One Solo Developer. One Big Finish: The Game Marketer Helps ShantyTown Reach 100,000+ Steam Wishlists

Cosy diorama builder surpasses 1.5 million+ Steam page visits & 70,000+ demo downloads through a full-service strategy, creative, PR & paid media campaign.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, June 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Solo developer Erik Rempen of Silk Softworks partnered with The Game Marketer, a video game marketing agency, to handle ShantyTown's full journey from its demo push, Steam Next Fest highlight, an exciting PAX rising showcase, and finally its big launch.
ShantyTown is a cosy urban diorama builder centred around creativity, vertical construction, and calm, thoughtful space management, ShantyTown entered the campaign with a charming identity and a clear creative foundation already in place.
The Game Marketer took it from there–spanning strategy, branding, Steam page optimisation, social media, PR, paid media, trailer production, and asset creation.
By launch, the campaign delivered 100,000+ Steam wishlists, 1.5 million+ Steam page visits, and 70,000+ demo downloads.

“Our focus was to help refine how that identity showed up across every player touchpoint, from the Steam page and trailers to social content, paid media, and press outreach. Working closely with Erik, we were able to build a campaign that introduced the game to the right audiences and kept momentum growing through launch.”

On the creative side, The Game Marketer handled everything from content ideation and copywriting to branding, asset creation, and trailer production. A new logo was developed alongside a revamped Steam page - both built to better capture ShantyTown's beauty and charm at a glance. Multiple trailers were produced throughout the campaign, paired with platform-specific social content and a consistent visual direction that gave ShantyTown a recognisable and cohesive online presence.

ShantyTown Launch Trailer

Paid media ran throughout the campaign, timed for key development beats to keep momentum consistent. The Game Marketer focused on continuous creative testing, country targeting, and retargeting in order to identify what resonated most with the cosy game and city-builder audiences. The results spoke for themselves: low CPC and cost-per-wishlist rates, click-through rates reaching up to 6%, and conversion performance that kept the wishlist count climbing.

ShantyTown earned strong media and creator support, with critics drawn to its relaxed pacing, compact building spaces, and quietly expressive design. DualShockers awarded the game an 8/10, noting that it "managed to get me invested in a way I never really thought I could be," while Kotaku featured ShantyTown as its Indie of the Week, calling it an "excellent little game about building upward." GamerBlurb also awarded the game a 9.1/10, praising it as one of 2026's best cosy builders and highlighting the way its dense, stacked towns feel packed with character.

Beyond the digital campaign, ShantyTown secured a successful showing at PAX Rising, earned recognition as one of the Games Ground Indie Winners, and opened new opportunities for Erik with guest appearances across multiple podcasts.

"It was a pleasure working with The Game Marketer for ShantyTown. They were very professional from start to finish and handled all tasks efficiently and effectively, jumping into PR, content creation, ads, videos, storepage facelifts and more almost immediately and consistently from then on. They pushed the game's beyond my personal goal and planned for key beats with precision and conviction. As a solo-developer, it was a dream come true to know I had all my marketing handled by their steady hands so I could focus on what I needed to: finishing the game." said Erik Rempen, solo developer at Silk Softworks.

From its early positioning to its launch campaign, ShantyTown grew into more than a cosy city builder. Through close collaboration between Silk Softworks and The Game Marketer, the game became a carefully built indie success story, one unique building at a time.

About ShantyTown
ShantyTown is a cosy urban diorama builder from solo developer Erik Rempen of Silk Softworks. Built around creativity, vertical construction, and space management, the game challenges players to create compact, characterful neighbourhoods by building upward within the limited space.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2434600/ShantyTown/

About Silk Softworks
Silk Softworks is the independent game studio of solo developer Erik Rempen, creator of ShantyTown and Kainga: Seeds of Civilization. The studio focuses on thoughtful, creative experiences with distinctive visual identity and accessible design.
www.silksoftworks.com

About The Game Marketer
The Game Marketer is a global games marketing agency that supports developers and publishers across strategy, branding, creative production, PR, social media, paid media, and campaign management services. They guide studios, making sure their games are seen, played, and loved across the globe.
www.thegamemarketer.com

Media Contact

Arjun Krishnan
The Game Marketer
+44 330 043 0038
arjun.ganesh@thegamemarketer.com
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