Steam became a better place for gamers and devs. Valve recaps recent changes and prepares more improvements

by

2024 was a stellar year on my gaming front, with Steam seeing a whole lot of upgrades and enhancements that made it even better as our go-to platform for digital games. (Valve Corporation shared the highlights later.)

As a dedicated Steam fan, I’m excited to share that Valve has broken down their latest update into three key aspects: enhancements for both players and creators, along with platform performance data. The recent findings have shed light on an impressive group of users who consistently set new Steam benchmarks, with this year seeing a staggering 40 million gaming accounts participating!

2024 stood out as a record-breaking year for new game releases, seeing a massive increase in revenue compared to 2014 – earnings tenfold higher. This surpassed the performance of previous years significantly. More than 500 games generated over a quarter of a million dollars within their first 30 days on Steam, marking a 27% rise from 2022’s numbers.

As a gamer, I’ve noticed that Valve takes into account the international aspect of their platform and the remarkable performance of games launched on it. For instance, they’ve recognized the achievement of a studio from Malaysia – a country whose gaming community contributes just 0.5% to global Steam traffic. That’s pretty impressive when you think about it!

Something for gamers…

Despite focusing mainly on outlining modifications, Valve’s post is essentially reminding users (regular, developers, and publishers alike), about the recent adjustments they’ve implemented – changes that benefit both players and creators. For example, tweaks to demo versions have not only rectified misleading “prologues,” but also made demos more noticeable and prominently featured on Steam.

Valve mentioned events such as the Steam Next Festival and themed sales, which can be either organized by individual publishers or centered around a specific game genre, as one of the reasons why an increasing number of developers are creating demo versions. For a long time, these demos appeared to be on the brink of disappearing, but they’re making a comeback now.

Steam users might find these enhancements appealing too: an upgraded shopping cart, private gaming options, modifications in the Workshop, Family feature, improved review filtering and game descriptions, and the ability to record games. Additionally, there are fresh features like segregating achievements from DLC and details about Early Access, a recently introduced pre-launch paid access allowing early access a few days before the global release.

…and something for devs for the next year

In addition to the previously mentioned updates, developers and publishers on Steam have been presented with several improvements as well. These include the ability to extend discount durations for game launches, advancements in Daily Deals functionality, and a freshly designed game card editor – all geared towards streamlining the development process. Furthermore, there are innovations regarding Virtual Reality gaming and compatibility with the Steam Deck, enhancing the overall user experience.

Valve additionally consulted a comprehensive guide containing answers to numerous anticipated queries, as well as modifications aimed at appealing to German audiences (after a law update that prohibited game distribution without an age rating).

Absolutely, those changes aren’t the final word. In Q1 of 2025, Valve rolled out several updates, such as prohibiting games from forcing ad-watching on players and disclosing whether a game in development is still undergoing active work. However, it’s important to note that some of these changes might pose challenges for active developers. Valve aims to maintain open communication with both gamers and developers, as their feedback has been instrumental in driving many significant enhancements to Steam over the past few years.

Read More

2025-03-15 03:03