Abyssal Lapidary

Abyssal Lapidary was preparing to release its first public demo during October 2026 Steam Next Fest, one of the most competitive discovery events for upcoming indie games.

With little time to make an impression, the team wanted to introduce the game to as many players as possible and build enough momentum to stand out among 7000+ competing demos.

Screenshot in game from Abyssal Lapidary

Rather than optimizing solely for cost efficiency, Abyssal Lapidary prioritized creator participation and content volume. The campaign featured generous maximum payouts, making it attractive to both smaller creators and established creators with larger audiences.

Creators were also given the flexibility to produce multiple videos, leaning into the game's naturally satisfying gameplay and the small, visually compelling moments that translated particularly well to short-form.

The goal was to generate enough varied creator content that audiences would repeatedly encounter Abyssal Lapidary throughout Next Fest, building curiosity around the demo and encouraging players to experience the game for themselves.

The campaign generated 12.1M views across 184 videos from 115 creators, achieving an incredible amount of volume in just 1 week.

The initial wave of Jestr creator content helped introduce Abyssal Lapidary to a much wider audience, with additional streamers and creators beginning to pick up the game organically as its visibility grew.

During this period, Abyssal Lapidary gained over 120,000 wishlists and finished as the #9 most-played demo during Steam Next Fest, placing it among the festival's biggest breakout titles. Steam followers also climbed sharply, from approximately 2,000 to over 6,500, reflecting the surge in attention surrounding the game.

Steam hub followers for Abyssal Lapidary, via SteamDB

Rather than relying on a handful of individual viral videos, the campaign demonstrated how broad creator participation and repeated exposure can help kickstart a larger discovery cycle, where initial coverage encourages further organic content and attention beyond the original activation.