Biggest Challenges in the Current Steam Landscape

Steam is still the leading platform for PC game sales but it’s ever-changing and a difficult place to find success. If you haven’t published a game on Steam in the last year, here’s what you need to know.

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1. Extreme Discoverability Issues

Around 20,000 games were released last year with the majority getting lost in the noise. Steam won’t promote a stagnant game - you need a marketing strategy to gain attention and a marketing plan to sustain momentum. 

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2. A Global Platform

Asia has been a major growth area for Steam, with Simplified Chinese now the top-used language on the platform. Global growth is a huge opportunity for indie to AAA titles but it takes know-how. If EFIGS has been your go to, you need to rethink adding Simplified/Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, and potentially more. 

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3. Rising Wishlists/Shrinking Sales Conversion

Success on Steam still largely hinges on wishlists to build your community and drive visibility in Steam’s recommendations. As game choices multiply, we’re seeing sales conversion rates decline, in most cases. We set wishlist targets with our clients ahead of Next Fest participation, Early Access, and game launches while reviewing a range of conversion possibilities. We can help you set the right benchmarks based on goals. 

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4. Demos Can Make or Break Your Launch

With demo apps now on their own pages with player reviews, demos offer more impact on your game launch. However, poor demo performance can also damage your momentum. As competition on Steam rises, so has player expectation of demo quality. We urge our clients to think of a demo release similar to that of a game launch - factor in lots of QA and marketing support.  

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5. Local Review Scores and Community Engagement

Recent updates to how user reviews by language are shown means localization and regional community engagement matter more than ever. Investing in high-quality translation and regional community support will improve your success in non-English markets, and conversely, skimping on these can hurt your trajectory. 

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Steam continues its impressive power to catapult games to the global market. However, publishing expertise and support is crucial to stand a chance at profitability. That's where our team at Midwest Games comes in - offering guidance and tactical support across marketing, production, and strategy. Reach out to discuss your launch plan and support needs to succeed on Steam. 

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