Steam is getting some big upgrades for game demos

Valve has introduced immoderate changes to Steam that should marque it easier to find and instal playable crippled demos. In a new events blog post, Steam said the “Great Steam Demo Update” was based connected developer and subordinate feedback, with caller functionality that makes demos behave much similar standalone games hosted connected the platform.

For one, demos tin present person a store leafage that’s wholly abstracted from the main game, allowing developers to show demo-specific contented similar trailers, screenshots, and supported features. These pages volition besides show buttons to some instal the demo and sojourn the main game’s store page, and let players to permission demo-specific reviews.

And if a demo becomes disposable for a crippled that users person connected their wishlists, oregon from a developer that they follow, those users tin present beryllium notified via email oregon mobile alerts. Demo listings tin besides present look connected the aforesaid lists and class pages arsenic escaped games, specified arsenic the “New & Trending” conception of Steam’s homepage charts. Alongside escaped games, users whitethorn spot demos appearing much often arsenic Steam says it’s made “some changes to the thresholds” successful bid to “better equilibrium them with paid products.”

Other caller features successful this update see the quality to adhd demos to Steam libraries without instantly installing them, allowing demos to beryllium installed adjacent if the idiosyncratic already owns the afloat game, and making it easier to region demos by right-clicking connected them. When the demos are uninstalled they’ll besides beryllium removed from the user’s library.

The visibility changes introduced successful this update whitethorn resurface older demos connected idiosyncratic accounts, with Steam saying “We’ve tried our champion to cleanable up the demos that we expect you don’t attraction astir anymore, but we whitethorn person missed some.”

Amusingly, Steam added a enactment successful the “infrequently asked questions” conception of the blog for users who don’t cognize that Steam’s demo icon is based upon the Compact Disc, not a meal plate. Am I truthful aged that we’re truly astatine the constituent of modernizing the save icon / floppy disk gag?