Steam Changes Discount Policy Which May Affect Launch Dates

Changes to Steam Release Discounts

For PC gamers, having a Steam account is practically unavoidable. Admittedly, it is rather convenient, particularly given the showering of discounts Gabe Newell periodically decides to bestow upon us.

A change in the policy regarding release day discounts on games could affect how the service operated in the future.

In a report via PCGamesN, Steam games which launch with a discount or promotion cannot go on sale again for at least 30 days after the promotion has expired.

On the surface of things, this doesn’t sound too bad. Consider, however, that Steam generally tends to have four major sales in a year. If your game released a couple weeks before the official Steam sale, you might find yourself unable to participate in the mass discount spending spree.

When you consider that over 7,500 games were launched on Steam in 2017, this change is going to make a lot of developers and publishers consider their launch dates wisely.

Why?

The reasoning for this is unclear, but it would appear to be an effort from Steam to try and coordinate future sales in a better manner.

There is, of course, a logic to this as well from a customer standpoint. If you buy a game on launch day with a 10% off promotion to find that 2 weeks later it’s in the seasonal sales for 30% off, you’re not going to be best pleased.

Anyone releasing for PC in the future, therefore, is going to have to consider their release date wisely. If you delay it you risk losing money. If you release too soon you might find your game excluded from the Steam sales.

It’s a question of risk/reward and personally, I’m not entirely sure which way I would go.

What do you think? Will this change release dates or affect the seasonal sales? – Let us know in the comments!