With thousands of demos of upcoming games released on Steam every year, Valve has decided to make a few changes to the trial system based on feedback from users and the developers themselves.
Image source: PC Gamer
Firstly, developers will now be able to create a separate page for the demo on Steam: post screenshots, trailers, descriptions, and so on. User reviews of the trial version will also be located there.
Secondly, demos began to be displayed in the same sections and lists of the Steam store as free products (“Popular New Products”, “New Products”). Additionally, users can now be notified when a demo is released for a game in their desired location.
Image Source: Valve
Valve has also added more options for managing demos in the Steam library. For example, trial versions no longer need to be installed immediately – you can simply add them to your account. Other changes:
- Now the demo can be installed even if you have the full version of the game;
- Now the demo can be deleted from your account;
- Demos deleted from the device are automatically deleted from the library.
As part of the initiative, Valve changed the display of demos in the Steam library, which could cause users to see “samples” that they “most likely are no longer interested in.”
Image Source: Valve
In the Frequently Asked Questions section, Valve also clarified that the icon next to the demo is not a plate or vinyl record, but a CD that was once used to distribute trial versions of games.
Finally, Valve reminded that the demo has a separate page on Steam, and the next week-long festival “Games to Be” with hundreds of new free trials will be held from October 14 to 21 of this year.