Steam replaces curated deals with personalized picks for indies

Valve will replace Steam’s curated midweek, weekend and daily deals with personalized, algorithmic recommendations beginning in early 2027. The change will shift high-visibility slots in the store’s Discounts and Events grid from a manually managed calendar to dynamic suggestions for individual users.

Valve began testing personalized recommendation slots in the Discounts and Events grid in recent months. The company reported the experiments allowed it to “show 10x more games to customers in a given day” and produced “meaningful increases in store page visits, wishlist, and cart additions.”

Valve explained the move as a response to a larger game catalog and broader differences in player interests. The company wrote that the constraint of a manually managed calendar “doesn’t make as much sense with such diverse customer tastes and so many relevant deals for customers available at any given time.” Valve added the calendar-style schedule “will fully cease” sometime in early 2027 and acknowledged the new system “will not be perfect right away.”

Independent publishers expressed support for the change. Tim Bender, chief executive of Hooded Horse, wrote on LinkedIn that some developers fear they will no longer be able to book a guaranteed front-page spot, but he argued that what is gained is more important. He wrote that games will be “eligible to be displayed constantly throughout the year” and will appear “at sensible frequencies to people who are actually potential buyers.” Bender noted Valve’s experimental slots have already become a strong source of traffic for some indie titles.

The Steam store has become busier in recent years. Industry tracker ICO Partners recorded more than 700 game launches in a single week in late August, a record for the platform, with most of those releases receiving little attention. Hooded Horse’s catalog includes titles such as Against the Storm, Manor Lords, Endless Legend 2 and 9 Kings.

Valve said the transition will be gradual and that the company will continue to refine the algorithm based on results. The stated aims are to reduce repetitive and poorly targeted offers, increase the likelihood that users see discounts for games they are likely to buy, and provide developers with more consistent visibility throughout the year.