What makes a game landing page different?
A SaaS landing page usually converts the visitor on the page. A prelaunch game page hands the player to Steam, so the order of each ask decides how many arrive.
In one visit, a studio may want to:
- capture an email;
- connect Discord;
- send the player to the Steam wishlist button;
- keep the source of the visit attached;
- keep every step usable on a phone.
Start with the outcome
Pick one primary conversion before choosing a layout. For most prelaunch games it is the Steam wishlist, with an email captured on the way; later, a demo or purchase.
Give that one action the most visual weight. A visitor facing four equally loud buttons has to make four decisions, and each one is a chance to leave.
Email first, then Steam
We send traffic to the capture page first, take the email, then deep-link to the wishlist. Most visitors who wishlist on Steam first never return to a second page.
The extra step mainly loses wishlists when it dead-ends. Our capture-page guide scores pages on four criteria: clicks added, deep-link or dead-end, fields required and device fit.
Measure it on your own traffic: compare wishlist conversion rate (wishlists divided by store visits from that source) before and after launch, because raw counts move with traffic volume.
A real game example: Empulse
1047 Games launched playempulse.com with a progressive flow: email sign-up in one click, then a prompt to wishlist on Steam, then an invitation to join Discord.
That flow produced a 41% email sign-up rate across all site visitors, and every sign-up was attributed back to its source. At that rate, 1,000 visitors leave 410 contacts.
Those owned contacts also bought more: signed-up fans who received Engage emails converted from wishlist to Early Access purchase at 14.0%, against 6.4% for non-owned wishlists.
Empulse is a 6v6 shooter from the studio behind Splitgate, fed by reveal, trailer and event traffic. Treat 41% as one game's result, and benchmark against your own funnel.
Recommended page architecture
Strong wishlist landing pages share five patterns: one hero visual above the fold, one form field, a visible Steam deep link, one secondary channel, and one repeated ask.
1. Hero
Open with key art, a gif or a trailer thumbnail visible without scrolling, plus one sentence saying what the game is; the visitor already clicked an ad or link.
2. Primary conversion
Ask for one field: email. Every required field past the first is another decision some visitors will not make, so we recommend email alone before the wishlist click.
3. Steam handoff
Put the Steam button above the fold and again at the bottom. After the email submits, send the player straight to the wishlist button with UTM tags intact.
A "thanks, you're in" confirmation page is a dead end: the player has to search Steam for the game, the most common reason a capture page costs wishlists.
4. Proof
Useful proof helps a player decide whether to click:
- gameplay footage;
- review or creator quotes, when permission exists;
- player counts, only when sourced;
- awards, only when accurately represented;
- the modes or features that set the game apart.
5. Secondary community action
Offer Discord as an optional single-click join after the email, never in the same form. Skip the invite if nobody will post in the server regularly.
Mobile and desktop are different journeys
Valve's UTM report credits a wishlist to your link only when the player is signed in to Steam in the browser that opened it, or in the Steam app.
Signed-out visitors on either device see a banner to open the page in the Steam client or app; if they accept, Valve can still follow it to a wishlist.
Warning
Valve says few players are signed in to Steam inside social-app browsers. Players who switch apps manually or search on desktop cannot be connected back to your ad.
Creator and social traffic skews mobile, so test the page on a phone before any campaign goes live. Check these five points:
- Does the Steam link open the store page or app on mobile?
- Is the main button visible without scrolling?
- Can the player complete the form with one hand?
- Does submitting the form lead straight to the wishlist button?
- Can the visitor recover if the app switch fails?
How much information should you ask for?
Ask for email and nothing else before the wishlist click. Empulse took email in one click and still reached a 41% sign-up rate across all site visitors.
Add a second field only when you have a defined use for it. If a field earns its place, test it against the email-only version on the same traffic source.
How to measure a game landing page
Track the funnel as separate events, because one blended "conversion rate" hides where players drop.
| Step | Example measurement |
|---|---|
| Visit | Landing-page sessions by source |
| Capture | Email or other owned signup |
| Handoff | Steam button click |
| Steam action | UTM-attributed wishlist or purchase within Valve's 72-hour window |
| Downstream | Demo play, launch conversion or purchase where measurable |
Valve counts a UTM wishlist only within 72 hours of the click and finalises conversions 4 days after the visit, so read campaign numbers after that lag.
A page can raise email capture while lowering Steam handoffs, so read those two rows together. See why Steam UTM tracking undercounts.
What to test first
Start with the structural variables that change the path a player takes:
- the primary button and its label;
- email-first versus Steam-first sequencing;
- the hero creative;
- page load speed and mobile usability;
- button placement;
- the post-submit handoff to Steam.
Move to copy and visual details once those are settled. Change one variable at a time when you need to know which change moved the number.
Landing page examples: what to study
When reviewing other games' pages, borrow the structure and leave the branding. Note how fast the game is clear, the first ask, what follows, and where Steam appears.
Our Steam wishlist landing page examples breaks down the five recurring patterns in detail.
Sources
- How to evaluate a wishlist capture page (accessed 2026-09-23). Defines Immutable's four evaluation criteria (clicks added, deep-link or dead-end, fields required, device fit); recommends email as the single field, Discord as an optional single-click step, and mobile testing for creator and social traffic.
- Empulse case study (accessed 2026-09-23). Email, then Steam wishlist, then Discord; 41% of all site visitors signed up with email; sign-ups attributed to source; owned audience converted wishlist to purchase at 14.0% vs 6.4%; 300K+ wishlists in under two months.
- Steam wishlist landing page examples (accessed 2026-09-23). Five patterns of strong Steam wishlist landing pages, build order and common mistakes.
- Steamworks documentation: UTM Analytics (accessed 2026-09-23). Valve's UTM Analytics documentation: signed-in tracked visits, 72-hour conversion window, 4-day finalisation, social-app browser limits and the open-in-app banners.
- Does an email or Discord capture page hurt wishlist conversion? (accessed 2026-09-23). Capture pages lose wishlists mainly through dead ends; recommends capture first then deep link, one field, and comparing wishlist conversion rate before and after.
