The author says indie devs aren't cooked, but a viral game can be cloned fast, so get a demo out early.
What happened: A developer's viral tweet about a needle-in-a-haystack game led to a Steam page within a week. Clones followed, and one released a public demo before the original did.
The numbers: Per SteamDB data, the original still gains about 60-70 followers a day. The author estimates it has about 20,000 fewer wishlists than the lead clone, and says it signed with Polden Publishing on September 1.
The advice: Don't shadow drop or run only closed playtests. Make a demo early, aim for Steam Next Fest, and follow the standard playbook. The author says the clone that launched without a demo flatlined.
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The author says indie devs aren't cooked, but a viral game can be cloned fast, so get a demo out early.