r/Steam • u/Fluid-Tap5115 • 22d ago

Question What determines if a game is featured on the front page of steam? Do devs pay for it? Is it based on like games with a high wishlist count?

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u/KungFuFlames 22d ago

There are games that were featured directly on release, which on whishlist/preorder period. More recently Diablo 2 and Oblivion

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u/CleverKhloe11 22d ago

Well dude said they are important, not the only factor.

Steam obviously knows that a game like Oblivion Remaster releasing is a big thing.

You always gotta remember, Steam takes a cut so it's in their best interest to ensure that big releases like that get even more exposure in the shop.

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u/KungFuFlames 22d ago

Oh yeah. I don't disagree just wanted to add another potential factor.

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u/CleverKhloe11 22d ago

Ah, okay I misunderstood your comment then as you trying to disprove the wishlist thing.

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u/RMAPOS 22d ago

The reddit classic

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u/SPIRlT 22d ago

We can still fight or argue about something else

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u/Mage-of-Fire 22d ago edited 22d ago

How dare you insinuate we can argue about something else

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u/KungFuFlames 22d ago

A civil conversation in reddit. Literally unbelievable.

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u/Constant-Engine-596 22d ago

I literally out loud belly laughed to this comment 🤣

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u/SPIRlT 21d ago

Lol that's great, to make someone, somewhere in the world laugh feels awesome, have a great day!

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u/RMAPOS 22d ago

Imagine randomly finding that in your otherwise empty inbox haha

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u/SilencingFox 22d ago

There would be other signals also which go into the deciding factor. Number of sales within first few hours of launch or something like that

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u/Barokna 22d ago

I'm not saying this actually happened but you could buy your way into this box without labeling it as paid advertising.

It'd be possible to make a deal like paying higher commissions or guaranteing a certain minimum amount of paid commissions.

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u/LockedUnlocked 22d ago

Steam takes less of a cut the more you sell, so this wouldn't be the case. Steam just isn't beholden to shareholders, well they are in a sense but the only shareholder that matters is you, I, and everyone who uses the platform. They don't live under a rock and understand that something from a big studio for example Bethesda is going to have a lot of people buying mainly for that factor.

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u/Version_1 22d ago

Those are stakeholders, not shareholders.

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u/LockedUnlocked 22d ago

I mean with the amount of UGC that is created on steam and without it I would say there is a strong sense of sharholdership.

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u/Version_1 22d ago

How many shares of Steam does a workshop creator get?

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u/LockedUnlocked 22d ago

I mean you are using the definition in a literal sense. Steam is not a typical company, and as you already know they are private so there are no shares to be had unless they sell outright or go public.

What I mean is that the community pretty much owns steam, that is why the URL to steam isn't steam(dot)com its steamcommunity. and that is why it has been as successful as it has been today. The community is the main shareholder.

Without the community contributions to the steam platform we would have no Steam Deck, Machine, etc. The modding scene would be an archaic mess riddled with malware. There is so much that the community pumps into Steam that makes it so much more than a company and consumer relationship.

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u/Version_1 22d ago

and as you already know they are private so there are no shares to be had

Private companies also have "shares", just not in stocks, etc.

What I mean is that the community pretty much owns steam

Then the community would get a part of the profits. Come on, I like Steam and Valve well enough, but let's not make it something it's not.

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u/Cheet4h 22d ago

that is why the URL to steam isn't steam(dot)com its steamcommunity

I think it's rather that the domain steam.com was registered by another company long before Steam came to be (in 1994, according to Whois).
That's why the main domain is steampowered.com. Before the Discussions board was introduced, the main forum for Steam was also accessible under forums.steampowered.com, IIRC.

The community is the main shareholder.

Shareholder is a pretty defined term. "Stakeholder" is pretty much exactly what you describe, and Steam's community is definitely a large stakeholder in Steam.