wishlist
/ˈwɪʃlɪst/
CommonA saved list of games on Steam or similar platforms you want to buy later, also used as a way to signal support for indie developers.
In the gaming context, wishlisting is both a purchase reminder and a way to boost a game's visibility before launch. Saying 'please wishlist' is a common ask from indie devs on social media.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | just wishlisted like 40 games during the Steam sale that I will never buy | The person added many games without intending to purchase them. | x, 2024 |
| 02 | if you like what you see, please wishlist the game, it genuinely helps small devs a lot | The developer is asking followers to wishlist as a concrete way to support them. | x, 2024 |
| 03 | we hit 10k wishlists today. for a first game, that's way more than we expected | The team reached a wishlist milestone they found significant. | reddit, 2023 |
| 04 | my wishlist is a graveyard of early access games I never went back to | Games added to the wishlist were forgotten or abandoned. | reddit, 2024 |
Use it when
- Asking someone to add your game to their Steam wishlist.
- Talking about games you want to buy but haven't yet.
- Discussing pre-launch interest in an upcoming game.
Do not use it when
- You mean actually buying the game.
Origin and context
The Steam wishlist feature was introduced in the late 2000s as a shopping utility. Its cultural significance for indie dev marketing grew as Steam's marketplace became more competitive.
- First seen
- late-2000s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/wishlistUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0