ClemmyGames and Best Indie Games under fire over $380 tweet and promo packages

• Social posts specifically mention ClemmyGames / Best Indie Games and a claim of $380 for a single tweet.
• The reporting places this in the broader context of how hard indie games are to discover on Steam, where SteamDB figures cited in the article show thousands of releases getting little to no attention.

What happened

Kotaku published an article accusing a YouTube channel of exploiting early-stage indie developers through costly advertising campaigns. In the context provided with the story, the channel is linked to ClemmyGames / Best Indie Games, though the exact identity of the criticized party is not fully confirmed in the material.

The reporting frames those allegations against the reality of indie game marketing. According to the article, visibility on Steam is uncertain: in 2026 there were said to be 18,933 games released, about 72 per day, while more than 2,600 titles had no reviews and more than 7,600 games had between 1 and 9 reviews. Only 978 of those releases reportedly had more than 500 reviews, of which 364 were tagged as indie.

In social posts included in the evidence, one example cites a Clemmy promotion offer that allegedly asked for $380 for one tweet. Another post from Indie Game Joe says he gives a fair breakdown of prices, dates, and experiences around paid ClemmyGames (Best Indie Games) packages, but that post does not independently verify the pricing claims.

Background

The core of the article is that indie developers often have little marketing experience, while visibility on platforms like Steam is difficult to buy or earn. Kotaku uses SteamDB-style figures to show how many releases get almost no attention, which helps explain why developers sometimes turn to publishers, creators, or influencers for promotion.

The social posts provided mainly show that the discussion centers on ClemmyGames / Best Indie Games and on whether paid promotion offers, including the alleged $380 for one tweet, are reasonable. The available material does not include independent documentation of contracts, invoices, or a formal response from the criticized party.

Sources

• Kotaku article about allegations around a YouTube channel and expensive ad campaigns
• X/Twitter post by @devoriahub from 17 September 2026
• X/Twitter post by @IndieGameJoe from 18 September 2026
• X/Twitter post by @TylerGlaiel from 20 July 2022