How to Pitch Games Journalists and Streamers: Checklist

To pitch games journalists and streamers, send each person a short, personal message that names the game, the platform, the release date, what you are offering and any embargo, and disclose any free product or payment. Journalists need an angle and a deadline. Streamers need a key, a reason their audience will care and clear disclosure terms. Keep every first message under 150 words.

This checklist follows the 12-week plan in the video game launch PR timeline, and it assumes the Steam page and press kit already exist. The goal is a pitch that a busy writer or streamer can answer with one word.

What belongs in a pitch to a games journalist?

A pitch to a games journalist needs the game name, the news, the offer and the date in the first three lines. Journalists decide in seconds whether a message is relevant, so the first line has to carry the reason it was sent to them.

• A subject line that names the game and the news, such as the playable preview, the release date or the platform.

• One sentence that says why this journalist is getting the message, based on something they covered recently.

• One sentence that says what is new or different about the game, written as a fact and not as a slogan.

• The offer: a preview build, a review code, an interview slot or a trailer link, with the platform named.

• The dates: the release date, the embargo lift time with a time zone and any date by which you need an answer.

• A single link to the press kit, with no attachments.

• A named contact and a reply time, so the journalist knows who will answer questions.

Leave out the long studio history, the list of awards the team won in other projects and any adjectives that cannot be checked. A journalist can look up the studio. What a journalist cannot look up is what is in this build and when it can be written about.

What belongs in a pitch to a streamer?

A pitch to a streamer needs a key, a reason the game fits the channel and a plain statement of disclosure terms. Streamers earn their living by showing something their audience wants to watch, so the message should describe what makes the game good to watch and not only good to own.

• Why you picked this channel, such as a series of similar games they played in the last few months

• The kind of session the game supports: a one-hour demo, a full playthrough, a co-op night or a speedrun

• A Steam key or a link to the demo, and the platform it works on

• Any date the game is under embargo and any date the streamer is free to show it

• A request that the streamer disclose the free key, with a sentence on how

• A statement that the studio is not asking for positive coverage

The last point matters more than studios expect. A streamer who feels pushed toward praise will say no, and an audience that suspects a script will tune out. Say plainly that honest reactions are the goal. For channel-level tactics on turning a product claim into something worth watching, see creative tech PR stunts.

How should you research who to pitch?

Research each target by reading their last ten pieces or watching their last five streams, then writing down what they covered, how they covered it and what they asked about. A pitch that references a specific recent piece reads as personal, and a pitch that does not reads as a mass mailing.

Check three things before any message goes out. First, confirm the outlet or channel covers your genre and platform, since a console-only writer cannot review a PC game. Second, check whether the person accepts pitches by email or prefers another route, because many writers list their preferences on their profile. Third, check whether they have already covered the game, so you do not pitch old news as new.

Keep the list short. A first wave of 15 journalists and 20 creators who fit the game is better than 200 who do not. The Web3 and gaming tech press coverage piece shows what separated the stories that landed from the ones that did not.

When should you send keys and builds?

Send each key at the stage the plan assigns to it, and never earlier. Preview builds go to journalists about six or five weeks before launch, review codes go out 10 to 14 days before launch and creator keys go in two waves.

• Weeks 6 to 5: preview builds and interview offers to journalists, under a short embargo.

• Weeks 4 to 3: the first wave of creator keys, to a small group whose audiences fit the game.

• Days 14 to 10: review codes to journalists who have agreed to the review embargo.

• Final two weeks: the second wave of creator keys to a wider group.

Each key goes out with the embargo terms in the same message. The rules for lift times, written agreements and what to do when a story runs early are in the embargo timing guide and the PR embargo guide. A key sent without terms is a free copy that the recipient can use any way they like.

How do FTC rules apply to free keys?

The FTC treats a free product as a connection that can affect how an audience weighs a review, so a streamer or journalist who gets a free key should disclose it. The FTC's Endorsement Guides include an example of a college student with a reputation as a video game expert who receives a free gaming system in exchange for reviewing it, and the example says the connection should be disclosed.

The agency's plain-language Endorsement Guides FAQ says that if you receive free products or other perks, it is always safer to disclose, even when the gift is small. The brand is also on the hook. A studio that sends keys has to make the disclosure request clear and cannot treat it as the creator's problem.

In practice, put one sentence in the key email: "This key is free, and please let your audience know that." Do not tell the creator how to say it or what to say about the game. The studio's job is to ask for the disclosure, and the creator's job is to word it clearly.

Teams that run larger creator programs can find the planning side in the influencer marketing services page.

How many follow-ups are acceptable?

One follow-up is acceptable, sent three or four days after the first message, and only if the first message included a deadline. A follow-up should add something: a new trailer, a changed date or a free slot for an interview. A message that only asks whether the person saw the first one gets ignored.

After that, stop. A journalist or streamer who does not answer has answered. If they cover the game later, thank them and share the next piece of news first.

When someone does cover the game, send a short note with a link and one fact they may not have, such as the first player milestone. That note is the beginning of the next pitch, and it costs nothing. Keep a record of each result with the date, the outlet and the number, because a launch with that record can be written up to the useful tech PR case study standard.

What mistakes get a pitch ignored?

Pitches get ignored for a short list of avoidable reasons, and most of them show up in the first two lines. Check each one before sending.

• The message goes to a long list with the same text and the wrong first name

• The release date, platform or price is missing or buried

• The offer is unclear: no key, no build and no interview slot

• The embargo has no time zone, or no embargo is mentioned at all

• The message asks for a score, a headline or a positive reaction

• The press kit arrives as a large attachment instead of a link

• The pitch describes the studio and not the game

Frequently asked questions

How long should a pitch to a games journalist be?

A pitch to a games journalist should be under 150 words. Name the game, the news, the offer, the dates and the press kit link, and leave the studio history for the press kit.

Should you send Steam keys in the first email?

No, the first email should offer a key and state the embargo, and the key should go out after the recipient says yes. That keeps the written agreement ahead of the access.

Do streamers have to disclose a free key?

Yes, the FTC's guidance says a free product is a connection that should be disclosed. The studio should ask for the disclosure in the key email and should not script the wording.

How many creators should get keys?

A small studio should send a first wave of 10 to 20 creators whose audiences fit the game. A wider second wave in the last two weeks can add more, once the first wave's reactions are in.

Build the target list from recent coverage, write the offer and the dates in the first three lines, and put the disclosure request in the same email as the key. A pitch that does those three things is ready to send.