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Steam now requires disclosure from sponsored Curators
Valve updated its policies for Steam Curators this week, requiring that curators disclose any compensation received for recommending games on the service. The company introduced Curators late last month, allowing any person or brand (such as good old Joystiq) to list their favorite games on the distribution service while linking out to reviews, videos or blogs about the games. Additionally, Gunpoint developer Tom Francis noted on Twitter that "Steam actually has just given devs the ability to curate which Curators appear on our Store pages" in its update. With Steam Curators being one large piece of a major shift in Steam's increasingly hands-off storefront, paid placement on curator's lists was among the biggest concerns both developers and the service's top Curator, TotalBiscuit, told Joystiq last month. Valve's updated rules alleviate those worries, providing curators adequately disclose sponsored placement: "If you've accepted money or other compensation for making a product review or for posting a recommendation, you must disclose this fact in your recommendation," the policies state. Valve also added that recommendations "should not link to or promote any stores other than Steam." [Image: Steam]
Joystiq Weekly: Destiny's loot cave, Shadow of Mordor review, building narratives and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Season passes that add content to separately-sold video games that also offer bundled in video games? Ubisoft's dollop of Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China on top of this year's double-portion of Assassin's Creed is interesting, both due to being bundled in a season pass and its sidescrolling platformer nature. We're already looking forward to when season passes include trilogy HD remasters, which will in turn include their own season passes, complete with spinoff-pack ins. Everything is connected, you see. There was a lot more to this week than alternative business strategies though. Have you heard of a little series called Super Smash Bros.? What about Lord of the Rings? We've got reviews of the latest (interactive) installments in both, as well as news of Destiny's loot cave, features on developing narratives and what developers and YouTubers think of Steam Curators. They're all joined by many other stories, waiting for you after the break!
Opening the valve: Steam Curators rule the front page
Ask a hundred independent developers what impacts their sales most and you'll likely get a hundred different answers, but among the more popular ones will be the topic of discoverability, the ways in which prospective buyers are able to find lesser-known video games. Platforms like the App Store and Steam see a lot of foot-traffic in their featured sections, and even brief visibility for independent developers can make for a massive difference in their bottom line. As more games have made their way to Steam via regular release, Greenlight and Early Access, it's become vastly more difficult for a new game to be discovered. Enter Steam Curators, Valve's means of placing the weight of game recommendations on those outside its walls. The service launched this week and allows any person or brand (such as your friends here at Joystiq) to compile lists of games their followers should play, shifting the scope of the store's front page to include recommended games and a section for popular curators. Given Steam's incredible popularity and its status as a "must-have" piece of PC gaming software, Steam Curators is a major step for the service, and developers hope that it might heavily influence independent game sales.
Steam Curator Curator helps find people finding good games
The Unofficial Steam Curator Curator collects related groups that have their own game lists on Steam under its new Curators program. For example, Steam Curator Curator has a group titled "Oddly Specific Curation," which includes one curator's list of games with skeletons in them, a list of games with animals and anthropomorphic characters, one of narrative-driven puzzle adventure games, and one with games that aren't actually games at all (according to the aggregators). Other curated Curator lists include "Curators That Wear Glasses," "Curators That Use Gabe In Their Image," "Curators With Beards" and "Oddly Un-Specific Curators." This is, of course, a very silly website run by the jokesters of Owlchemy Labs, developers of Snuggle Truck, Jack Lumber and Dyscourse. "To be clear, we think the new Steam curation system is pretty rad and is on a path to solving a variety of problems," Owlchemy says at the bottom of its Steam Curator Curator page. "A number of people have have already asked 'Who do I follow?' so it seems that better curation of curators would further strengthen the system." Owlchemy then asks anyone actually interested in a real Steam Curator Curator page to drop their email on the site. It's a wild idea, but hey, the world is a crazy place. See Joystiq's Steam Curator page here. We motion to be included in the "Curators Who Are Also Totally Rad People" list. [Image: Owlchemy Labs]
Joystiq's big list of games on Steam Curators
We're tastemakers! The Joystiq staff has lovingly put together a list of the games we most enjoy on Steam, using its brand new Curators service. See the Joystiq Curators page right here. Our premiere picks run the gamut from Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, to Always Sometimes Monsters, to Ys Origins. It's a weird list, just like we are. This introductory curation page is our way of saying hello, not only to you, but also to Steam's new service. As the Curators platform finds its footing, we'll update our list with even more uniquely selected games – ones we like, and we think you'll have fun with as well. Go ahead and follow the Joystiq Curators page on Steam to see all of our new additions as they happen, and join the Joystiq Steam group to discuss the games you love, hate and want to know more about. Enjoy!