As Steam's New & Trending chart gets flooded with demos, some devs worry that Valve's rework could be bad news for indie games
Jul. 31, 2024Demos popping up on the chart might mean less visibility for new indie games
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Last week, Valve announced it was making changes to how demos work on the platform after a trend in developer feedback. So, now, demos will function in much the same way full games do. There’ll be separate store pages and accompanying user reviews for demos, anyone who wishlists a game will be notified when its demo drops, and demos will now appear in both the ‘New & Trending’ chart, as well as the ‘New On Steam’ page.
Future Friends founder Thomas Reisenegger, the publisher behindlotsofcoolgameswe like, recently noted that “4 out of 10 games” in Steam’sNew & Trending chart are demos, alongside a screengrab that shows demos for Cat Bait, Visions of Mana, CleanFall, and Klekta sitting next to full releases. Reiseneggar then said the changes “could make demos better for marketing,” but “will [probably] make it harder for indie games to get into or stay” in the chart.
“Seeing Game Demos top of Steam is a real double-edged sword,” indie developer Liam Twoseadded. “Great for prospective games, and already established games… Not so great for newly released games [and] upcoming indie games.”
Also on Twitter, Regency Solitaire developer Jake Birkettaskedquestions about whether this means games with demos can end up with “two shots” on the chart, “and that everyone else’s chances get slimmer?” He also muses about more demos potentially being made because of the changes, which might “make demos less effective as a marketing tool as there will be too many. Also, what if all these demos impact actual game sales? Hard to say yet.”
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.
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