Steam Launch Check (countdown, refunds, AI disclosure, retro)
/steam-launch-check
A GameSkill original for the weeks around a Steam release: a countdown to every review deadline with business days and holidays, a refund-window check on playtest finish times, an item-by-item AI disclosure draft that rejects vague wording, a retro calculator for numbers exported from Steamworks, and review triage by playtime, version, topic and Steam Deck. Bilingual report, no dependencies, data stays local.
- License
- MIT
- By
- By GameSkill
Tested by GameSkill
33/33 checks passed on Node 20 (no dependencies) + Chrome 156 headless for the report screenshot (2026-10-28): trigger, a runnable example, a screenshot and self-check, one job per skill, and English + Chinese docs. Trigger checks match prompts against skill descriptions; they are not a live agent run.
Test reportGameSkill's tested copy
Written and tested by GameSkill for gameskill.dev. The ZIP holds the whole skill: SKILL.md and its Chinese version, scripts, a runnable example, tests, the self-check list and our test report.
A GameSkill original, released under MIT. The ZIP keeps LICENSE and CREDITS.md, which lists the workflow inspiration, the CC0 test assets and the third-party libraries with their licenses.
Self-check
- 倒计时里的每个 Steam 截止日都还没过，或者已经说明最早可行发售日 / Every Steam deadline is ahead, or the earliest workable launch date was given
- 试玩通关中位数和 2 小时退款窗口比较过 / Playtest median finish time compared with the 2-hour refund window
- AI 披露逐项写了内容、数量、工具和人工处理，运行时生成的写了防护措施 / AI disclosure lists content, count, tool and human work per item, with guardrails for live content
- 复盘里的阈值标成参考值 / Retro thresholds presented as reference values
- 销售数据只在本地，没有转载评测原文 / Sales data kept local; no review text republished
- npm test 和 npm run test:cli 都通过 / npm test and npm run test:cli pass
Install
Tell your AI
Install the skill from https://gameskill.dev/skills/steam-launch-check/install.md
GameSkill's tested copy
mkdir -p .claude/skills
curl -fsSL https://gameskill.dev/dl/skills/steam-launch-check.zip -o /tmp/gameskill-steam-launch-check.zip
unzip -oq /tmp/gameskill-steam-launch-check.zip -d .claude/skills
rm /tmp/gameskill-steam-launch-check.zipWhat you get
- tools/launch-check.mjs: plan, refund, disclosure, retro, reviews and report commands
- Countdown to the app fee wait, tax check, store and build review (business days) and Coming Soon, with the earliest launch that still works
- AI disclosure draft in English and Chinese with a vague-wording linter and live-content guardrails
- Retro and review triage with likely causes, labelled as reference values
- Fictional Lantern Moth example, 9 Node tests and 10 CLI checks
Good fit
- Indie teams planning a first Steam release
- Short games at risk of refunds inside the 2-hour window
- Filling in the Content Survey AI section without being sent back
Not for
- Trailers, capsules and screenshots: see game-trailer-from-code
- Console certification and other stores: see ccgs-launch-checklist
Try this prompt
My game launches on Steam on 11 March 2027. When do I submit everything for review, and is my 50-minute game at risk of refunds?About this skill
A GameSkill original for the weeks around a Steam release. One dependency-free CLI turns a release date, playtest times, an AI-use list, numbers exported from Steamworks and the game's public reviews into a bilingual launch report, and exits with 1 when something needs action.
Agent steps
- Countdown: work back from the release date to the app fee wait, tax check, store review (7 business days before Coming Soon), Coming Soon (2 weeks) and build review (7 business days). If anything is late, give the earliest workable date instead of squeezing reviews.
- Refund window: compare the playtest median finish time with Steam's 2-hour window; flag short games before launch.
- AI disclosure: one item per use with exact content and count, tool, human work, and guardrails for live content; vague wording fails.
- Retro from day 14: refund rate on units sold before refunds, net vs gross, wishlist conversion, median playtime, with likely causes as reference values.
- Reviews: triage the user's own game by playtime, version, topic and Steam Deck; summarise, do not republish.
- Keep data local.
Common errors it fixes
- Counting calendar days when Steam's review windows are business days.
- Short games that players finish and refund inside 2 hours.
- A one-line "we used some AI" disclosure that gets the page sent back.
Credits
Review triage by version, topic, Deck and playtime is an idea from glitchless-gg/game-dev-skills (MIT); no code or text copied. Launch lessons from @kunchevsky's post and replies (link only, facts paraphrased). Steam rules from the Steamworks documentation and Steam Refunds page, checked 2026-10-28.
Requirements
- Node.js 20+
- Your own playtest times, Steamworks numbers and app ID (the example uses fictional data)
Topics
FAQ
Based on glitchless-gg/game-dev-skills (review triage idea) by glitchless-gg (MIT). Ideas only: GameSkill wrote the code and text; CREDITS.md in the ZIP lists every source. · Based on Steam launch post and replies (link only) by @kunchevsky (no licence, facts paraphrased, nothing copied). Ideas only: GameSkill wrote the code and text; CREDITS.md in the ZIP lists every source.
Works well with
Skills the author points to as related or as the better fit for neighbouring tasks.
Launch Checklist (Claude Code Game Studios)
Launch readiness across every department: code, content, store, marketing, community, infrastructure, legal, go/no-go sign-offs.
Game Trailer from Code (Steam trailer and store images)
A GameSkill original: turn your own running game into a 15-second Steam gameplay trailer and every store image with code. Frame-exact capture, a JSON cut list, zh/en captions and SRT, a soundtrack synced to game events, an H.264/AAC encode, and a checker for Steam's trailer rules, loudness, the 6-second microtrailer and the capsule sizes.
Similar skills
skills-gamedev (Skillary)
26 game development skills from the Skillary catalog: game design, level and narrative design, monetization, playtesting, Unity, Unreal, Blender, audio and engineering.
Playtest Report (Claude Code Game Studios)
Structured playtest report template, or turn existing playtest notes into structured feedback.
Universal Modder
Skills, tools and a fal MCP that let Claude Code mod PC games you own: recon, reverse engineering, generated assets, in-game testing.
Game Performance Optimization
Fix performance methodically: profile first, set a frame budget, find the CPU or GPU bottleneck, then pool, batch and cut allocations.