How Sub-$200K Games Win Discovery and the Steam Algorithm

Mar 3, 2026

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A new breed of “micro-indie” publisher is emerging: teams that fund sub-$200K games, ship fast, and treat releases like a portfolio. In this episode, host Alexandra Takei, VP at Medal, sits down with Kirill Akimkin, founder of Polden Publishing, to unpack the world of micro indies and discovery. In 2025, they shipped almost 8 games with $800K and plan to ship 20 titles in 2026. Kirill explains that much of their developer pipeline is inbound: a Telegram-led media presence brings developers to them, and that they are more “researchers” than experts, with strict KPIs for a game's release. We discuss their genre strategy, developer strategy, and more.

The conversation then turns to discovery, both outside Steam and building towards the Steam algorithm for wishlists. Kirill frames marketing as a repeatable machine: short-form content, creators, and community spikes are used to drive consistent wishlist velocity, which then feeds Steam’s surfaces (Discovery Queue, Popular Upcoming, demo visibility, and post-launch recommendations) and the duo discuss case studies of Fish Hunters, Totally Secure Airport (which got 75K+ wishlists in on day), and Final Sentance.

They close with questions on where discovery happens, what today’s games in micro indies indicate about modern-day gamers’ tastes, and the perception of AI in low-budget titles. If you are shipping a PC game on Steam this year, this is a must-listen.

We’d like to thank Medal.tv for making this episode possible. If you're a PC gamer and want to clip your moments or a studio, publisher, or marketer looking to reach a high-quality gaming audience and get your game in front of the right players, check out all Medal has to offer at https://grow.medal.tv.

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Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe.