Why Demo Videos Matter

Trailers are the main asset a game has when it comes to engaging and converting players. On spawnd, your video is the hook that convinces users to actually launch your demo. The better your trailer performs, the stronger your game’s chances of gaining sessions and ultimately wishlists.

Industry best practices around trailers are well documented, and they boil down to a few simple rules:

• Show real gameplay. Avoid logos, cinematic cutscenes, or splash intros. Players want to see the game in action.
• Hook them in the first 5 seconds. Attention spans online are razor-thin. Your opening moments matter most.
• Keep it concise. A short, clear gameplay loop beats a long, wandering video.

A few storefronts will also use subtle techniques to increase engagement, such as slightly speeding up trailers (about 1.2–1.5x). We believe the hypothesis behind this is that it makes the video feel tighter and helps deliver more visual information within a short attention window.

How spawnd Uses Your Videos

We currently display game trailers in three places:

• Featured/Highlight Carousels – shown when users hover over your game capsule in these sections;
• Game Detail pages – displayed above the fold, running in the background;
• spawnd embeds – triggered when the player hovers over the iframe.

We currently take your trailers as-is. That means the effectiveness of your video is entirely in your control. If your trailer feels slow, cluttered, or buried in logos and cutscenes, players may be disencouraged from clicking Launch. Optimizing your video is a great step towards increasing conversion and boosting your visibility across spawnd.

Step-by-Step Optimization

To maximize performance, we recommend:

1. Trim away the fluff. Remove non-gameplay sections like logos, long fades, or narrative-only cutscenes.
2. Front-load the gameplay. Make sure the first five seconds show something exciting and readable.
3. Consider speeding up playback. A slight increase (up to 1.5x) can help deliver more information in less time without breaking readability.
4. Test your cut. Share your optimized video internally and check: “Would I want to click 'Launch' after watching this for the first time?”

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A great demo is all about how quickly and effectively you convince players to try it. Treat your trailer as your frontline tool for conversion, and you’ll see the difference in play sessions and wishlists.

Other resources

• How to: Make a Video Game Trailer ft. Derek Lieu

Need more tips or want to discuss other best practices? Join our Discord server!