LogInThe team explained how titles get visibility.
Last week we learned that the majority of games on Steam never get $1,000 in sales. Moreover, some projects out there don't receive much attention from users and get buried in more popular releases. On the other hand, there are titles like Dave the Diver – unexpected gems that sell millions of copies. But how do they do it?
In a new Steam Visibility talk, Valve explained how Steam leads you to games you might find interesting, saying the company itself is "surprised all the time by the games that are hugely successful."
"Hit games are emerging organically, powered by what players are excited about. We think that when we get surprised by a game that’s good, it’s an indication that Steam is working properly."
Image credit: MINTROCKET | Dave the Diver
Steam Business Team’s Erik Peterson said that the team doesn't predict which games will catch players' attention but follows player interest instead. There are player-focused algorithms and Steam-curated features at play, and you see a mix of those, both the side visible for everyone and the part relevant for you only.
While crated features are quite clear – for example, special offers – algorithmic visibility contains recommended games based on your library, genres you've played, or developers you know, the Discovery Queue, and the regionalized New & Trending list, which pushes fresh titles that meet a certain threshold on top.
Peterson emphasized that there is "no one algorithm" – you see what multiple algorithms decide you'd be interested in, but one mold for all simply doesn't exist. Valve lets "player preferences drive the visibility to make recommendations relevant." This means that the more you interact with Steam, the better your recommendations will be.
As for developers, they might need to encourage more people to spend time and money on their games – it's not a revelation of any sort, of course, but this is the main way for Steam to measure player interest. What you might be happy to know is that Valve never makes a permanent decision on your game, so even if the launch doesn't go as planned, it might be featured in the future.
Image credit: Larian Studios | Baldur's Gate 3
Peterson also explained that direct store page traffic, review score, wishlists, and the Early Access status usually don't affect visibility. However, localization does as users are unlikely to see or look for a game they can't understand.
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