Bluesky for indie game developers

Devlogs, screenshots, a clip of the thing finally working, and a launch that needs a plan. Bluesky is where a lot of the games community went; the figures are free.

Updated 30 September 2026

Why indie developers are on Bluesky

Because the developers and the press went first, and players followed. Game development has its own feeds, by genre and by platform, starter packs of developers who share each other's work, and a habit of quote-posting a good clip. The feed is in order, so a screenshot goes to everyone who follows you, and a one-person studio is seen on the same terms as a publisher.

Setting up

• The studio or the game as the handle, on your own domain if you have one: @yourgame.com is a verified handle in itself.
• A bio that says what the game is in one line, the platform and the store link.
• A pinned post with the best clip and the wishlist link.
• The developer feeds for your genre, and a starter pack of the developers you swap builds with. Packs of fellow developers are how most people find a new studio here; make one and ask into others. The starter packs guide covers how.

What to post

The build, honestly. A devlog is a thread: what you tried this week, what broke, what it looks like now, with the tag line on the first post where search finds it. Write it as one long post and the Planner splits it where you put a line of three dashes. Screenshots go four to a post, each with alt text that says what the player is looking at. A short video of a mechanic working is the post that travels furthest for many developers, and the Planner takes video on Duo and Studio.

Some posts that do well: the bug that became a feature, side by side; the same room in the first build and the current one; a ten-second clip with no caption and the sound on; the wishlist milestone with a thank-you; a question about a design choice that people can answer in one word. Answer the replies. A developer who replies is followed by players who want to be heard.

The launch

A launch is a campaign, planned weeks out, and it is the part one person cannot do by hand on the day. The Planner groups a campaign's posts: the announcement, the trailer, the demo, the date, the day-of post, the first-week thank-you, each scheduled at a measured hour and kept at least 45 minutes apart. Links go out as tracked short links, so the campaign report says which post sent people to the store page, along with the reach and the engagement of each. The report is what you show a publisher, or yourself, afterwards.

When to post

Players are on their own clocks, and a game's followers are often spread across several. Each of your posts' first day is counted against the hour it went out, on your clock, so the hour that works for your followers is measured rather than guessed. A clip that went out at midnight and did nothing may just have been early. On Duo or Studio a post added to the queue takes the next hour that works for your account. The best time to post guide explains the measurement.

Hashtags and feeds

One or two on the first post: the genre, and the community tag developers in your niche use for their weekly screenshot posts. Feeds read them. Updrift's hashtag table shows which of yours beat your usual, and the composer suggests tags busy in your topic. The hashtags guide covers how feeds pick them up.

Tracking free

For one account on the Free plan: followers by the hour, each post's first day, which post brought the most followers and who quoted it, the top line of What works, and a link page on updrift.link for the store, the demo and the press kit with a click count per link. A recap every morning. Nothing is posted or liked on your behalf on Free. The growth guide is the longer read.

What a paid plan adds

• Duo, £7 a month: the Planner for two accounts (the studio and the game), video, devlog threads split properly, a launch as a campaign with a report, and the Inbox answered in place.
• Studio: five accounts, a launch month loaded from a CSV and a zip of screenshots, and a publisher's marketer as a Writer whose posts wait for your yes.
• Every paid plan is 7 days free with a card; Duo is £7 a month for two accounts and the Planner, Studio £12 for five and a team. All the plans.