The search for a magic formula to achieve success has received clarification from the company itself. Valve during a session dedicated to Steam Next Festone of the great digital demo events for PC. Alden Kroll and Ria Hu, members of the platform team, They ruled out that there are hidden mechanisms or tools capable of guaranteeing an immediate result.while the company defends that the success of a title does not depend on a “secret button” within the system, but rather is prepared long before the game hits the store.
Previous work
The line proposed by Kroll proposes expanding the way in which players find new titles outside the store, because, although the platform has effective recommendation tools, the product designer remembers that many players They discover new titles on networks, videos, communities and specialized spaces before arriving at the store.
In practice, he recommends that developers actively participate in the digital spaces where their audience consumes information, especially before bringing the demo to Steam Next Fest. The goal is to ensure that by participating in events with a lot of user activity like Next Fest, The project already has an interested public baseto avoid the premiere of the demo being the first contact with the work.
Promotion at festivals
This approach is related to part of the operation of Steam Next Fest, since during the first days of the festival or important releases, the recommendation system includes random rotation spaces and personalized sections according to interests and the behavior of each user.
After this initial period, titles that have already demonstrated greater potential to attract players and maintain their interest begin to gain more relevance. For this reason, the platform team understands that depending exclusively on automatic recommendations on the opening day of an event means being late for an important part of the workespecially when there have been months to spark interest among players.
There is no secret button
Valve’s explanation coincides with a market trend where the proper functioning of a game must be accompanied by effective communication. Insisting that there are no shortcuts to gaining visibility, the company attributes much of its commercial performance to the quality of the product and the developer’s ability to present it on external channels.
In the case of equipment with fewer resources, it must be kept in mind that Steam can help a project find more playersbut the first contact with the public must come from prior work, a demo prepared on time, a well-kept page and continued activity in spaces where similar games are recommended.