Hi there! i've been a developer for a fair bit of time, but I've never really had a lot of luck with the marketing/publicity half of it.

Obviously the best method is probably to actually reach out to someone, but that's not really in the cards for me right now so I would like some advice.

If your game has indirectly gotten playthroughs on YouTube, what factors do you think contributed? Who played it and are they very open to playing smaller, less popular games? Really anything you know could help. I'm just trying to learn and apply so I can become not just a better developer, but a better advertiser.

 what factors do you think contributed?

Years ago, I've created Crime Buster and Contra : Locked 'n' Loaded and some youtubers play them. I believe this is because there weren't many youtubers that time and fan games could easily get noticed.

However, when I've decided to create original IPs, I had to ask youtubers who offer to play games for free in their channel. There were plenty of them a decade ago but recently it's so rare to find such youtubers.

Who played it and are they very open to playing smaller, less popular games?

For now, I'll have to wait for youtubers who ask for games to be played for their channel.

Answering from the other side, I run a small indie review channel (@NoTimeForReviews on YouTube). What gets a game played on mine: the dev emailed me directly, the game was close to something I'd already covered, and the message showed they'd actually watched a video. That's it. Press kits and store page polish matter less than people think at this size.

What doesn't work: posting in threads and waiting, or mass emails that open with "Dear creator". And for what it's worth, I'm building a tool that finds channels by what they already covered, because the finding is the part everyone gets stuck on. Not open yet, but it's called coverMyGame if you want to look it up.

To be honest, I’d love to know the answer to your question, but I’m not quite sure what to tell you.

In total, I’ve seen four or five streamers playing my game, and I haven’t the faintest idea how they discovered it...

On the other hand, I’ve contacted several content creators but haven’t received a reply, so I suppose it all comes down to how your game looks, whether it looks interesting, and pure chance that the right person stumbles across it...