 2 to 3 sentences. "Independent developer [Studio Name] today announced [Game Name], a [genre] game coming to [platforms] on [date]. The game features [one-sentence description of what makes it unique]." Journalists decide whether to read past the first paragraph, so put your strongest information there.

The body of the press release expands on the announcement with 2 to 3 short paragraphs covering the game's features, the development story, or whatever angle makes the announcement interesting. Include a quote from the developer or creative director that adds a personal perspective. Quotes give journalists something to attribute that adds voice to their article.

End with a boilerplate paragraph about your studio (1 to 2 sentences), followed by links to your press kit, store page, trailer, website, and social media. Include "For press inquiries" with your contact email as the final line.

Keep the entire press release under 500 words. Journalists receive dozens of press releases daily. Short, focused releases that communicate the news quickly get read. Long releases that bury the news under marketing copy get deleted.

Format your press release as plain text in the body of your email, not as a PDF attachment or a Word document. Attachments require extra clicks and create friction. The press release text should be immediately readable in the email preview without opening anything.

Step 5: Host Your Press Kit Online

Your press kit should live on your website at a permanent, easy-to-find URL like yourgame.com/press or yourgame.com/presskit. This page should be publicly accessible with no login required, no password gate, and no download link that might expire. Journalists discover your press kit through search engines, through links in your emails, and through referrals from other press contacts. Every barrier reduces the number of people who access it.

The press page should display all text content (descriptions, factsheet, developer info) directly on the page. Screenshots should be viewable as thumbnails with links to full-resolution downloads. Your trailer should be embedded. Contact information should be visible without scrolling.

Provide a "Download All" button or ZIP file that contains all visual assets at full resolution. Journalists who want to write about your game should be able to download everything they need in one click. The ZIP should be organized into folders: screenshots, logos, key-art, and any other categories.

If you cannot build a custom press page, use a free tool like presskit() (dopresskit.com) or create a simple page on your existing website. Even a Google Drive folder with organized assets is better than no press kit at all, though a proper web page is strongly preferred.

Keep your press kit updated. When you release new screenshots, update your trailer, change your release date, or add platform support, update the press kit immediately. Outdated press kits lead to inaccurate coverage, which confuses potential players and damages your credibility.

Step 6: Distribute to Press and Content Creators

Having a press kit is necessary but not sufficient. You need to actively send it to the people who might cover your game. Build a list of journalists, bloggers, YouTubers, and streamers who cover games in your genre. Read their recent work to confirm they cover games like yours. Follow them on social media and engage with their content before you send a pitch.

Your outreach email should be personalized, brief, and structured. Open with why you are contacting this specific person (you saw their coverage of a similar game, you follow their channel, etc.). Introduce your game in one sentence. Mention that a press kit and review keys are available. Link to your press kit page. Close with an offer to answer any questions. The entire email should be 5 to 8 sentences.

Do not mass-email a generic pitch to a list of 500 journalists. Personalized emails to 50 relevant contacts produce more coverage than generic emails to 500 irrelevant ones. Journalists can immediately tell the difference between a personal pitch and a mass email, and they delete mass emails without reading them.

Send your pitch from a real email address with a real name, not from noreply@yourgame.com or a marketing automation tool. Press relationships are personal, and emails from real people get treated differently than emails from marketing systems.

Follow up once, about one week after your initial email, if you do not receive a response. A brief follow-up that says "Just checking if you had a chance to see our game" is acceptable. More than one follow-up crosses into harassment. If they are interested, they will respond. If not, respect their decision and move on to other contacts.