Home Gaming Close to 40% of Steam’s total library came out in 2016

Close to 40% of Steam’s total library came out in 2016

2 min read
49

Steam burst at the seams

For a long time now, Valve has loosened the reins on what is and isn’t allowed on its digital distribution platform, Steam, to the point of non-existence. Right now if you boot up the program and browse the home page, you’re likely to see more small games than actual titles you’re likely to recognise. At a time that wasn’t considered a bad thing – independent development was on the rise and many gems came from that process. But now Steam is turning into the worst parts of mobile gaming, transforming its storefront into an app store of sorts.

If you don’t believe me, just have a look at some of the statistics revealed by a study conducted by Steam Spy. The company collected release data from recent years and compared it to 2016, and the results are both alarming and unsurprising. In short, a full 38% of the total games on Steam were released in 2016 alone. That equates to 4207 games – which is over 80 games per week. It’s an absurd figure, and one that’s presented a massive spike when compared to previous years.

Steam games releases over the years Steam Spy

In 2015, for example, a total of 2964 games were released. In 2013? Only 565. That’s around the same time where Valve driven services such as Steam Greenlight were really kicking off, offering a space on Steam for a host of new developers previously locked out by curation. It’s evident that since then Valve has simply taken a hands-off approach to things, instead looking to new features like custom user-based curation as a way of weeding out the shovelware from the real gaming diamonds hidden underneath the muck.

The problem is that it’s getting worse, and Steam as a platform is simply not keeping up. A recent update to the UI attempted to streamline title visibility and push better content forward more often, but it’s still a confusing mess of games and names that offer little more depth than their chosen thumbnail. Sometimes even that is just as poorly done as the game itself, but Valve doesn’t care. It’s the same approach to app stores on iOS and (specifically) Android – which just makes the viability of releasing a good game on a platform susceptible to luck and fortune.

That’s already what is happening on Steam, and as long as Valve turns a blind eye it’s only going to get worse.

Last Updated: December 1, 2016

49 Comments

  1. I cannot read these chart thingies so early into the work week…

    Reply

    • Andre Fourie

      December 1, 2016 at 10:30

      Pie charts makes me hungry.

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief Argonian

        December 1, 2016 at 10:37

        Now, here is the kicker. WHICH PIE?

        [just know that you will forever be judged here by your answer]

        Choose wisely…

        Reply

        • Andre Fourie

          December 1, 2016 at 10:40

          Do you want the NSFW answer or the foodie answer?

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief Argonian

            December 1, 2016 at 11:00

            Both

          • Andre Fourie

            December 1, 2016 at 11:03

            Ek like my vrou se pie.

          • Admiral Chief Argonian

            December 1, 2016 at 11:09

            Baardpie, ja.

            Maar watter vleispasty is vir jou ‘n lekkerny?

          • Andre Fourie

            December 1, 2016 at 11:16

            Ek praat van my vrou se Peppersteak Pie…

          • Andre Fourie

            December 1, 2016 at 11:17

            Dirty old man.

        • Andre Fourie

          December 1, 2016 at 10:42

      • Captain JJ

        December 1, 2016 at 10:38

        And Bar Charts make you thirsty?

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief Argonian

          December 1, 2016 at 10:38

          NOU PRA JY MOS!

          Reply

        • Andre Fourie

          December 1, 2016 at 10:39

          I’m ALWAYS thirsty. A Captain Morgan and Coke would go down nicely now. To put up with some people…

          Reply

      • Bruce Bielie

        December 1, 2016 at 11:12

        Just as bar charts make me thirsty.

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief Argonian

          December 1, 2016 at 11:26

          Copypasta from @johnambitious:disqus ?

          Reply

          • Captain JJ

            December 1, 2016 at 12:17

            Someone say pasta?

  2. Alien Emperor Trevor

    December 1, 2016 at 10:05

    3500 of those will be visual novels, “retro” Metroidvania/JRPG kak & ugly pixel graphics. Steam really needs to start trying to curate this shit show.

    On the plus side, I quite like the UI improvements – they’re a definite improvement.

    Reply

    • Captain JJ

      December 1, 2016 at 10:08

      There’s been a huge influx of those visual anime novels and games that consist primarily of mini-games that are given a nsfw name to make it sell.

      Reply

      • Andre Fourie

        December 1, 2016 at 10:21

        Otto probably being one of the best customers.

        Reply

        • Ottokie

          December 1, 2016 at 10:24

          Ecchi anime is what gives anime a bad name. So no, I don’t support kak games like that and I don’t watch ecchi focused anime for the sole purpose of it screwing up our reputation.

          Reply

          • Andre Fourie

            December 1, 2016 at 10:26

            Anime panime, it’s all the same to me.

          • Admiral Chief Argonian

            December 1, 2016 at 10:26

            [adds “ecchi” to list of things to avoid]

            I learned TWO things now

          • Andre Fourie

            December 1, 2016 at 10:28

            I avoid all of it. Except that one that I watch.

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            December 1, 2016 at 10:44

            Ecchi is icky!

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        December 1, 2016 at 10:38

        Steam should divide itself into 3 sections:

        Main store that’s curated
        Early access
        Uncurated releases

        The latter two only end up on the main store when they meet certain criteria, doesn’t have to be particularly strict, but some kind of quality control.

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief Argonian

          December 1, 2016 at 10:39

          I like this idea

          Reply

        • Captain JJ

          December 1, 2016 at 10:48

          I agree completely. It would make a huge difference.
          And they need to start putting some better rules into Early Access games that put more pressure on devs completing their games and stop things like ARK’s idiotic DLC on an Early Access game from happening.

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief Argonian

            December 1, 2016 at 11:01

            I can then put 90% of things into EarlyAccess or Uncurated and ignore

    • grenadeh

      December 1, 2016 at 23:05

      Back to console with you, please.

      Reply

  3. Captain JJ

    December 1, 2016 at 10:05

    I don’t really see much of a problem from a customer’s point of view. If you know what you’re interested in and what you’re looking for there are categories and tags to direct you straight to the games you’d be interested in buying.
    For devs however, and small ones specifically, I can see how it can become increasingly difficult to make it in the industry with this.

    Reply

  4. Craig "CrAiGiSh" Dodd

    December 1, 2016 at 10:15

    Fucking hell .. TL;DR much …

    Reply

    • Andre Fourie

      December 1, 2016 at 10:20

      If Admiral was here, he would say ” Language”. LOL.

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief Argonian

        December 1, 2016 at 10:27

        Only to the new kids

        Reply

        • Andre Fourie

          December 1, 2016 at 10:27

          You can be unfairly selective.

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief Argonian

            December 1, 2016 at 10:29

            Oh but I can!

            (refresh to see why)

          • Andre Fourie

            December 1, 2016 at 10:33

            GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

          • Admiral Chief Argonian

            December 1, 2016 at 10:36

            😉

          • Andre Fourie

            December 1, 2016 at 10:34

            That is a massive abuse of power.

    • Andre Fourie

      December 1, 2016 at 10:20

      I get sent to the naughty corner every day.

      Reply

  5. Craig Lotter

    December 1, 2016 at 10:18

    I guess this is where Game Review sites finally get a chance to shine – we need help to weed through all this…stuff!

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief Argonian

      December 1, 2016 at 10:30

      How’s the wedding cake business going?

      Reply

      • Craig Lotter

        December 1, 2016 at 11:10

        Wouldn’t know. It’s a sideline for my wife, but she seems to be baking more than just a few cakes – so it must be going okay then.

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief Argonian

          December 1, 2016 at 11:11

          Glad to hear it. Brides to be are really demanding. As if NO ONE EVER GOT MARRIED BEFORE

          Reply

          • Craig Lotter

            December 1, 2016 at 11:13

            More a case of everyone wants theirs to be the ‘most unique’ ever.

          • Admiral Chief Argonian

            December 1, 2016 at 11:26

            /tableflip

  6. Faux Grey

    December 1, 2016 at 12:29

    So, as time goes on, we’re seeing more developers emerge and create games.
    Shouldn’t this be good news?

    Reply

    • grenadeh

      December 1, 2016 at 23:09

      It is good news, and the people who complain about this literally aren’t gamers. They aren’t gamers. They aren’t interested in games, and they don’t own games. If they did do either of these things, there would be no reason to complain. I own over 1000 games on Steam alone and I have NO issues finding the games I want. I appreciate seeing all of the “crap” in the store. It was fine before the Discovery 2.0 update and it is still fine. As was already mentioned, if you actually RTFM and use the filter system they set up, this is not a valid complaint.

      Reply

  7. Magoo

    December 1, 2016 at 12:44

    Well hey, at least it’s not uPlay.

    Reply

  8. grenadeh

    December 1, 2016 at 23:05

    This is an irrelevant complaint of dumbasses who don’t know how to use a computer. If you don’t like the process of literally searching for a specific game, go to console – where there is a slightly smaller number of constantly releasing indie games. Otherwise, this topic needs to die.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

Tormented Souls Back on for PS4 and Xbox One

Well, it would seem that fans are being listened to, after all. Who would’ve thunk? Back i…