Valve has announced a new Steam update which will overhaul the way demos work on the storefront, so you should start seeing some changes to demos soon.
The update isn’t a client-side one, so you won’t have anything new to download. Rather, it’s bringing a new suite of tools that devs and publishers can use to make demos “an even more powerful and flexible marketing tool”, according to Valve.
First up, demos can now be added to your library without downloading them; a new “add to library” button has been added to demo pages beside the “download” button, so you can set them up for downloading later if you prefer.
It’s now possible for publishers to create a separate store page for their demos if they wish. At the moment, any demo listings on Steam simply redirect to the main game’s page, but in future, you might start seeing distinct pages for game demos.
As a result of this, it’s also possible for user reviews to start appearing on separate demo pages, which should be a good way to give players a better idea of whether a demo is worth installing or not. Hey, it’s all valuable storage space!
Valve says that demos will also start appearing more often on Steam store lists like New & Trending, New on Steam, and “relevant tag and category pages”.
In essence, this means that when developers and publishers launch a demo on Steam, it’ll be treated more like a full free game (in terms of listings and visibility, at least) than a straightforward demo.
If you’re a developer and you’re wondering what else you might need to know as a result of this demo overhaul, make sure to check out Valve’s full announcement for some extra details, plus an amusingly-titled “infrequently asked questions” section.
This demo overhaul follows on from a newly-introduced Steam feature in the form of new game recording tools, which were introduced in beta back in June. Given that Steam players once again broke the platform’s concurrent user total during this year’s summer sale, it seems these features are still in high demand.
