Game key distribution for indie games: the routes and what each costs

Steam will give a released or upcoming game up to 2,500 keys meant for "small beta tests and press/influencer access", according to Steamworks' key documentation. Getting keys is the easy part. Deciding which creators get one, and keeping them out of the hands of people who only want to resell them, is where studios spend their time.

We run one of the routes below, so weigh that. Every outside fact links to the page that states it, and prices are as of October 18, 2026.

The direct answer

Game key distribution means handing free copies to creators and curators in the hope that they cover the game. Indie studios use four routes, and most combine two:

1. Steam Curator Connect. Free, built into Steamworks, reaches Steam curators only. A curator is not obligated to accept, play, or review the game.
2. A key request marketplace. Keymailer, Gamosy, and Lurkit list your game, creators request a key, and you approve who gets one. Basic key campaigns are free or freemium on all three; paid tiers add targeting, outreach, and monitoring.
3. Direct email. A spreadsheet of creators who cover your genre and a personal note to each. No tooling cost, the most hours.
4. A key only campaign on Bounty Board. A $29 listing fee per campaign, no subscription. Creators apply, you approve, and keys are delivered automatically to the creator's campaign chat when their application is approved.

In none of these can you require coverage in exchange for a free key without paying for it. If the video has to exist by a date, that is paid creator work, and a key can ride along with it.

What Steam allows

Steam's rules shape every route, so read them before you pick one. From the Steamworks key page:

• Keys for press and creators are Release State Override keys, "generally limited to 2,500 total". More are reviewed case by case, with no guarantee.
• "It is never OK to sell Release-State Override keys."
• Free giveaways to the public need Steam customers to get the same offer, unless the giveaway is under 100 keys. Larger ones go through Steam support first.
• Valve says it receives "many reports of fraudsters impersonating journalists or storefronts to acquire keys."

Two more rules apply whatever tool you use. Creators must clearly disclose free product, including game keys, in the content itself, per the FTC's endorsement guidance. And a key can never be traded for a store review: review solicitation in exchange for money, keys, or rewards violates store policies, and it is prohibited on Bounty Board. Our disclosure guide covers the wording creators use.

The tools, side by side

Steam Curator Connect sends preview copies to curators you filter by game tags, language, and platform (Steamworks: Curators). It costs nothing. It reaches curators, not YouTubers or streamers, unless they also run a curator page.

Keymailer is the longest running key request marketplace. Creators connect channels, Keymailer verifies them, and studios answer requests. Its publisher portal has been rebranded to Partnier, and third party reviews disagree on paid tier prices, so check before you budget. Our Keymailer comparison goes through its terms line by line.

Gamosy is the newest entrant. Its pricing page offers "KeyVault key campaigns to verified creators" on a free plan, with Gamosy PRO at $49 a month per game or $490 a year, and 60 days of PRO free for new studios with no card. Its own Keymailer alternatives article says creators verify through YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok login, keys are imported encrypted and "revealed only to the approved creator", and creators submit their published video or stream to the campaign. Gamosy wrote that article about itself, so treat it as the vendor's description.

Lurkit runs key campaigns filtered by country, language, platform, and follower thresholds. Creators get 30 days after opening a Key Kit to publish and submit content, and repeated misses lower their completion rate. That is the closest any free key route gets to expecting coverage. Paid tiers are quoted rather than published (Lurkit pricing). More in our Lurkit comparison.

Woovit used to belong in this table. It shut down in December 2024; our Woovit alternatives post covers what replaced it.

How a key only campaign works here

A key only campaign is a listing with a brief, an end date, and a pool of keys. The mechanics, from posting to delivery:

• You paste the keys when you publish. Up to 10 keys per creator (a base game plus DLC, for example), and the pool has to split evenly across creators. Keys are stored encrypted.
• You pay the $29 listing fee once, at publish. A campaign that pays no cash holds no other money, and the fee is not refunded.
• Creators apply and you approve each one. Creators do not need a Stripe account to join a key only campaign. You see each applicant's profile before you decide.
• Approval delivers the keys. Keys are delivered automatically to the creator's campaign chat when their application is approved. Bounty Board records delivery only; it does not track whether a key is redeemed in a store.
• Coverage stays optional. The brief can say what you hope for, but nobody owes you a video for a free key.
• The pool sets the limit. When the remaining keys cannot cover one more creator, the campaign stops taking new applications. You can add more keys in the same batch size.

Bounty Board had 700 creator profiles as of October 18, 2026, which is small next to the networks the marketplaces report. A free tier on a large network reaches more creators. What a key only campaign adds is the next step: when a creator's coverage works, you can hire that creator for paid work in the same place.

Choosing who gets a key

Volume is not the goal. The creators who make something worth watching are the ones who already cover games like yours. Before approving anyone, on any platform:

• Open their last ten uploads or streams. Count how many are your genre, and whether they finish games or only show first impressions.
• Match the email to the channel. A request from a free mail address that claims a large channel is the impersonation Valve warns about; ask them to confirm from the channel's listed contact.
• Read Steam's own advice in Curator Connect guidance: tag overlap and language matter more than audience size.
• Send in waves. Twenty keys to well matched creators, then wait two weeks, tells you more than two hundred at once.

Our guide to finding and hiring gaming creators covers the vetting in more depth.

When a free key is not enough

A free key buys a chance at coverage. If you need a trailer reaction before your Steam Next Fest demo goes live, or a stream on launch day, a key alone will not get it.

That is when you pay. A cash campaign states the task, the deadline, and the price, funds the budget up front, and pays each creator when you approve their work. Bounty Board charges a standard 10% platform fee on each side of completed work, and cash campaigns have no listing fee. Keys can ride along on a cash campaign too, delivered on approval the same way.

Most studios run it in that order: keys first to find out who responds, then a paid brief for the creators whose work landed. To compare the two models before choosing, read key distribution versus paid campaigns, outreach, and managed work, and what it costs to hire gaming creators for typical prices.

Sources

• Steamworks: Steam keys
• Steamworks: Curators and Curator Connect
• Keymailer: pricing (Partnier)
• Gamosy: pricing
• Gamosy: Keymailer alternatives in 2026
• Lurkit: key campaigns
• Lurkit: pricing
• Lurkit support: how to submit content
• FTC: Disclosures 101 for social media influencers