Several developers on the popular gaming service and publishing platform Steam have expressed their unhappiness towards an exploit in the system that allows other, less-honest developers to change the launch date for their games. This keeps the titles perpetually in the Popular Upcoming list on the service. One developer, Mike Ross of No More Robots, even started a Twitter thread discussing the issue.
Little thread about a topic I've seen affecting numerous devs, and I'm now feeling the effects of myself:
— Mike Rose (@RaveofRavendale) March 5, 2019
The Popular Upcoming list on Steam is a great spot on the Steam front page for upcoming games to be noticed.
Unfortunately, it's a (sometimes accidentally) manipulated mess pic.twitter.com/hRcagA7Klx
If you want hard evidence, this thread shows how a game called Cooking Simulator has been using the exploit to make it to the Popular Upcoming list four times in the past month.
It's just a completely dishonest way to use the system, but not only that, they are actively, knowingly, taking Steam front page space away from games that actually deserve it. So thanks for that, @Play_Way!
— Mike Rose (@RaveofRavendale) March 5, 2019
When Steam first came out in 2003, nobody could have expected it would turn into the biggest marketplace for games the world has ever seen. In the past decade, we’ve seen Steam evolve into a service that is right at home on any PC gamer’s machine. Because of Steam, developers around the world have a platform where they can showcase their work, get feedback from the community, and be discovered if they do a good enough job. This kind of exploit spits on all of that by robbing deserving developers of their time in the spotlight.
Here at Player.One, we’re a little bit in disbelief and wondering how long this has been going on. We do tip our hats to the developers who discovered the issue and reported it instead of exploiting it. Granted, developers on Steam don’t really have a perfect track record. Look at all the unfinished games that have been more or less abandoned after a successful and profitable Early Access phase. Steam may just be a gaming service, but this news hit a lot of folks hard with the reality that not everything is as legitimate as it seems.
What do you think about this recent development? Do you find it dishonest for certain game developers to exploit a system like this to get some extra time in the limelight? If you found out which developers have been using the exploit, would you change your mind about supporting their games? Let us know in the comments section below!
