Why Your Game's Name Matters More Than You Think
Your game's name is the very first impression people get. Before they see a screenshot, before they watch a trailer, before they read a single word of your description -- they see the name. It shows up in search results, store listings, social media feeds, Discord conversations, and recommendation lists. A good name is memorable, easy to search for, and gives people a hint of what they're getting into. A bad name gets scrolled past, confused with something else, or forgotten five seconds after someone reads it.
That said, don't let naming paralysis stop you from actually building your game. A mediocre name on a great game will always beat a perfect name on a game that never shipped. Hollow Knight didn't become a hit because of its name -- it became a hit because it was an incredible game, and the name was good enough to stick. So yes, the name matters. But it doesn't matter more than the game itself. Spend some real time on it, use the strategies below, and then move on and build the thing.
7 Naming Strategies That Work
1. Describe the Core Mechanic
Sometimes the simplest approach works best. Celeste is about climbing a mountain called Celeste. Spelunky is about spelunking through caves. Superhot is about a game where time only moves when you move -- and everything is super hot red. When your name tells people what they'll be doing, there's zero guesswork involved. This works especially well for games with a single, strong core mechanic.
2. Use a Strong Single Word
Hades. Limbo. Journey. Braid. Inside. Fez. One word, loaded with meaning. Single-word names are easy to remember, easy to type, and easy to say in conversation. The trick is picking a word that's evocative enough to carry the weight on its own. "Journey" immediately conjures a sense of travel and discovery. "Limbo" suggests something uncertain and eerie. If you can find a single word that captures your game's essence, you've struck gold.
3. Combine Two Unexpected Words
Hollow Knight. Dead Cells. Stardew Valley. Slay the Spire. Shovel Knight. Take two words that don't normally go together and smash them into something new. "Hollow" and "Knight" are both ordinary words, but together they create something intriguing -- what does a hollow knight look like? Why is it hollow? This strategy works because the unexpected combination makes people curious. It sticks in the brain because it doesn't quite fit a pattern they've seen before.
4. Use the Protagonist's Name
Celeste (the mountain, but also the character Madeline's journey). Ori and the Blind Forest. Shovel Knight. Cuphead. If your game revolves around a single iconic character, naming the game after them can work. This approach ties the game's identity directly to the character, which is great for building a recognizable brand -- but it only works if the character is memorable enough to carry the title. Nobody names their game after a generic soldier.
5. Hint at the Mood or Theme
Dark Souls. Limbo. Inside. Dead Space. The name doesn't describe what you do -- it describes how the game feels. "Dark Souls" tells you this is going to be bleak and punishing before you've pressed a single button. "Inside" is unsettling and claustrophobic, which is exactly what the game delivers. If your game has a strong atmosphere, lean into it with the name. Let people feel something before they even click.
6. Make Up a Word
Terraria. Factorio. Noita. Balatro. Celeste (yes, it's a real word, but most people encounter it as a game name first). Invented words are impossible to confuse with anything else. When someone searches "Factorio," every result is about your game. No competition, no ambiguity. The downside is that a made-up word has no built-in meaning, so you're relying entirely on marketing and word of mouth to give it context. But once it catches on, it's uniquely yours.
7. Keep It Short
One to three words is the sweet spot. Look at the most successful indie games of the last decade: Hades, Celeste, Hollow Knight, Stardew Valley, Undertale, Cuphead, Disco Elysium. Almost all of them are two words or fewer. Short names are easier to remember, easier to type into a search bar, and they don't get truncated in store listings or social media previews. If your working title is more than three words, see if you can trim it down.
Common Naming Mistakes
- Too generic. Don't name your RPG "Epic Quest" or your platformer "Jump World." These names say nothing and are impossible to search for. There are probably already twelve games with these names on itch.io.
- Too long. "The Chronicles of the Dark Kingdom: Rise of the Fallen" might sound epic in your head, but nobody is going to type that into a search bar, tell their friends about it, or even remember it tomorrow. Trim it down ruthlessly.
- Too similar to an existing game. Before you commit to anything, Google it. Search it on Steam. Search it on itch.io. If there's already a game called "Shadowborn," don't name your game "Shadow Born" or "Shadowborne." You'll lose traffic to the other game and confuse everyone.
- Hard to spell or pronounce. If people can't spell your game's name after hearing it once, they can't search for it. If they can't pronounce it, they can't recommend it to their friends in conversation. Say it out loud. Spell it from memory. If either one trips you up, it'll trip up your players too.
- Special characters or numbers. Names like "DR4G0N$LAYER" or "Realm~of~Chaos" are a nightmare for search engines and a pain to type. Stick to normal letters. Your name should be something people can text to a friend without hunting for symbols on their keyboard.
The Practical Checklist
Before you commit to a name, run through this list. It takes ten minutes and can save you from discovering a problem six months into development.
- Google it. Search the name in quotes. Are there any existing games, companies, or products with this name? Any potential trademark conflicts? If a major product already owns this name, move on.
- Search Steam and itch.io. These are the two biggest platforms for indie games. If there's already a game with your exact name listed on either one, you need a different name. Even a similar name can cause confusion and split your search traffic.
- Check domain availability. Even if you don't plan to buy a website right now, check if the .com is available. If it is, consider grabbing it. If it's taken by a cybersquatter wanting $5,000 for it, that's a sign the name might cause problems down the road.
- Say it out loud. Does it sound good? Can you naturally say "hey, you should check out [name]" without it feeling awkward? If the name is clunky to say in conversation, people are less likely to recommend it by word of mouth.
- Ask 3 people what they think the game is about. Give them just the name -- no screenshots, no description, nothing else. What do they imagine? If their guesses are wildly off from what your game actually is, the name might be sending the wrong signal. You don't need a perfect match, but you want people in the right ballpark.
When You're Stuck: Generate Ideas
Sometimes you just need a spark. You've been staring at a blank page for an hour, every name you think of sounds terrible, and you're starting to wonder if your game even needs a name at all. (It does.) This is where random word combinations, thesaurus browsing, and name generators come in handy. They're not going to hand you the perfect name, but they'll break the mental block and get ideas flowing again.
We built Name Generator with 8 categories and multiple language flavors -- it's great for brainstorming character names, place names, and game titles when you're stuck. Beyond generators, try combining a noun from your game's theme with an adjective that captures the mood. If your game is about exploring frozen ruins, smash together words like "frost," "shard," "silence," "ember," "drift." Or look to other languages -- the Finnish word for fire is "tuli," the Japanese word for shadow is "kage." Foreign words can give you something unique that still carries real meaning. Keep a running list in a text file. Most of the names on it will be bad, and that's fine. You only need one good one.
Don't Let the Name Stop You
Plenty of successful games shipped with working titles that stuck. Minecraft was originally called "Cave Game." PUBG's full name is "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," which breaks almost every rule in this article, and it still became one of the biggest games ever made. If you genuinely can't decide on a name, use a placeholder and keep building. Call it "Project Frost" or "Untitled Roguelike" and move on. The name will come -- usually when you least expect it, in the shower or at 2am or while you're playtesting something completely unrelated. A finished game with an okay name will always beat an unfinished game with a perfect name. Ship the game first. You can rebrand later if you really need to.