How to find playtesters for your Steam demo
There are five common ways to get people playing a demo before it ships. Most studios use more than one: free routes for quick reactions, and a structured test when a decision depends on the answer.
Updated October 25, 2026.
Five ways, and what each gives you
1. Friends, family and your own community
What you get: Free, fast, and the people already care about the game. Your Discord or mailing list is the best place to find players who'll come back to a second build.
What you don't: They know you, so they're kind, and they often aren't the players your game is for.
2. Playtesting communities
What you get: Free feedback from other developers and players: subreddits for playtesting and sharing games, itch.io's community boards, and game dev Discord servers.
What you don't: Who shows up is luck, most feedback is written after the fact, and few people record a whole session.
3. Steam Playtest
What you get: A free, separate app on your store page that players can request access to, so the build stays off your main page and you control how many get in.
What you don't: You recruit the players yourself and you see playtime, not what they did or said. Many who sign up never play.
4. Swapping tests with other developers
What you get: Thoughtful feedback from people who make games, in exchange for testing theirs.
What you don't: Developers play like developers, and it costs you the time to test their games back.
5. A paid playtest
What you get: Players chosen to match your audience, recordings of their screen and voice, the same survey every time, and a report you can compare between builds.
What you don't: It costs money, and a few players can't give exact numbers, so look for ranges on every percentage.
Whatever you choose
- Watch people play, or record them: what players do tells you more than what they write afterwards.
- Ask them to think out loud, and don't help. Where they get stuck is the finding.
- Test with players who play games like yours, not just anyone who's free.
- Ask the same questions every time, so you can compare one build with the next.
Where Indie Jury fits
Indie Jury runs paid playtests of Steam demos with US players matched on their Steam libraries. Each records their screen and voice while playing, then answers the same survey. Tests start at $49 for 3 players.
How players are matched and checked, a sample report and prices.