The Steam Wishlist Limbo: Why 10,000 Copies Won't Save an Indie Dev (And How I’m Fighting Back)

By Rodrigo Banzato

To anyone outside the gaming industry, looking at a combined pool of nearly 10,000 Steam wishlists for an independent creator sounds like a solid foundation. Right now, my previous project, Shadows of Kepler, sits at 6,700 wishlists, while my newest and most ambitious project, Just Madness: Earth Apocalypse 1979, currently has 3,000.

But if you strip away the emotional bias and look at raw, cold metrics, the data tells a much harsher story. The reality of Steam conversion rates means that a game typically converts only 10% to 15% of its wishlists into sales during launch week. In plain numbers: 10,000 wishlists equal roughly 1,000 to 1,500 copies sold. After Steam’s 30% cut, regional pricing adjustments, local taxes, and platform fees, that volume barely covers basic production costs—let alone years of full-time, high-level development.

For a solo developer, launching without critical mass means your project risks being buried instantly by the algorithm. My target for Just Madness is clear: I must reach at least 100,000 wishlists before hitting the launch button. Without that critical mass, launching simply isn't financially viable. But I am not sitting around waiting for an algorithm to decide my fate. I am diversifying the battleground.

---

1. Crafting a Recognizable Alternate-History Identity in Indie Game Development

The old Max Madness material felt more like a technical demonstration of an ambitious post-apocalyptic game. The new Just Madness trailer feels much more deliberate. It is an alternate-history 1979 world that explicitly emphasizes survival horror and psychological tension.

Instead of trying to make a generic, giant open-world AAA game, I am converging on a very specific, deliberate experience:

• 1979 Retro-Apocalypse & Nuclear Wasteland

• Psychological Horror & Mutants

• Hardcore Survival Mechanics & Vehicles

• Dynamic First/Third-Person Switching

• A Gripping Story about finding your daughter

  
  

By implementing fluid first/third-person switching, the perspectives serve entirely different purposes to maximize gameplay dynamics. First-person mode anchors the horror, exploration, shooting, and claustrophobic interior immersion. Third-person mode shifts to driving, displaying active equipment, moving through the radioactive wasteland, and appreciating the brutal environment.

---

2. The V8 Muscle Car: Your Survival Lifeline, Not Just Transportation

In Just Madness, the vehicle is not merely a car-combat mechanic or a quick way to traverse map markers. The official design framework specifically requires the player to drive and maintain a classic V8 muscle car through the radioactive wasteland.

The vehicle becomes an absolute part of your survival ecosystem. It acts as your mobile shelter and survival lifeline. As a player, you will constantly be forced to manage a realistic chain of survival resource variables:

Fuel → Engine Condition → Tires → Damage → Spare Parts → Radiation → Food/Water → Ammunition

This creates a terrifying layer of tension. The radioactive wasteland features long stretches of nothing, strange ruined structures, heavy fog, and unexpected encounters. The low rumble of your vehicle's engine is often the only sound keeping you company, transforming the vast emptiness of the world into my strongest psychological weapon.

---

3. Expanding the Arena Beyond the Steam Store

Because relying solely on one storefront's algorithm is a dangerous gamble, I am attacking this launch from every possible angle on my personal hub, rodrigobanzato.com:

• Direct Crowdfunding: I’ve launched an independent fundraising campaign directly on my site to help fuel ongoing production costs.

• Expanding the Lore via Literature: The monsters in this game aren't just obstacles. They have a history and a logic. To build this original post-apocalyptic IP, I am officially launching the companion book Just Madness: Earth Apocalypse 1979 on Amazon Kindle Unlimited. This allows sci-fi and survival horror fans to dive deep into the timeline and discover the dark secrets of what happened in 1979 before the game drops.

---

4. Two Decades in the Arena: Why I Don't Stop

Let’s be completely honest: if I factored in minimum wage for the thousands of hours spent, the personal financial investments, and the sheer mental toll over the last 20 years in indie game development, I would have quit a long time ago.

This isn't about chasing a quick paycheck. This is about pure love, absolute dedication, and a burning need to build these worlds.

I recently restructured the project's identity substantially. While two friends helped me tremendously at the very beginning of this journey, I am currently pushing the project forward entirely as a solo developer. Everything you see in the latest official trailer was executed solo.

My track record of independent releases—including Clown2Beat, Shadows of Kepler, Parallel, and Cyborg3003—proves my commitment. I am not an amateur who suddenly decided yesterday to make a game; I am someone attempting something substantially larger, backed by years of execution.

What keeps me moving through the "wishlist limbo" is a combination of faith, unbreakable discipline, and relentless perseverance. They are the only forces that push a creator past the numbers and into actual realization. Where exactly this road will lead? I don’t honestly know. But after two decades of doing this, I know one thing for certain: I am not stopping now. Motivation and execution will never be the missing variables here.

Thank you to everyone who has supported my work, tested my demos, or wishlisted the games.

• Support the Journey: Wishlist Just Madness: Earth Apocalypse 1979 on Steam, read the companion lore novel on Amazon, or join our community today.