Anyone who wants to land a real hit on Steam must understand one thing according to an expert: Wishlists are nice, but they don’t bring in any money. At GDC, the expert explains how developers can turn their games into pure gold and why Valve urgently needs them for this.
Who is it about? The Steam expert and indie consultant Chris Zukowski provided insight into the secret mechanics of Steam at the Game Developers Conference. His talk focused on what are known as Golden Goose
games, or “Golden Geese,” that carry Steam.
According to him, these Golden Geese are titles that generate around $150,000 in revenue and accumulate about 500 user reviews within the first six months after release. If a game reaches this milestone, it enters what he calls “real Steam.”
From this point on, the expert says, Valve’s algorithms, feeds, and promo tools start to suggest the game on their own to a huge mass of new players. However, as he explains, wishlists are essential for this.
Spinning Straw into Gold
How does one become successful? According to Zukowski, the relationship with Valve changes drastically once you land a hit. Valve CEO Gabe Newell needs developers, according to the expert, to turn the accumulated wishlists into real money.
Expert Zukowski aptly expresses it: You suddenly become like a little goblin who has the magical power to spin straw into gold. And Gabe needs you to transform these wishlists into gold.
The secret behind this transformation he calls the Breath of Steam
. First, the games inhale wishlists and then exhale money. However, even after the promotional phase for the release, there is still much to be gained. According to the expert, the best way for this are targeted discounts, about 1-2 times a month, mid-week deals, and a constant supply of DLCs or updates to keep the game in discussion.
How does Steam benefit from this? Of course, Valve doesn’t do all this out of pure altruism. For every game sold, Steam standardly takes a 30% share to operate the platform.
Every year, about 20,000 new titles are released on Steam, of which Valve can only place a select few in good positions (source: SteamDB).
Chris Zukowski explains that one must rely on hard numbers, community momentum, and clever algorithms.
The expert suggests that once a game reaches real Steam
and reliably generates money, Steam’s algorithm will recognize this and the title will gain access to highly trafficked advertising spots like daily or weekend deals.
According to Zukowski, Steam has perfectly solved the problem that streaming services like Netflix often fail at: they bind the most passionate users long-term. When developers feed their golden goose
with regular sales, bundles, and DLCs, Steam benefits the most.
Because the system, according to Zukowski, tempts passionate PC gamers to spend their money like drunken sailors
on their ever-growing pile of shame, and Valve earns from every single purchase.
The analysis clearly shows how perfectly Steam’s ecosystem is tailored to the bargain mentality of PC gamers. Developers who manage to make the leap to the Golden Goose
and regularly offer clever discounts ensure good revenues and, on the side, voluntarily finance Gabe Newell’s next yacht. But Gabe doesn’t only earn from games: Twitch streamer kneels before Gabe Newell because he can no longer invest money in Counter-Strike 2 – beseeches for mercy
