Why desktop launches need a store comparison
If you ship on Steam and Epic, you already share two store pages. You drop both links in Discord. You put them under a trailer. You post them on Reddit. Then launch week gets busy, and it is hard to tell which store page people actually opened. Steam and Epic can show wishlists and sales later. They do not show which Discord message, trailer line, or Reddit post sent someone there. That is the gap a campaign fills. A campaign is a friendly folder for related short links, plus a goal you can watch. For a desktop launch, the useful goal is Compare. You attach one Steam link and one Epic link. Then you see each store's share of visits in one place.What Steam vs Epic looks like as a campaign
Keep it simple. Make two short links that go to the same game, but to different stores:viso.li/steampoints at your Steam page.viso.li/epicpoints at your Epic page.
Why this helps a small studio
Checking Steam clicks on one page and Epic clicks on another is tiring. You add numbers in your head. You still wonder if Discord loved Steam more than Epic, or if the trailer did the opposite. A Compare campaign answers a kinder question: which store page got more visits from the links I shared? That helps you decide small, useful things:- Which store to put first in the next Discord post
- Which store to name in the trailer end card
- Whether Epic is worth another community post this week
A friendly setup for launch week
- Create one short link for Steam and one for Epic. Both can sell the same game.
- Open Campaigns and pick Channel test.
- Name it something clear, like "Launch week Steam vs Epic."
- Attach the two store links. For a fair test, keep one link per store.
- Share
viso.li/steamwherever you want Steam visits. Shareviso.li/epicwherever you want Epic visits.
What the campaign page shows you
After people click, the campaign page merges analytics for both links. You can still see visits, visitors, referrers, countries, and devices. The Compare goal adds a share bar so Steam and Epic are easy to read at a glance. A few honest notes:- A visit is someone opening the store page through your short link. It is not a wishlist, a checkout, or a sale.
- Unique visitors count different people. Total clicks count every visit, even repeats.
- Referrers can show Discord, YouTube, or Reddit when that data is available.
How Viso.li campaigns help desktop game teams
Viso.li is built to keep this simple. You group the two store links, set Compare, and read one dashboard.- One campaign for the launch. Steam and Epic sit together instead of living on two separate link pages.
- A share bar for stores. Compare shows each link's share of traffic, which is perfect for Steam vs Epic.
- Channel clues. Referrers and timing help you see whether the trailer, Discord, or Reddit moved first.
- Your store tools stay in charge. Keep Steamworks and the Epic developer portal for wishlists and sales. Use Viso.li for the shared links that sent people there.
A workflow you can reuse every update
- Make or reuse one short link per desktop store.
- Start a Channel test campaign and attach those links.
- Paste the matching short link in Discord, YouTube, Reddit, email, or a booth QR.
- After the first day, open the campaign page.
- Read the share bar, note which store led, and plan the next post.
