“Why isn't my Product Hunt launch getting featured?” : My Linkedin Dms are flooded

Lately, my DMs have been full of this question.

While I can’t say exactly what changed after Product Hunt’s Aug’25 update (since the featured criteria seem a bit mysterious now), here are a few patterns I’ve noticed:

1. Version updates: New versions or re-launches (like Product v2.0) often don’t get featured anymore.

2. No freemium or free trial : Launches without a free plan or trial seem to be struggling to get featured.

3. Hunter ≠ Featured : Having a well-known hunter doesn’t guarantee a feature. In fact, recently, the two seem almost mutually exclusive.

4. Look & feel: Launches that use the same template design or layout as others often get skipped.

Curious to hear your thoughts - have you noticed similar trends?