Valve has advised indie game developers concerned about AI clone games to focus on community building and consistent updates as their strongest defense. Speaking at the ‘Steam Indie Connect’ developer event on October 27, representatives from Valve’s Steam Business Team explained that features, trust, and a distinct identity continually added through updates cannot be easily copied in the way a single game mechanic can. The event was co-hosted by Valve, the Busan Indie Connect Festival Organizing Committee, and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), featuring presentations from Tom Giardino and Marc Wilkinson, alongside Matt from the localization team for the Q&A session.
Opening the presentation, Giardino shared that Steam reached a peak of 43.5 million concurrent users worldwide, with South Korean revenue growing 126% over the past five years, driven by a 70% increase in premium game and DLC revenue and a 388% surge in in-game purchases. He urged developers to view launch day as a starting point rather than a finish line and recommended utilizing diverse channels beyond Steam, including consoles, rival PC stores, Discord, and social media.
Wilkinson introduced new tools such as the Wishlist Data API, which allows developers to retrieve wishlist metrics by period, country, and language, and the Personal Calendar, an official store feature that recommends upcoming releases wishlisted by players with similar play styles.
Addressing a developer’s question about extortion emails threatening to use AI to clone and release games first, Giardino expressed regret and stated it was the first time he had heard of such cases. While noting that platform operators view such extortion as an issue for law enforcement, Giardino reiterated Valve’s stance on technology: Valve does not act as a gatekeeper telling developers which tools to use. He pointed out that trend-chasing and cloning existed long before AI, which has simply accelerated the process. To combat this, developers must build robust communities and engage in continuous improvement, echoing Valve’s historical philosophy on anti-piracy, which prioritizes making the legitimate version the best version rather than relying on heavy DRM.
Regarding the influx of low-quality AI games during Next Fest, Wilkinson explained that the event’s visibility structure uses virtually random exposure for the first two days to give every title a fair start and prevent system abuse, after which personalized recommendations take over. Giardino noted that participation has surged into the thousands compared to past years, creating a massive shift in scale where platform operators cannot define success for individual titles.
Wilkinson also clarified a common misconception, emphasizing that wishlists do not affect visibility rankings on Steam. Visibility is instead driven by actual purchases and user engagement, making wishlists a thermometer for marketing effectiveness rather than a direct driver of sales exposure. Similarly, discussing co-op and single-player options, Giardino characterized single-player choices as design decisions rather than business imperatives, noting that conversion rates depend fundamentally on game quality.
On the challenge of expanding sales internationally, where developers often find domestic markets dominating their revenue, Giardino advised creators to seek local champions—such as streamers, reviewers, and journalists in major markets like Germany, the U.S., and China—rather than relying solely on paid agencies. Matt from the localization team highlighted that tools like AI translation can now support 30 languages simultaneously, though developers must research regional market fit before committing significant resources.
Finally, addressing questions about VR hardware and publisher permissions, Giardino affirmed Valve’s continued belief in virtual reality despite market hurdles and rising component costs, and noted that features to share sales data viewing permissions already exist within Steamworks.
