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Steam Enhances Game Demo Experience with New Features

Valve has rolled out significant updates to Steam aimed at improving the accessibility and usability of game demos on its platform. Through a recent blog post, the company announced the “Great Steam Demo Update,” which was conceived based on insights from both developers and players.

The standout feature of this update is the introduction of dedicated store pages for demos, separate from the main game listings. This change allows developers to showcase demo-specific content such as trailers, screenshots, and feature lists. Additionally, these pages will contain buttons that enable users to directly install the demo or navigate to the main game’s store page, along with the option to submit reviews tailored to the demo experience.

Another key enhancement is the notification system for users who have previously expressed interest in a game. Players will now receive updates via email or mobile alerts when a demo becomes available for a title on their wishlist or from a developer they follow. Furthermore, demos can now appear alongside free games in various Steam sections like “New & Trending,” as Valve has adjusted its visibility settings to ensure that demos receive equal exposure to paid titles.

New features aim to enhance the visibility of both free games and demos on Steam’s charts.

Additional functionalities introduced in this update enable players to add demos to their Steam libraries without immediately downloading them. Users can also install demos even if they already have the full game, and uninstallation has been simplified—demos can be removed from the library simply by right-clicking. When a demo is uninstalled, it will no longer show up in the user’s library, keeping their collection tidy.

These visibility changes might lead to older demos reappearing in users’ accounts, though Steam has made efforts to clean up irrelevant listings. The platform acknowledged, “We’ve tried our best to clean up the demos that we expect you don’t care about anymore, but we may have missed some.”

In a light-hearted note, Steam addressed an amusing question within its “infrequently asked questions” section, clarifying that the demo icon is inspired by the Compact Disc rather than a dinner plate, signaling the generational shift in icons as technology evolves.

Source
www.theverge.com