Merchant 64 Middle Game Success 2025
Merchant 64 de SuitNtie vendió aproximadamente $20,000 y solo tomó 4 meses hacer. Para muchos, esos números suenan a “fracaso” comparados con million-dollar hits. Pero ese thinking está completamente equivocado. Merchant 64 es el perfect example de una “middle game”—un project diseñado para shipped fast, build reputation, y learn rapidly en lugar de spend years en un project que nunca terminas.
Los números: middle money para middle timeline
Timeline total: 4 meses de desarrollo Wishlists pre-launch: 7,500 Copies vendidas: ~2,500 Revenue aproximado: $20,000 ($13,000 en launch window) Review score: Mostly Positive Discovery Queue traffic: 64% de launch window visits
El primer trailer generó 5,000 wishlists después de que Gamespot lo picked up unsolicited. Entre su personal YouTube channel y Gamespot, el trailer alcanzó 42,600 views total.
El viral trailer que no pidió permiso
SuitNtie made su first trailer y lo uploaded a su personal YouTube channel. Un día después, Gamespot’s YouTube channel lo picked up sin que él lo solicitara.
Esos 42,600 views combinados trajeron 5,000 wishlists. Eso es lo que un “beautiful game” looks like: 1,000+ wishlists de un single piece de media que se spread sin que hagas nada.
¿El secret trick para make un trailer go viral? No hay trick. Merchant 64 es simply visually amazing. Nails el vibe. Es compelling.
También SuitNtie worked marketable decisions into el very design del game. Uno de sus shopkeepers originalmente era un old man, pero realizó que si lo hacía un cute (in a blocky sort of way) redhead, probablemente attract más attention.
Lesson clave: Your game y every decision in it ES tu MARKETING, not just what you tweet.
Brilliantly, SuitNtie understood sus strengths: Merchant 64 looks good y puede impress con trailer. Así que hizo 2 additional trailers throughout la marketing campaign del game.
Launch: shipped con 7.5k wishlists por necesidad
Tres meses después de ese primer trailer, launched Merchant 64 con 7,500 wishlists. No hizo demo. ¿Por qué el rush?
“I needed money for rent 😅” - SuitNtie
No seems que got onto popular upcoming, o solo por part de un day. Pero shipped.
El game vendió 2,500 copies y about $13,000 worth en launch window. El review score es Mostly Positive con most reviews saying es pretty, sounds amazing, pero lacks content.
Discovery Queue: 64% del traffic, pero Day 3 drop
Aunque Merchant 64 es un “pretty game” que went viral en YouTube y Twitter, esos platforms no provided much visibility at launch.
External visit numbers para launch week:
- Reddit: 1,061
- YouTube: 1,217
- Twitter: 856
- Total social media traffic: 3.8%
Meanwhile, over 64% de los launch window visits came from Discovery Queue.
Key insight: Social media primes audience pero doesn’t convert. Wishlists convert. Usas social como 2-phase approach: social → wishlists → money. No puedes go straight from social to money.
Por qué no demo: el 5% exception
Para about 95% de games, How to Market a Game recomienda hacer demo. Es el #1 way to get wishlists. Pero Merchant 64 es part del 5% donde un demo would hurt sales.
¿Por qué? Es un quick hit game donde once they play it, they get the gist y players are satisfied. Mucho del interest en el game came from amazing visuals y “vibes.” Pero once someone experiences them, probably están satisfied.
La middle game philosophy: ship fast, learn faster
Middle games son lo opposite de tu dream game. Son games que haces quickly but not poorly. El point no es become millionaire pero get something public. Son más polished y complex que game jam game, pero much less que 1-2 year big project.
Estos types de games used to be norm durante flash y web game craze de early 2000s, pero game developers somehow forgot how to make them.
Middle games no son supposed to be profitable. El primary goal es make something memorable, neat, y build up tu professional reputation, audience y tech stack.
How to Market a Game truly cree que para tus first 3-5 games deberías just ship fast y learn things. Don’t worry about 7k wishlists. Es better get out there y make small games expecting to make $10,000. That is a win. Each game should build on the next.
SuitNtie got la idea para esta strategy from watching Xalavier Nelson Jr y su company Strange Scaffold. La Strange Scaffold strategy es make lots of small, interesting projects con clear hook, y release them quickly.
Los serendipity benefits de shipping
El real reason How to Market a Game find SuitNtie so amazing es que ships. Los benefits de shipping pueden come fast y from unexpected locations.
Casi un año ago, SuitNtie created una series de low-poly Dragon Ball Z dating sim parodies en YouTube. Cuando tweeted about them, went viral. Un tweet got 80k+ views.
Serendipitously, film producers from Hollywood found sus videos y le offered la opportunity de design los low-poly 3D models para Sonic the Hedgehog characters en Sonic 3 end credit sequence.
SuitNtie’s 3D models were on the big screen. Solo gets offers como esta si you put yourself out there y show que puedes do amazing work. You must ship.
Si holds tu art to your chest y go years sin shipping, you will miss out. Opportunity cost es real.
Los números del N64/PSX aesthetic gold rush
Merchant 64 got 5,000 wishlists con un trailer porque nailed el art style. El 64-bit/32-bit graphic style está entering un period donde kids que grew up playing estos games son now old enough to be Steam players con disposable income para blow on their nostalgia.
Pero tienes que nail el aesthetic. No es just “low poly.” No puedes usar Synty low poly y expect wishlists roll in. El 64bit aesthetic tiene specific texture, model shape, y vibe que tienes que get right.
Recent games que hit it right:
- Pseudoregalia
- Crow Country
- Agent 64: Spies Never Die (pre-release pero boatload de wishlists)
Las lecciones para first-time developers
Lesson 1: Middle games > dream games para first 3-5 projects. Ship en 4-6 meses, expect $10k-20k, build reputation y tech stack. Don’t spend years en project que never finishes.
Lesson 2: Every design decision ES marketing. SuitNtie cambió shopkeeper a cute redhead knowing sería more marketable. Your game itself es tu marketing.
Lesson 3: Play to your strengths. SuitNtie knew sus visuals eran amazing, so hizo 3 trailers total. Leaned hard into su strength.
Lesson 4: Social media → wishlists → money. No puedes skip wishlists step. Social primes pero doesn’t convert. Need Steam DQ para conversion.
Lesson 5: Ship beats perfect. SuitNtie tuvo rent to pay. Shipped sin scope creep. Si había taken otro month para add features, would’ve turned into 2 months, then 3 months, then 1 year development cycle—ya no es middle game.
Lesson 6: Opportunity comes from shipping. Hollywood producers found SuitNtie’s work porque estava out there. You miss 100% de opportunities si never ship.
What’s next: build on winning formula
How to Market a Game’s recommendation: SuitNtie tiene winning formula para cozy management game set en N64 style world. Continue el trend pero build upon it. Perhaps make game con deeper shop management y upgrades consistent con comparable management games. Ship en 6 meses this time (assuming rent está covered).
Art isn’t enough though. Puede attract attention pero necesitas engaging game to get people to buy y recommend to friends. How to Market a Game está confident SuitNtie will figure it out con future game—he’s already working on his next one.
¿Tu studio es first-time developer wondering si should spend 2+ years en dream project? Consider middle game strategy primero. Ship 3-5 games en 4-6 meses each, learn rapidly, build reputation y audience. Los $10k-20k per game mientras learn es better que 2 years sin ship nada. Eventually tu tech stack y experience grow enough para full development style game.
Fuente: How to Market a Game - Merchant 64 middle game case study (Jul 2025)