GDC 2026: Valve's Guidance for Steam Developers

Valve's Tom Jardino and Casey gave a GDC talk on Steam's 2026 approach to helping developers succeed on PC. They shared growth data (42 million peak concurrent users, 13.9 million concurrent in-game players — both figures double 2020's numbers) and explained how Steam prioritizes the long-term satisfaction of developers and players over growth metrics, since Valve has no investors or advertisers to answer to.

They also detailed how user reviews are now split by language to fix scores being skewed by feedback from a single region (regional server issues, localization gaps, or cultural references). Daily deals have also expanded from one slot to six per day with heavy personalization, resulting in 1,500 individual titles being featured in 2025 (69% of them first-time features) and a 274% year-over-year increase in developer revenue from daily deals.

They also touched on upcoming Steam hardware (Steam Controller, Steam Machine, Steam Frame) without any new announcements. The talk closed with practical advice: prioritize controller support (nearly 5 billion gamepad sessions in 2025), enable Steam Cloud/AutoCloud since over 50% of users play across multiple devices, localize both games and store pages, playtest early, and maintain a developer/publisher homepage.

1. Steam's vision and operating model

• Long-term priority: unlike public companies under pressure from shareholders or advertisers, Valve is a private company with no investors. As a result, they aren't driven by short-term growth metrics or quarterly profit.
• Goal: Valve's decisions all revolve around balancing developer happiness and player happiness.
• User growth:
  • Peak concurrent users reached 42 million.
  • In-game concurrence reached 13.9 million.
  • Both figures are double 2020 levels.
  • The rise in the number of games launched has tracked this growth, showing the opportunity "pie" is growing rather than being sliced thinner.

2. Notable improvements in 2025

Valve shared two concrete examples of how they solved problems based on community feedback:

User reviews by language

• Problem: review scores were dragged down by a small group of users in a specific region reporting issues that didn't affect the majority (e.g., regional server bugs, localization issues, or cultural references).
• Solution: instead of hiding reviews or letting developers delete them, Valve now splits reviews by language.
• Result: users in every region see review scores for their own language, making feedback more accurate and avoiding distortion from localized issues.

Daily Deals

• Change: expanded from 1 slot to 6 slots per day.
• Personalization: an algorithm surfaces deals matched to a user's interests, friends list, language, and device.
• Flexibility: developers can self-apply and pick their own schedule on an internal calendar once invited.
• 2025 numbers:
  • 1,500 titles featured (69% were first-time features).
  • Developer revenue from Daily Deals rose 274% year-over-year.
  • The number of players purchasing games via Daily Deals rose 125%.

3. Steam hardware

• Valve sees hardware as an extension of Steam's feature set.
• No specific new launch was announced at the event, but they referenced the continuity of the ecosystem: Steam Deck, Steam Controller, Steam Machine, and Steam Frame.
• Goal: give players more ways to experience their game library anywhere, on any device.

4. Practical advice for developers

To maximize opportunity on Steam, Valve recommends:

• Controller support: nearly 5 billion gamepad sessions on Steam in 2025. Use the Steam Input API to support a wide range of controllers and display the correct button prompts.
• Steam Cloud / AutoCloud: over 50% of users play across multiple devices. Enable this so players can switch machines without losing progress.
• Localization: two-thirds of Steam players don't use English. Translate both the game and the store page, especially based on wishlist data for your target region.
• Playtest early: test your game before launch to catch potential issues before "hitting" release day.
• Developer/Publisher homepages: maintain and update your studio's homepage. This lets players follow you and get notified when you release a new game, helping build a long-term community.

Conclusion

Steam is described as an ever-improving "permanent Early Access state." Valve is committed to listening to developer feedback throughout GDC and continuously tuning the platform so both sides — developers and players — succeed.