Game Trailer Marketing: Which Trailer Should You Make and When?

A game trailer has to do more than look exciting for 60 seconds.

It may be the first thing a player sees on your Steam page. It may be the link you send to a journalist, creator, publisher or showcase organiser. It may also become the source of gameplay footage that somebody else uses to explain your game to their audience.

That is why choosing a game trailer should not begin with, “What can we make look cool?” It should begin with, “What does the audience need to understand or decide next?”

The right trailer for a first announcement is not necessarily the right trailer for a Steam page, a press campaign or launch week.

Every trailer needs to work for a new viewer

You cannot assume that everyone watching a trailer has followed your project from the beginning. Most viewers will encounter a particular video without knowing the previous reveal, announcement or campaign beat. Each trailer therefore needs to provide enough context for a new viewer to understand what the game is, what makes it appealing and what they should do next.

That does not mean repeating the entire campaign in every video. It means making each asset work as an entry point. A returning fan may appreciate a new detail, while someone seeing the game for the first time still needs a clear route into the experience.

Start with the job your game trailer needs to do

Before planning shots, write down the decision you want the viewer to make after watching.

Do you want them to:

• Realise that your game exists?
• Understand how it plays?
• Remember a release date?
• Decide that the game is worth buying?
• Give you coverage or creator attention?
• Understand one specific feature or system?

One trailer can support several of these goals, especially for a small team. But if you try to make every trailer announce the game, explain the story, demonstrate every system and close the sale, it can become unclear and overloaded.

The first trailer on your Steam store page has a particularly important job. Steamworks’ official trailer guidance recommends making that first video primarily gameplay-focused, showing what players will do from the perspective of interacting with the game. Steam also lets developers categorise trailers as gameplay, cinematic, teaser or a combination, which helps visitors understand what they are about to watch.

That does not mean every trailer must be dry or instructional. It means the trailer should match the place where it will be viewed and the question the viewer is trying to answer.

The main game trailer types

1. Announcement or teaser trailer

An announcement trailer tells people that the game exists. It is usually released before the project is fully ready to explain every mechanic, system or story beat.

This is where a focused teaser can be useful. You can establish the tone, setting, art direction or central idea without pretending that an unfinished game is ready for a complete product tour.

In his guide to game trailer varieties and when to use them, trailer editor Derek Lieu describes announcement trailers as light on story and heavy on imagery and tone. That makes sense for an early reveal: the audience needs a memorable first impression, not a list of features that may still change.

Use an announcement trailer when:

• You are revealing the game for the first time.
• You have a strong visual or tonal identity but limited finished gameplay.
• You are building attention around a showcase, event or press announcement.
• You want to establish the language future marketing assets will use.

Do not use it as the only trailer on your store page if it leaves visitors unsure what they actually do in the game.

2. Gameplay trailer

A gameplay trailer shows the core experience. What does the player do? What does the game look like in motion? How does one action lead to another?

For most games, this is the most useful foundation for the campaign. It gives players a clearer idea of the experience and gives press and creators footage they can understand and potentially reuse.

A good gameplay trailer does not need to show every feature. It needs to show enough of the game’s main loop that the viewer can form an accurate expectation. If your game is about exploration, show exploration. If it is about building, show the building decisions. If it is about combat, show the rhythm, range and consequence of combat rather than a montage of unrelated attacks.

The gameplay trailer is often the strongest candidate for the first Steam trailer because it answers the most important store-page question: “What will I be doing if I play this?”

3. Release-date trailer

A release-date trailer exists to make the date memorable and give the audience a reason to pay attention now.

It does not need to be a full product explanation. If the game has already been introduced, the release-date trailer can use a short sequence, a clear message and a strong end card. The viewer should not have to wait until the final second to discover the information the video was built around.

This trailer works well alongside:

• A new demo or playtest.
• A creator or press outreach push.
• A store-page update.
• A festival or showcase appearance.
• The opening of pre-orders or another meaningful campaign action.

The mistake is treating the release date as decoration. If the date is the reason for the video, make it easy to remember and easy to repeat.

4. Launch trailer

The launch trailer is the final major invitation to buy or play the game. By this point, you should have a much clearer and more complete version of the product to show.

A launch trailer can bring together the game’s strongest playable moments, its clearest promise and, where appropriate, approved review or award quotes. It should still show the experience rather than relying entirely on claims about how good the game is.

Think of it as the trailer that answers the remaining hesitation. If a viewer has already seen the announcement and gameplay material, what do they still need to know before taking action?

Do not assume that a launch trailer can repair months of unclear positioning. It is a final campaign beat, not a substitute for introducing the game early and building a useful store page.

5. Story or cinematic trailer

A story trailer focuses on characters, conflict, setting and narrative stakes. A cinematic trailer may be useful when the game’s identity depends heavily on tone, worldbuilding or a dramatic reveal.

The limitation is obvious: story and cinematic footage can create interest without explaining how the game plays. That is fine when the trailer has a specific awareness or narrative job. It becomes a problem when it is the only clear representation of the product.

If you make a cinematic trailer, pair it with accessible gameplay footage somewhere in the campaign. Let one asset create curiosity and let another answer the practical questions.

6. Feature or systems trailer

A feature trailer concentrates on one part of the game: a combat system, building tool, character class, world, mode or major update.

This can be especially useful when a feature is difficult to explain in a store description. Instead of listing ten systems, show one of them working and explain why it changes the experience.

Feature trailers are also useful after launch, when a substantial update gives existing players a reason to return and gives new players a clear entry point.

7. Short-form supporting video

Shorts, TikToks, Reels and similar formats have different viewing conditions from a traditional game trailer. They are usually vertical, faster to consume and judged immediately in a scrolling feed.

In his 2026 video Marketing Your Game in 2026: Trailers or TikTok?, Derek Lieu argues that trailers and shorts have different jobs. A trailer is a polished, representative look at the game. A short may focus on one funny bug, a surprising feature, a developer perspective or a tightly framed moment that works in a feed.

That distinction matters. A raw trailer upload can feel like an advert in a short-form environment. A short can earn attention without being the best explanation of the whole game.

Treat short-form video as a supporting layer rather than a replacement for the main game trailer. It can send people to your Steam page, introduce a specific moment or give creators material to discuss. The trailer remains the clearest formal representation of the game for your store page, press kit and outreach.

Plan one trailer to support the rest of the campaign

A trailer should not live alone on YouTube.

Your video game press kit should make the current trailer easy to find, alongside useful screenshots, logos, facts and contact details. Include a high-quality version where possible, and label any additional gameplay footage so creators know what they can use.

For indie teams, keep a useful B-roll library available from the beginning. Capture clean gameplay clips, environmental shots, character moments and feature demonstrations that can be reused in trailers, press materials, social posts and showcase submissions. Label the footage clearly and keep high-quality versions outside the final edited trailer.

That becomes especially useful when you are working with showcases. They often want an exclusive angle, but that does not necessarily mean producing a completely new trailer for every event. An exclusive gameplay clip, a new reveal, a developer introduction, a first look at a feature or a different edit may give the showcase something distinctive without forcing a small team to rebuild its entire video campaign.

Plan reveals strategically. Decide which information belongs in the announcement, which feature can support a later showcase, and which footage should remain unreleased until it can create a meaningful campaign moment. Reusing footage is efficient; revealing everything at once is not.

I saw this work particularly well with The House of Tesla during the Convergence showcase. Instead of relying only on a trailer, we partnered with the content creator Aliensrock, who played the game for a few minutes during the showcase.

He then published a longer video on his channel after the event, creating evergreen content that worked as a first-entry point for people seeing the game for the first time. Aliensrock was describing his initial experience as he played, while the showcase also included a general trailer for the wider campaign.

When you contact a journalist or creator, give them a short explanation of why the game fits their audience and make the next step clear. My guide to video game PR strategies covers the wider outreach process; the trailer is one of the assets that helps the recipient decide whether to look closer.

The trailer should also fit the next campaign beat. If you are preparing for a festival, my Steam Next Fest preparation guide explains why the store page, demo, press kit and creator preparation need to work together rather than being assembled at the last minute.

A practical game trailer decision checklist

Before commissioning or editing the next video, answer these questions:

1. Who is this trailer for first? Players, press, creators, publishers or an event audience may need different information.
2. What should the viewer understand after watching? Write the answer in one sentence.
3. Where will the trailer appear? A Steam page, showcase, email and vertical feed have different expectations.
4. Does it show the actual experience? Make sure the footage supports the expectation you want to create.
5. Is there enough gameplay for someone else to use? Creators often need clear, high-quality footage rather than only cinematic moments.
6. What is the next action? Wishlist, play the demo, visit the store page, request a key or contact the team.
7. Can the trailer be cut into supporting assets? Plan useful clips, GIFs and short-form moments without damaging the main edit.

Final thought

The best game trailer is not automatically the most expensive, cinematic or technically polished one. It is the one that gives the right audience the right understanding at the right moment.

Make an announcement trailer when you need to establish the game. Make a gameplay trailer when people need to understand the experience. Use release-date and launch trailers when the campaign has a clear action to drive. Use short-form video to create additional paths into the campaign, not to avoid making a proper representation of the game.

Your trailer is a marketing asset, a store-page explanation, a press resource and often the raw material other people use to talk about your game. Plan it accordingly.