Do You Need a Gaming Marketing Agency for Reddit Ads? DIY vs Hire (2026)
You don't always need a gaming marketing agency for Reddit ads. If you have a Steam game, a clear test budget and time to make Reddit-native creative and answer comments, you can run Reddit ads yourself, and our step-by-step guide to advertising a Steam game on Reddit shows exactly how. Hire an agency when you can't track your results, when you want to scale past the first tests, or when you don't have time to do Reddit properly. A good Reddit-only agency saves you the expensive learning phase. A bad one burns the same budget with prettier reports.
When can you run Reddit ads for your game yourself?
DIY works well when most of these are true:
You have one clear destination, like a Steam page, and you're fine tracking it with UTM links and Steam's own numbers.
You can make creative that feels native to Reddit: honest gameplay, a joke that fits the community, or a self-aware headline.
You can reply to comments on your ads. Open comments are free feedback, but someone has to answer them.
You can afford to test properly. In our experience, spending under about $2,000 over 3 months rarely teaches you anything useful.
You're comfortable setting up the account yourself: profile, billing, ad credit, community targeting and campaigns.
If that's you, start with the step-by-step guide to advertising a Steam game on Reddit and the Reddit ads credit guide.
When should you hire a gaming marketing agency for Reddit ads?
You can't track results. Steam pages don't allow the Reddit Pixel, so you need someone who can run awareness campaigns, UTM links and engagement audiences, and read the results through wishlists. See how to track Reddit ads without the pixel.
You want to scale. Scaling too fast breaks things. When we pushed Reddit Max to 2.2x its budget for one ecommerce brand, revenue per day fell 29%. See the Reddit Max scaling case study.
You don't have time for creative and comments. Native creative and honest replies are the parts studios under-invest in, and they decide whether Reddit works.
A launch date is close. A launch window punishes slow learning, and an experienced setup skips the common mistakes. See Reddit ads for games: the mistakes game advertisers make.
What does a gaming-focused Reddit ads agency actually do?
Finds the right communities for your platform (PC, console or mobile), including smaller indie communities, and builds a targeting map
Sets up the account properly: brand profile, billing, ad credit, community targeting, automated targeting off and feed placement
Chooses the right objective for your tracking setup, usually awareness when your players land on Steam
Writes Reddit-native creative and headlines, and tests them in a structured way
Replies to comments on your ads in a human voice
Reports on wishlists, installs or sales, not only clicks and impressions
DIY vs agency: what's the difference?
DIY | Reddit ads agency | |
|---|---|---|
Cost | Ad spend plus your time | Ad spend plus the agency's fee |
Speed to launch | Slower, you learn as you go | Faster, the setup is repeatable |
Tracking a Steam page | You set up UTM links and watch wishlists | Set up and read for you |
Creative | You make and test it | Made and tested for you |
Comments | You reply | Handled for you |
Main risk | Wasted budget while you learn | Picking the wrong agency |
Best for | Small budgets and plenty of time | Launches, scaling and limited time |
How much does a gaming marketing agency for Reddit ads cost?
Agencies usually charge in one of three ways: a monthly management fee, a percentage of ad spend, or a one-time strategy project. Your ad spend goes to Reddit on top. More on ad spend in How much do Reddit ads cost?.
At Undecided Agency, you can start with a one-time Reddit Ads Game Plan ($599) that maps your communities, creative and setup, or have us run it with Done-For-You management from $2,000 a month. Either way, ad spend is paid to Reddit separately.
What should you ask before you hire a gaming marketing agency?
How will you track a Steam page, and which campaign objective will you use? (Awareness, not traffic, when results can't be tracked.)
Which communities would you target for my platform, and why?
Will you use feed placement and community targeting, with automated targeting off?
Who replies to comments on the ads, and in what tone?
Who owns the ad account and the data?
What will you report, and where does the data come from?
Our 12 questions to ask a Reddit ads agency goes deeper. And watch for the red flags in Reddit marketing agency vs Reddit ads agency, especially anyone who sells "reputation management" through fake or hidden accounts.
Gaming marketing agency for Reddit ads: FAQ
Do you need a gaming marketing agency for Reddit ads?
Not always. If you have time, a test budget and a Steam page, you can run Reddit ads yourself. An agency makes sense when tracking is hard, you want to scale, or you're short on time.
How much does a gaming marketing agency cost?
Agencies usually charge a monthly fee, a percentage of ad spend, or a one-time project, plus your ad spend. Ours are a $599 Game Plan and Done-For-You management from $2,000 a month.
Can you run Reddit ads for an indie game yourself?
Yes. Create a branded profile, set up your ads account, target communities for your platform, run an awareness campaign and use UTM links. Our step-by-step guide covers every step.
What's the difference between a gaming marketing agency and a Reddit ads agency?
A gaming marketing agency usually covers several channels, like influencers, Steam and social. A Reddit ads agency focuses on one platform and knows its targeting, creative and comment culture in depth.
How long until Reddit ads work for a game?
Give a new ad about 4 days before you judge it, and give a brand-new account about 3 months before deciding whether Reddit works for your game.
Get the full playbook
This post comes from my free eBook, How Reddit Ads Actually Works. It also covers targeting, creative, comments and measurement. Get it free, by email.
About the author
Written by Dāvis Lejnieks, CEO of Undecided Agency and a Redditor for 15+ years. He plans and runs Reddit ad campaigns for DTC, gaming and app brands, and shares what the data shows here.
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Undecided Agency is a Reddit ads agency for DTC, gaming and app brands. Want a plan for your product? Get a Reddit Ads Game Plan.
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