Generating Global Buzz for Early Access Success

Channel37, a Finnish indie studio founded by former Ubisoft RedLynx veterans, set sail with The Last Caretaker, an open-world survival game with seafaring elements. The challenge? It was their first title, entering an overcrowded genre where standing out takes more than a compass and a dream.

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UberStrategist was brought on to announce both the studio and the game, with a long-term goal of building buzz for a successful Steam Early Access launch. Over a 10-month campaign, our mission was to earn visibility, drive wishlists, and help the new studio chart a strong course from day one.

We built a PR plan around high-visibility earned and paid media to highlight The Last Caretaker's unique survival elements. Anchoring our timeline to key industry events, we secured showcase placements starting from the reveal and subsequent new gameplay and information drops.

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During the summer event season, we placed the game in multiple showcases within a short period to amplify buzz and boost Steam wishlist activity. Each beat was supported by targeted media outreach, ensuring consistent messaging and broad visibility despite time zone challenges with the client and partners.

We secured showcase appearances at IGN Fan Fest, The MIX Spring Game Showcase, PC Gaming Show, The MIX Summer Game Showcase, and IGN Live. For PC Gamer, we arranged homepage banner ads and a full-page print feature.

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Coverage highlights included IGN, GamesRadar+, PC Gamer, 3DJuegos, Eurogamer, Kotaku, Rock Paper Shotgun, Gematsu, and more, along with exclusives for IGN, GameSpot, Indie Game Business, and the Epic Games Blog. The campaign generated strong global buzz ahead of the title’s Early Access launch, landing the game on multiple “top upcoming games” lists, driving wishlist growth, and firmly positioning The Last Caretaker for a successful launch.