As far and away the most popular PC gaming store, Steam needs an admissions process that works for everybody. On the one hand, letting in every title opens the door to low-quality broken games. The alternative is vetting everything though, potentially leaving smaller developers locked out of the store.
Greenlight
Over the past few years, Greenlight has been a compromise. It allows community members to vote on which new games are added to Steam, providing an avenue for indie developers to get published.
However, although some games have succeeded by using Greenlight – Valve said over 100 titles have now made over $1 million each – it’s far from a perfect solution. Steam’s quality issues are now widely documented and Greenlight has acquired a reputation for giving low-quality games from dubious developers access to the store.
Steam Direct
Valve has now created a new solution. Announced late last week, Steam Direct will be replacing Greenlight in the spring. It’s a new sign-up system for developers that lets them publish games to Steam. There is no community voting process or strict vetting but Valve will implement stringent checks to ensure Direct doesn’t end up with the same quality problems as Greenlight.
New developers will ned to submit several verifiable documents, including tax details. Valve likened the process to opening a new bank account. A significant application fee will then need to be paid before the game is accepted onto Steam.
Developer impact
The fee, as yet unspecified, has created uncomfortable divisions in the community. Valve said it’s considering amounts ranging from $100 to over $5,000. A higher price will ensure high-quality content but risk driving smaller developers away to other platforms. A student developer or one-man studio will balk at paying $5,000 upfront, locking potential talent out of the store.
Valve accepted that drawing the line under the cost isn’t going to be an easy decision. It said it’s talking to developers to work out what the best fee will be, inviting community members to contribute their opinions. According to the company, Direct is meant to make Steam a more welcoming environment for every developer. Mispricing the service could end in catastrophe though.
“We want to make sure Steam is a welcoming environment for all developers who are serious about treating customers fairly and making quality gaming experiences,” said Valve. “The updates we’ve made over the past few years have been paving the way for improvements to how new titles get on to Steam, and Steam Direct represents just one more step in our ongoing process of making Steam better.”
Controversial changes
The fee-based approach to entry makes publishing on Steam more similar to releasing on consoles. PC gaming is an altogether different environment though, famed for its open nature. Although Steam’s quality control has visibly slipped with Greenlight, the company now risks swinging the other way and barring the most vulnerable developers from the biggest source of PC gamers.
Valve said it will be listening to feedback over the next few months to make sure it gets Direct right. However, the definition of success is likely to be different for each developer and often correlated to individual financial situations. The system will arrive this spring, probably bringing with it developer unease until the store settles down.
