7-Day Wishlist Page Truth Audit Challenge - Steam Store Copy vs Demo Parity (2026)

Your trailer shows co-op. Your demo is single-player. Your short description says “full game.” Your build ends after forty minutes. Players wishlist, play the fest demo, and remove the wishlist—not because the game is bad, because the page lied.

October 2026 Next Fest rewards visit-to-wishlist conversion only when trust survives the demo. This Challenges & Sprints piece is a seven-day, one-gate-per-weekday audit that aligns store copy, capsule, trailer, and demo labels—without touching price anchors or cert folders until truth is fixed.

Who this is for

• 1–3 person teams with a live Steam page and an upcoming or live festival demo
• Studios that already ran capsule iteration but never audited words vs build
• Anyone who lost wishlists after a “harmless” trailer edit

Time: ~45–60 minutes per weekday for seven days (~6 hours total).

Why this matters now (May 2026)

1. Fest demo density — More prototypes compete; players forgive rough edges, not mislabeled scope.
2. Discovery refresh — Store surfaces weigh coherent capsule + trailer + screenshot + copy as one signal.
3. Post-rationalized stacks — One-engine teams ship fewer SKUs; each page must convert honestly.

Direct answer (TL;DR)

Do not change base price or DLC anchors during this week—pair with price-anchor worksheet after truth audit.

Before you start — readiness checklist

Confirm these before Monday 9:00:

• [ ] Steamworks admin access for whoever owns copy
• [ ] Demo build uploaded and launchable without dev cheats
• [ ] Trailer source project or final MP4 on disk
• [ ] release-evidence/marketing-and-demo/ folder created
• [ ] Calendar holds 45–60 minutes per weekday blocked
• [ ] Price changes and sales deferred one week
• [ ] Team agreement: arguments reference inventory rows, not vibes

Skipping readiness turns day three into a trailer export panic—not an audit.

Rules of the challenge

1. One owner signs off each gate (founder or marketing lead).
2. Build hash frozen all week unless a gate exposes a blocking lie.
3. No new features—copy and labels only.
4. Log proof in release-evidence/marketing-and-demo/truth-audit-2026-<date>/.
5. Add Block 4 note to operating review.

Day 1 (Monday) — Short description truth

Goal: Every bullet is verifiable in the demo or clearly labeled “planned.”

Steps:

1. Export current short description to short-description-before.md.
2. List each bullet as a row: Claim | Demo proof? | Fix
3. Ban weasel words without anchors: “massive,” “ endless,” “full RPG” unless true.
4. Add one line: Demo scope: “Festival build = Acts 1–2, ~40 minutes.”

Pass criteria: Zero rows marked “lie” or “unlabeled plan.”

Pairs with: Demo is not a vertical slice.

Day 2 (Tuesday) — Long description and feature list

Goal: Feature bullets match shipping modules, not pitch deck dreams.

Steps:

1. Highlight features in long description.
2. Map each to release-evidence/build-and-binary/<tag>/feature-matrix.md.
3. Move unbuilt features to “Planned post-launch” section with no implied date unless locked.
4. Remove duplicate bullets that repeat short description verbatim.

Pass criteria: Partner reading long description alone cannot infer co-op exists unless demo supports it.

Day 3 (Wednesday) — Trailer frame audit

Goal: No frame shows systems absent from demo.

Steps:

1. Scrub trailer at 0.25x speed; screenshot suspicious frames.
2. Table: Timestamp | Shows | In demo? | Action
3. Actions: re-cut, blur, add on-screen “PLANNED” label, or remove segment.
4. Save frames to marketing-and-demo/.../trailer-audit/.

Pass criteria: Every combat/UI/social frame has demo proof or on-screen disclaimer.

Day 4 (Thursday) — Screenshot captions and alt text

Goal: Static images do not outsell the build.

Steps:

1. Open each screenshot in store set; write alt text as facts, not hype.
2. Check UI language, HUD elements, and content locks visible in shot.
3. Replace “final art” shots if lighting pass changed—old shots are lies.
4. Cross-check color script discipline if visuals shifted.

Pass criteria: Alt text readable blind; no feature named that demo lacks.

Day 5 (Friday) — Demo label and build scope

Goal: Demo metadata matches honest labeling.

Steps:

1. Set store demo type to Prototype or Preview unless vertical slice gates pass.
2. In-demo splash: “Festival build — content through Floor 6.”
3. Run demo depot parity pass if separate depot.
4. Record build ID in evidence README.

Pass criteria: A stranger knows end-of-demo is intentional, not a crash.

Day 6 (Saturday) — Capsule secondary and community hub

Goal: Capsule micro-copy does not contradict short description.

Steps:

1. Compare capsule art text overlays to Monday bullets.
2. Update Community Hub default announcement template to match scope line.
3. Pin one truth post explaining demo limits (friendly tone).
4. Do not run capsule A/B same week—see capsule calendar.

Pass criteria: Hub pin and short description use identical scope sentence.

Day 7 (Sunday) — Evidence pack and retrospective

Goal: Future you—and partners—can prove the audit happened.

Steps:

1. Zip truth-audit-2026-<date>/ with README bullet map.
2. Run 30-minute operating review Block 4: “Wishlist truth — green.”
3. Note baseline wishlist add rate if analytics available.
4. Schedule 30-day re-audit before fest export freeze.

Pairs with: release-evidence taxonomy.

Claim inventory template (copy)

# Wishlist truth inventory - <game> - <date>

| # | Surface | Claim text | Demo proof path | Status |
|---|---------|------------|-----------------|--------|
| 1 | Short desc bullet 1 | ... | qa-and-repro/... | OK / FIX |
| 2 | Trailer 0:34 | Co-op UI | none | FIX - re-cut |

What not to do this week

Synthesized outcomes (forum patterns, not promises)

Teams that run truth audits before fest commonly report:

• Lower refund intent in demo comments (players self-select)
• Fewer “false advertising” flags
• More stable visit-to-wishlist after day seven vs day one spikes from hype

Your numbers will differ—track your row in the inventory.

Pairing with sibling challenges

Genre addenda (quick)

Roguelite: State run length cap and meta progression scope in bullet one.
Narrative: Label chapter/demo endpoint; no “full story” if chapter one only.
Co-op: If not in demo, remove co-op iconography from capsule.
Early Access: Separate “EA today” from “1.0 vision” sections.

AI-generated copy warning

If bullets were LLM-drafted, run human-gated verification and AI disclosure checklist before fest—not because law always requires it, because models invent features.

Plateau diagnostics after the challenge

If wishlists stay flat post-audit, switch to post-Next-Fest plateau playbook—truth was necessary, not sufficient.

Hour-by-hour Monday starter (first gate deep dive)

If Monday feels abstract, use this 90-minute script:

0:00–0:15 — Screenshot the live short description into evidence folder.
0:15–0:35 — Write claims in a spreadsheet; one row per clause.
0:35–0:55 — Launch demo; tick proof column with timestamp notes (0:12 co-op menu absent).
0:55–1:10 — Rewrite bullets; remove or label each failure.
1:10–1:30 — Peer read by someone who did not write copy; they circle one confusing line.

Repeat the peer-read pattern on Wednesday (trailer) and Friday (demo splash)—fresh eyes catch lies authors defend.

Tuesday long-description patterns that fail

Wednesday trailer legal-adjacent notes

You are not lawyers—but material connection honesty matters when:

• Trailer uses purchased asset store music not in game
• Stock footage appears as “gameplay”
• Pre-rendered cinematic has no in-engine equivalent

Label cinematic segments or cut them. Store in evidence folder with license PDF paths.

Thursday screenshot technical checklist

• HUD scale matches demo resolution players use
• Debug overlays disabled
• Achievement popups not faked in capture tool
• Photo mode filters disabled unless demo includes them
• Controller glyphs match demo input scheme

Mismatch here causes “fake screenshot” reports even when art is real.

Friday demo UX microcopy examples

Bad splash: “Welcome to the full experience.”
Good splash: “Next Fest prototype — floors 1–6, saves disabled.”

Bad end card: “Wishlist for the complete game!”
Good end card: “Wishlist to follow development — demo ends here by design.”

Copy-paste templates into marketing-and-demo/ as splash-copy-v1.txt.

Saturday community hub script

Pin post template:

Demo scope for this festival
This build includes [X hours / Y content]. It does not include [co-op / chapter 3 / etc.]. We are labeling it a prototype so expectations stay fair. Questions welcome.

Pin duration: through fest week minimum.

Sunday metrics that matter

Do not optimize demo completion by extending scope mid-challenge—that cheats the audit.

Remote QA async pass (optional day 7 add-on)

Send three strangers the inventory table without the game first—ask which rows sound impossible. Then send demo keys. Mismatch rows are your highest-risk lies.

Pairs with screenshot-first bug intake logistics.

Regional and language surfaces

If regional pricing pages list features, duplicate truth inventory per locale—or keep English master and note “translations lag one week” in hub pin.

Privacy and telemetry honesty

If the page says “no analytics” but PostHog pipeline exists, fix policy text or remove claim. Link privacy templates in evidence folder.

Stack-rationalization teams

When you collapsed to one storefront, old itch copy may still say “full game.” Run inventory on every public URL, not Steam alone.

Fest calendar alignment

See festival application calendar for submission vs fest distinction.

Operating review integration (full Block 4 script)

## 4. Marketing and community (7 min) - Truth audit week
- Short desc gate: PASS / FAIL
- Trailer gate: PASS / FAIL
- Demo label gate: PASS / FAIL
- Evidence tag: truth-audit-2026-05-16
- Wishlist rate WoW: <number or unknown>

When to abort the challenge mid-week

Abort and fix build if:

• Demo crashes before scope line
• Co-op appears in trailer but networking does not compile
• Save corruption makes “40 minute demo” unreachable

Resume copy audit after engineering hotfix with new build ID in evidence README.

Post-challenge maintenance cadence

Seven mistakes from 2026 forums

1. Treating “vertical slice” as marketing synonym for “demo”
2. Letting composer sell features with score-only trailer
3. Changing only English while CN page over-promises
4. Ignoring Steam review quotes on old builds
5. Running capsule A/B same week as truth fix
6. Deleting negative demo comments instead of fixing page
7. Skipping evidence folder—re-litigating lies next fest

Decision tree

Festival demo in next 60 days?
  no → Schedule challenge anyway before announcing demo
  yes → Start Monday
        ↓
Any inventory row = FIX?
  yes → Fix before price tests or trailer UA spend
  no → Log PASS tag; schedule 30-day recheck

Key takeaways

1. Seven days, seven gates—one surface per weekday.
2. Fix words and labels before price tests.
3. Trailer timestamps need the same honesty as bullets.
4. Demo scope sentence must appear in short desc and hub pin.
5. Proof lives in release-evidence/marketing-and-demo/.
6. Freeze build hash; no feature creep.
7. Do not discount during audit week.
8. Re-audit 30 days before fest export freeze.
9. Pair with evidence taxonomy and operating review.
10. Trust converts better than hype for 2026 fest density.
11. Readiness checklist prevents Monday chaos.
12. Press kits and influencer keys share one scope sentence.
13. Re-run Monday gate after every major patch before patch notes ship.

Sample scope sentences (adapt)

• “Festival prototype: single-player, floors 1–8, no meta progression.”
• “Preview build: two-hour narrative slice, English VO only.”
• “Combat demo: three biomes, local play only, saves disabled.”

Pick one sentence; paste everywhere—short desc, hub pin, splash, press SCOPE.txt. If a sentence needs a footnote to stay true, it is still too long—shorten until it stands alone.

Solo founder variant (evenings only)

Skip optional remote QA if solo—replace with past-player DM asking “what did you expect from the page?”

Pairing with vertical-slice demo challenge

If you still need demo quality gates, run 7-day vertical slice demo challenge in a different calendar week. Truth audit week assumes the build exists; vertical slice week assumes scope is locked. Order: truth on words first, then quality on build—or quality first if crashes undermine every claim.

Steam tag drift recovery

If a patch changed gameplay but tags still say “Roguelike” while demo plays like “Walking sim,” add a tag audit row on Tuesday. Full recovery sprint lives in steam tag drift 7-day recovery—run after this truth week, not during.

Publisher and milestone evidence

Publishers asking “is marketing aligned with build?” export Sunday zip into milestone packet per milestone payment checklists. The inventory table is diligence gold.

Ninety-minute team kickoff (all-hands)

Everyone leaves with the same scope sentence—prevents art and engineering from rewriting store copy privately.

Copy diff discipline

Store each day’s export as short-description-dayN.md in git. diff day1 day7 becomes proof for partners. Never edit live store without saving “before” file—rollback saves fest week.

Wishlist psychology (plain language)

Players wishlist when they believe future you will deliver today’s promise. Over-promising trades tomorrow’s trust for today’s click. The challenge optimizes sustainable wishlists, not spike-and-crash curves influencers celebrate.

Accessibility and truth

If copy claims “full remapping” but demo lacks rebinding, that is a truth failure and an accessibility failure. Tag those rows high severity in inventory.

Co-marketing and press kits

Press PDFs outside Steam must use the same scope sentence. Journalists quote press kits; inconsistent kits become “scam” threads faster than store pages.

Curator and influencer keys

Include SCOPE.txt in key emails: three bullets max, matching short description. Reduces “creator backlash” videos.

Post-fest retention hook

After fest, run one Monday gate again before first major patch notes—players compare notes to new strings.

Extended FAQ

We have no demo yet.
Run days 1–4 and 6; defer day 5 until demo exists.

Can two people split days?
Yes—single owner still signs each gate.

Our page is already honest.
Run the inventory anyway; trailers drift silently.

Will this hurt wishlist spikes from hype?
Short-term maybe; fest retention improves.

Mobile page too?
Repeat inventory rows for Play/App Store if live.

How does this relate to conversion tools listicle?
Use top 18 auditing tools after truth fixes—tools measure, they do not moralize.

We already run 21-day devlogs.
Start devlogs after truth week so posts do not defend old lies.

Can we hire a copywriter mid-challenge?
Yes—they implement inventory fixes, not invent new claims without proof rows.

Does this cover Epic/GOG pages?
Duplicate inventory rows per store; one master scope sentence.

What about NFT or Web3 language?
If present, each claim needs demo or legal review row—high risk surface.

Our demo is PC-only but page mentions Deck Verified.
Either remove Deck claim or add “verification in progress” with date.

We use generative capsule art.
Disclose in long description; link AI disclosure checklist.

Close: Lucky wishlists come from honest pages. Seven days of boring audits beat one October week of angry demo players. Run the challenge in May or June so August is for polish—not panic edits to bullets you should have fixed already.