Paid Ads or Creator Campaigns for Indie Games?

Short answer: compare them on one number, cost per wishlist, measured the same way for both. Ads give you control: who sees it, when, and for how long. Creator campaigns give you native content from people your audience already trusts, and on our public cases they landed between $0.10 and $1.22 per wishlist. For most indie games the strongest order is creators first to find the hook that works, then ads behind that hook once you know it.

"Should we run ads or work with creators?" usually turns into a debate about which channel is better. The more useful question is what each one is good at, and how to compare them without fooling yourself.

What are you actually paying for?

	Paid ads	Creator campaign (pay per view)
You pay for	Impressions or clicks	Verified views of a creator's video
Who makes the content	You	The creator
How it looks in the feed	An ad, labeled as one	A creator's own video about your game
Control over targeting	High	Medium (creator niches, tiered CPM by region)
Speed to start	Fast once creatives exist	First video often live within hours
What you learn	Which ad creative and audience convert	Which moments and hooks real players react to

Neither is free of risk. A weak ad creative burns budget, and so does a game with no clear hook.

How do you compare them fairly?

Use the same rules for both:

1. Same metric. Cost per wishlist: what you paid, divided by the extra wishlists.
2. Same baseline. Subtract your normal daily wishlist rate from both, or the channel that ran during a busy week looks better than it is.
3. Same window. Pick the measuring window before you start, for example the campaign days plus 7.
4. Net, not gross. Subtract deletions in Steamworks.

The step by step method is in how to measure wishlists from a creator campaign. One tip: Steam's UTM links work well for ads, because people click straight through. For creator videos they undercount, because many viewers search for the game later instead of clicking.

What do creator campaigns cost per wishlist?

On our public case studies:

Game	Cost per wishlist
Very Safe Dino Park	$0.10
The Bus	$0.15
Clay Clinic	$0.16
ZOMBUTCHER	$0.22
Galactic Vault	$1.22

Loopr Marketing, the agency behind the ZOMBUTCHER campaign, called it the "best ROI we've seen on any indie launch channel". Put your own ad results next to these numbers, measured the same way, and the comparison becomes simple.

When do ads make sense?

• When you already know your hook. Ads amplify a creative that works. They're expensive as a way to find out what works.
• When your page converts. Paid traffic to a weak Steam page is the most expensive mistake on the list. Fix the page first (checklist here).
• When you need precise targeting. A specific country, language or age group.
• For always on presence between bigger moments like a demo, a festival or a launch.

When do creator campaigns make sense?

• When you don't know your hook yet. Dozens of creators test dozens of angles in a day or two, and the views tell you which ones land.
• When you have no audience. Creators bring their own. See how to market an indie game with no audience.
• Around a moment: a demo, Next Fest, a discount or the launch.
• When you want content that doesn't look like an ad.

Can you use both?

Yes, and it's often the best plan: run a creator campaign, see which hooks and moments brought the most wishlists, then build your ad creatives around them.

If you want to run a creator's video itself as an ad, you need a license first. Creators keep full ownership of their videos, and a campaign on its own doesn't give you the right to boost them or use them as paid ads. On Trapster you can buy a content license from the creator through Studio Deals, for 30 days, 90 days or a year, covering Spark Ads, Partnership Ads, whitelisting and boosting.

FAQ

Are creator campaigns cheaper than ads?
It depends on the game and the creative. On our public cases cost per wishlist ranged from $0.10 to $1.22. Compare that to your own ad results measured the same way.

Can I run a creator's video as my ad?
Only with a license. Creators own their videos; on Trapster you buy a content license through Studio Deals before you boost or whitelist one.

Which should a small studio try first?
Usually creators, to find the hook. Our small budget guide explains the order.

What's the minimum budget for a creator campaign?
$3,000 per campaign on Trapster.

Get a number to compare

Send us your Steam page and we'll send a free forecast with expected wishlists and cost per wishlist, so you can put it next to your ad numbers. See Trapster for studios or book a call.

Sources: Steamworks documentation on UTM analytics. Licensing terms from the Trapster Terms of Service. Campaign figures come from Trapster case studies. Cost per wishlist is the creator budget divided by wishlists added, platform fee excluded.