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Valve Working On Revamping Steam Recommendation System
Valve is working on another overhaul of its game recommendation system, the company announced this week at a presentation at Unite Europe (a conference centered around the Unity game engine).
As Gamasutra reports, the company wants to change how it recommends games to its players. The overhaul would be focused on being able to "give customers the tools they need to be able to customize and personalize their store," said Valve's Alden Kroll.
Rather than have players sift through several titles at a given time and give a simple "yes," "no," or "add to wishlist" response, players will now be able to choose which games they personally enjoy.
Another feature would involve looking at a player's actual playtime to recommend games. So if you play a lot of first-person shooters, the system will be more likely to recommend one to you.
Finally, Valve hopes to expand its Steam Curators program, which lets prominent games outlets, reviewers, personalities, and groups recommend games to individual players. This, Valve hopes, will let players filter their preferences while also being exposed to games they may not otherwise see.
This move is part of Valve's ongoing effort to rework the Steam as a service for both consumers and developers. Earlier this year, it shuttered its Greenlight initiative in favor of the less-restrictive Steam Direct.
For a more detailed look at how the company hopes to rework the recommendation system, you can watch the entire presentation below.
Our Take
I might be an outlier, but I rarely buy a game based on automated recommendations. Just because I played over 100 hours of Metal Gear Solid V doesn't mean I'm likely to put the same amount of time into another open-world game like GTA V. I definitely gravitate towards certain genres, but some of my favorite games are often an exception to a rule. I love the Persona series, but I'm not likely to play a ton of other JRPGs or dating sims, for example. What's your experience been like?
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