How we made the video game “Sands of Hope” go viral on TikTok from scratch
Over 10,000 wishlists on Steam and more than 5 million organic impressions
In just 3 months, using our agency’s TikTok strategy for businesses, we positioned this video game among the most wishlisted on Steam. On par with projects backed by marketing campaigns worth 10,000 to 100,000 euros. All without paying for a single ad and entirely through organic growth.
+1.000.000 monthly impressions
+1.000% reach
+10 engagement growth
Guateke Studios is a small indie game development studio founded by two passionate creators who launched their first title, Sands of Hope, on the Steam platform. Despite the team’s talent and the quality of the project, they started completely from scratch on social media and had no prior visibility.
Their presence was limited to Twitter and a few isolated efforts, with no audiovisual strategy or active community on platforms like TikTok.
The goal was ambitious: to reach at least 1,500 Steam wishlists before the game’s launch. This metric is crucial for any indie game, as it impacts visibility on the platform and helps attract publishers and investors.
Our challenge was clear: launch a content strategy from scratch on TikTok, without a pre-existing community, and achieve fast, tangible results.
From our TikTok agency for businesses, we knew the key was to connect with the gaming audience through authenticity.
We created a strategy focused on:
- Showing the game’s development in real time (“build in public”).
- Introducing the characters and the team through relatable content.
- Making reactions from streamers and players who tried the game go viral.
- Turning the development process into an exciting story.
One of the most successful videos was the story of one of the founders: a university professor who left his job to pursue his dream of creating a video game. That storytelling resonated deeply and organically boosted reach.
Since there was no previous content or community on TikTok, the first step was:
- Create a clear visual identity for the account
- Define a direct and emotional tone (no posing, no traditional advertising)
- Identify which aspects of the game could connect emotionally with the audience
The result: we went from a blank account to thousands of views within the first weeks, using only genuine vertical content, with no expensive production.
Our goal was for TikTok to become the daily window into the game’s development. We achieved this through:
- Daily mini videos showcasing development progress
- Clips sharing the team’s personal story
- Videos showing the reactions of popular streamers at events
- Highlights of gameplay and exciting playable scenes
We combined planned content with reactive videos, taking advantage of every mention, collaboration, or trend to keep the profile active and relatable.
When one of the videos featuring a famous streamer’s reaction went viral, we made the most of it by:
- We re-edited it into different formats for TikTok and Instagram Reels
- We linked the CTA to the Steam page to increase wishlists
- We created derivative content to amplify the visibility of that same viral moment
Vertical content acted as a natural traffic accelerator to Steam. And without spending a single euro on advertising, we far exceeded the initial goal.
