In brief: Digital storefronts on game consoles and mobile platforms often have easily accessible sections showcasing free content. Steam has recently implemented a similar strategy, prominently featuring demos and free-to-play titles on its storefront. This change aligns with developers’ growing focus on using free playable promotions.
Visitors scrolling through Steam’s front page tabs will observe a newly added section dedicated to displaying demos and free-to-play games. These latest storefront adjustments are part of Valve’s efforts to make discovering and managing free content easier for users.
Located near the lists for new releases, top sellers, upcoming games, and discounts, the new “Trending Free” tab sits just below Steam’s main store selections. Current items include the demo for Worshippers of Cthulhu and the free benchmark tool for Black Myth: Wukong.
Although Steam has long had sections for demos and free-to-play games, these were previously hidden within the store’s category list. Moving them to a new front-page tab significantly boosts their visibility.
Valve is reacting to a rising trend where developers release free games, often titled with “Prologue,” to promote larger commercial releases instead of traditional demos. This doubled a game’s shelf space as demos were tied to the main release’s store page, while prologues gained the advantage of a separate listing. However, many users felt that these free promos were easily mistaken for full games.
Steam’s new policy addresses this issue by giving demos their own distinct pages, removing the necessity for prologues. Moreover, users can add demos to their libraries without installing them, simplifying demo management and removal.
Players can now write reviews and receive notifications specifically for demos. The “Trending Free” section has been updated to include demos, prologues, and other free software.
Additionally, new rules for store page descriptions ban linking to external websites or other Steam games. Valve has also prohibited images that mimic the Steam user interface.
These changes, effective in early September, target developers who previously linked paid titles on free promo store pages. Under the new regulations, demo pages will automatically include links to the full game.
