For many indie developers and small studios, social media is still one of the most important tools for visibility. Whether you want to share development progress, build a community, or promote your release, platforms like X, Threads, Bluesky and Mastodon can help you reach players and other developers.
However, the social media landscape has changed a lot in the last few years. New platforms appeared, communities moved around, and algorithms behave differently depending on where you post.
For developers, the big question is simple. Where should you spend your time?
In this article we look at four platforms that are currently relevant for developers. We compare their audiences, demographics and user distribution. Then we look at which platform works best depending on your goals.
Quick comparison: Which social media platform is best for game developers?
| Platform | Strength | Weakness | Best content |
|---|---|---|---|
| X | Strong developer community | Hard to grow followers | Short videos, funny clips |
| Threads | High reach and discoverability | Algorithm driven | Images and short videos |
| Bluesky | Tech and news focused audience | Smaller user base | Informational posts with images |
| Mastodon | Open, decentralized community | Slow growth | Dev discussions and devlogs |
X (formerly Twitter): The long time hub for developers
X started in 2006 as Twitter and quickly became one of the most important platforms for real time communication. For more than a decade it was the central hub for developers, journalists, game studios and tech communities.
Even today, many game developers still use X to share development progress, trailers, memes and industry discussions. While the platform has changed significantly in recent years, the game dev community is still quite active.
Global user distribution
X (Twitter) Top 10 Countries by Total Registered Users (2026)
| Rank | Country | Total Users (Millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 105.1 |
| 2 | Japan | 74.5 |
| 3 | Indonesia | 26.6 |
| 4 | Poland | 25.3 |
| 5 | India | 25.1 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | 23.3 |
| 7 | Germany | 22.4 |
| 8 | Turkey | 20.5 |
| 9 | Mexico | 17.6 |
| 10 | Saudi Arabia | 16.6 |
Table 1: The United States and Japan dominate the user base on X, showing how strongly the platform is rooted in North America and East Asia.
X(Twitter) Top 10 Countries by Monthly Active Users (MAU)
| Rank | Country | MAU Estimate (Millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 104.0 |
| 2 | Japan | 70.9 |
| 3 | Indonesia | 25.2 |
| 4 | India | 24.1 |
| 5 | United Kingdom | 22.9 |
| 6 | Germany | 21.6 |
| 7 | Turkey | 19.7 |
| 8 | Mexico | 16.9 |
| 9 | Brazil | 16.0 |
| 10 | Saudi Arabia | 15.7 |
Table 2: X Monthly activity closely mirrors the total user distribution, with the United States and Japan leading engagement.
Demographics
X (Twitter) Gender Distribution
| Gender | Share |
|---|---|
| Male | 65% |
| Female | 35% |
Table 3: X has a noticeable male majority, which is common across many tech and gaming communities.
X (Twitter) Age Distribution
| Age group | Share |
|---|---|
| 18 to 24 | 30% |
| 25 to 34 | 34% |
| 35 to 44 | 20% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.7% |
| 55 to 64 | 8% |
| 65+ | 6% |
Table 4: Most users fall into the 18 to 34 range, making the platform especially relevant for younger adult audiences.
Who should use X as a game developer
X is still one of the strongest places for developer communities. Many industry professionals, publishers and journalists are active here. It is also a place where discussions around game development happen in real time.
However, it is not always easy to grow a following from scratch.
Tips for promoting your game on X
From personal experience, videos work best on X. Short clips that show gameplay or funny moments often perform better than static images.
Some useful tips:
- Post short gameplay clips
- Funny or surprising moments perform well
- Engage with other developers regularly
- Reply to posts and participate in discussions
The community often feels close knit, which is great for networking but makes growth slower.
Threads: Meta’s fast growing conversation platform
Threads launched in 2023 as a platform by Meta and is closely connected to Instagram. The biggest advantage of Threads is that it can use the Instagram social graph, which helped it grow extremely fast.
Today the platform has hundreds of millions of users and is still expanding.
Global user distribution
Threads Top 10 Countries by Total Registered Users (2026)
| Rank | Country | Total Users (Millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taiwan | 94.86 |
| 2 | United States | 66.83 |
| 3 | India | 54.20 |
| 4 | Brazil | 36.40 |
| 5 | Japan | 31.64 |
| 6 | Mexico | 12.30 |
| 7 | United Kingdom | 6.50 |
| 8 | Canada | 2.60 |
| 9 | Australia | 1.40 |
| 10 | Vietnam | 0.90 |
Table 5: Threads has seen massive adoption in Asia and the Americas, with Taiwan, the United States and India leading downloads.
Threads Top 10 Countries by Monthly Active Users (MAU)
| Rank | Country | MAU Estimate (Millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 54.2 |
| 2 | Brazil | 36.4 |
| 3 | United States | 33.9 |
| 4 | Taiwan | 20.0 |
| 5 | Mexico | 16.0 |
| 6 | Vietnam | 15.0 |
| 7 | Japan | 14.0 |
| 8 | Germany | 12.0 |
| 9 | Philippines | 7.0 |
| 10 | United Kingdom | 5.3 |
Table 6: India and Brazil currently drive the largest share of active engagement on Threads.
Demographics
Threads Gender Distribution
| Gender | Share |
|---|---|
| Male | 63% |
| Female | 37% |
Table 7: Threads also shows a male majority, though the distribution is slightly more balanced compared to some other platforms.
Threads Age Distribution
| Age group | Share |
|---|---|
| 18 to 24 | 20% |
| 25 to 34 | 33% |
| 35 to 44 | 19% |
| 45 to 55 | 12% |
| 55 to 64 | 8% |
| 65+ | 6% |
Table 8: The platform attracts a broad adult audience, with strong representation across the 25 to 44 age groups.
Who should use Threads as a game developer
Threads is currently one of the easiest platforms to gain visibility on. Because the algorithm focuses heavily on discovery, new accounts can quickly reach a large audience.
Tips for promoting your game on Threads
Threads seems to want users to have a good experience when they start posting. When you begin using the platform, your posts may receive many views.
Use that moment.
- Post regularly during the first weeks
- Use images because the platform is connected to Instagram
- Short videos also perform well
- Reply to comments to increase reach
In my experience it is easier to gain followers here compared to most other platforms.
Bluesky: A growing platform for tech, news and developers
Bluesky started as an initiative related to Twitter but later became an independent social platform. Its goal is to create a more open and decentralized social network.
Since opening to the public it has grown steadily and now has tens of millions of users.
Global user distribution
Bluesky Top 10 Countries by Total Registered Users (2026)
| Rank | Country | Total Users (Millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 21.6 |
| 2 | Brazil | 4.7 |
| 3 | Japan | 3.7 |
| 4 | Canada | 3.3 |
| 5 | United Kingdom | 3.2 |
| 6 | Germany | 1.9 |
| 7 | France | 1.2 |
| 8 | Australia | 0.9 |
| 9 | India | 0.8 |
| 10 | Spain | 0.7 |
Table 9: Bluesky’s user base is heavily concentrated in the United States, which accounts for roughly half of all registered users.
Bluesky Top 10 Countries by Monthly Active Users (MAU)
| Rank | Country | MAU Estimate (Millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 3.20 |
| 2 | Japan | 1.30 |
| 3 | Brazil | 0.70 |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 0.61 |
| 5 | Canada | 0.45 |
| 6 | Germany | 0.42 |
| 7 | France | 0.35 |
| 8 | India | 0.25 |
| 9 | Australia | 0.22 |
| 10 | Netherlands | 0.18 |
Table 10: Daily activity is strongly centered in the United States and Japan, with smaller but active communities in Europe and Brazil.
Demographics
Bluesky Gender Distribution
| Gender | Share |
|---|---|
| Male | 62% |
| Female | 38% |
Table 11: Like most tech focused platforms, Bluesky currently has a higher share of male users.
Bluesky Age Distribution
| Age group | Share |
|---|---|
| 18 to 24 | 36% |
| 25 to 34 | 27% |
| 35 to 44 | 15% |
| 45 to 54 | 9% |
| 55 to 64 | 8% |
| 65+ | 5% |
Table 12: Bluesky has the youngest audience among the platforms compared here, with a large share of users under 34.
Who should use Bluesky as a game developer
Bluesky has a younger and tech focused audience. Many users are interested in news, discussions and information rather than pure entertainment.
Tips for promoting your game on Bluesky
Informational posts often perform well here. If you share development insights, engine experiments or technical challenges, people are more likely to engage.
One important detail is accessibility. On Bluesky, good alt text for images is important and appreciated by the community.
Useful tips:
- Share development insights
- Use images with descriptive alt text
- Post news and progress updates
- Engage in discussions
Mastodon: The decentralized social network
Mastodon is an open source social network that runs on a federation of independent servers. Instead of a single platform, thousands of servers are connected to each other.
The platform is especially popular in Europe and among tech communities.
Global user distribution
Mastodon Top 10 Countries by Total Registered Users (2026)
| Rank | Country | Total Users (Millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 4.05 |
| 2 | United States | 3.45 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 1.10 |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 0.95 |
| 5 | France | 0.85 |
| 6 | Japan | 0.80 |
| 7 | Canada | 0.75 |
| 8 | India | 0.55 |
| 9 | Malaysia | 0.45 |
| 10 | Brazil | 0.35 |
Table 13: Mastodon usage is strongly concentrated in Europe, especially in Germany and neighboring countries.
Mastodon Top 10 Countries by Monthly Active Users (MAU)
| Rank | Country | MAU Estimate (Millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 0.40 |
| 2 | United States | 0.34 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 0.12 |
| 4 | France | 0.09 |
| 5 | Japan | 0.08 |
| 6 | India | 0.06 |
| 7 | Netherlands | 0.06 |
| 8 | Malaysia | 0.05 |
| 9 | Canada | 0.05 |
| 10 | Brazil | 0.04 |
Table 14: Active users are distributed across several countries, though Germany clearly leads engagement.
Demographics
Mastodon Gender Distribution
| Gender | Share |
|---|---|
| Male | 66% |
| Female | 34% |
Table 15: The platform shows a similar gender distribution to other developer oriented networks.
Mastodon Age Distribution
| Age group | Share |
|---|---|
| 18 to 24 | 23% |
| 25 to 34 | 31% |
| 35 to 44 | 19% |
| 45 to 54 | 12% |
| 55 to 64 | 8% |
| 65+ | 5% |
Table 16: Mastodon’s audience is largely composed of users between 25 and 44 years old, which aligns well with many tech communities.
Who should use Mastodon as a game developer
Mastodon is more niche but the community can be very engaged. Many users are developers, open source enthusiasts and tech professionals.
Tips for promoting your game on Mastodon
Growth on Mastodon can be slower because the platform is fragmented across servers.
Some useful strategies:
- Choose a server with an active tech community
- Share development progress and devlogs
- Engage in discussions
- Interact with other developers
Personally I find it more difficult to gain followers here compared to other platforms.
My personal recommendations as a game developer
Every platform has its strengths and weaknesses.
From my personal experience:
X
Still great for developer communities. Videos work best, especially funny gameplay clips. However, gaining followers can be difficult.
Threads
Currently one of the easiest platforms for reach. When you start posting content, you often get a lot of views at first, but that tends to slow down later. Try to make the most of that initial momentum. Use images and videos and take advantage of the early visibility.
Bluesky
Great for sharing news, facts and development insights. Posts with images work well, but make sure to include good alt text.
Mastodon
More European and more niche. The community is friendly but growth can be slow.
In the end, the best strategy for many indie developers is simple. Try multiple platforms, see where your audience reacts, and focus on the one that works best for your game.
Read more on my blog: www.guardingpearsoftware.com!
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