For indie developers on Steam
Your game’s first eight seconds, before players see them
See how your capsule and micro-trailer look in Steam’s new hover cards and festival grids, and test which first impression players would wishlist.
Free, no account needed. Not on Steam yet? Use your own files.
Open beta: everything is free while we build it with you. Tell us what you think.
What changed on Steam
Since Steam’s 2026 store redesign, many store and festival pages show a hover card instead of plain cover art. It plays a micro-trailer of about eight seconds that Steam cuts automatically from your first trailer, followed by your first screenshots.
You don’t choose those seconds, and you don’t see them in Steamworks. Prelaunch Lab shows you what players see, next to the games you compete with, and helps you find the version they’d rather click.
Four tools, one first impression
Preview
Your capsule, micro-trailer and screenshots in a hover card, a festival grid and the small capsule sizes, next to competitors you pick. From a Steam URL or from files on your computer.
Micro-trailer map
See the micro-trailer of every one of your trailers and which moments Steam picked from each, so you know which one to put first.
Clip builder
Cut your own eight-second clip from your trailer, right in the browser, and export it for tests or to Steam’s specs. Nothing is uploaded.
Peer tests
Let other developers and players choose which of your variants they’d wishlist, or which tile they click first in a grid. Results come with honest statistics.
How tests work
1
Add your variants
Two or three versions of your capsule and clip. A test costs 3 credits; new accounts get 6.
2
Vote, earn credits
Vote on other developers’ tests: every 10 votes earn a credit. Or share a public link with your community.
3
Read the result
Win rates with 95% ranges, a winner only when the data says so, and why voters chose what they chose.
Free to start
Previews, the micro-trailer map and the clip builder are free, and tests are free when you pay with credits. Pro ($12/month) or the Fest Pass ($39 for 90 days) remove the limits.
Compare plansQuestions
Is this made by Valve?
No. Prelaunch Lab is an independent tool; its hover cards and grids are close mock-ups of Steam’s, and Steam may show your game slightly differently.
Do I need an account?
Not for the preview, the micro-trailer map or the clip builder. You need one (just your email, no password) to save projects and run tests.
Do my files get uploaded?
Not in the preview or the clip builder: files from your computer stay in your browser. Only media you add to a project for testing is uploaded, and you can delete it any time.
How do you keep votes honest?
Voters have to actually look at both cards, attention checks catch careless clicking, nobody votes on their own tests, and double votes are blocked. Suspicious votes don’t count.
How do credits work?
Every 10 votes you cast on other developers’ tests earn you a credit, paid after a quick attention check. Credits pay for your own tests.
What does Pro add?
For $12 a month: unlimited projects and tests without credits, priority in the vote queue, up to 11 competitors, CSV export, and your media kept for a year.