Forge Industry
BiteMe Games
A rich store page, a demo still up, Next Fest June 2023, 2,500 declared wishlists — and 32 reviews. The only public week-one numbers on the low-review side.
Next Fest + complete page + 2,500 wishlists ≠ Popular Upcoming
Read this as a documented case and an editorial interpretation, not a controlled test of one marketing tactic. The figures describe their stated period and source. A comparable game's production budget, private sales or conversion cannot be inferred when the case does not disclose them.
Forge Industry is the case where the checklist is ticked and velocity never arrives. Twelve screenshots, six languages, eighteen achievements, a trailer, a long description, a demo still downloadable, Next Fest June 2023. Chris Zukowski (HTMAG, 31 Oct 2023) published the team’s numbers: 2,500 wishlists, 104 sales and $1,824 gross in week one, 3.5% conversion. No Popular Upcoming, no New & Trending.
The Coming Soon page lived about a year. The demo shipped late — during the fest, then 1.0 shortly after. A Discovery Queue spike around 1,700 views, then the drop. A second pass near 6,000 views after ten reviews in August 2023. No launch sale: an internal miss, documented. The studio’s YouTube audience was mostly gamedev, not automation players.
On 17 August 2026: 32 reviews, 66% rating, Friday 21 July 2023. Eight updates listed, no DLC. The page did not vanish. The Steam signal did.
The lesson is not “the page is useless”. It is: page + fest + a thin, poorly converting wishlist stock does not trip the algorithm. The 6/6 page and 0/4 velocity diagnostic is this case.