Valve recently discussed how 2018 went for Steam as well as announcing new features that will be coming to the digital platform later this year. Steam is about to reach a staggering 30,000 games(exclusive of DLC’s and other software), making it the largest online PC video games distributor. A need for an update to the platform was felt for quite a while now.
Firstly, we have a machine learning recommendation system. Players will see recommended games based on their past history, reviews, ratings etc. Presently, the system feels off, with recommendations coming on basis of even visiting pages of video games. The system will get a buff which will make it better as players use it.
Steam is soon moving into China. Following a partnership with MMO(massively multiplayer online) game studio, Perfect World. But that’s not the only way Valve is extending its reach. The company is planning to launch Steam Chat; perhaps an answer to Discord, in the coming months. Meanwhile, Steam TV is set to become more than just a broadcaster of specific events.
For competitive players, there is the new events system. It works as follows. If an owned video game has an upcoming event, tournament, streams or challenge, players will be able to highlight it. Additionally, the robust matchmaking system of CS: GO will be available for all developers. This will allow them to implement a high-grade system in their video games.
Aside from minor changes, Steam library is also getting an overhaul. Finally, there is going to be a new PC Cafe Program. The program is aimed at gaming zones. It is essentially like an internet cafe, for games.
It seems that there is something for everyone in these changes. However, will these be enough to stop the migration of developers and players alike to Epic store? We’ll see.
