Demos to get more space on Steam

Valve representatives have revealed several new features related to free demos on the pages of the Steam digital store. In general, demos should be more searchable and visible, which, according to the company representatives, has long been wanted by both players and individual developers.

“With thousands of demos released on Steam each year (often in conjunction with the Steam Next festival) and millions of downloads logged, we’ve been focused on relevant developer and user feedback and have based on that feedback prepared today’s update on how demos work.” Steam representatives describe the reasons for the changes.

Specifically, Valve is calling for the following changes:

• You can add new demos to your library without having to install them immediately. As with free games, demos now have an “Add to Library” button on the store page that allows you to add the demo to your library, for example, from the mobile app.
• Demos can be reinstalled even if you have the corresponding full version of the game. This change will primarily make it easier for developers to test their demos, but it will certainly help regular users manage their library as well.
• The demo version can now be removed directly from the account. Simply right-click on the selected demo version and select Manage > Remove from account.
• What’s new is that once you delete a demo version, it’s automatically removed from your library.

Other new features include how demos are displayed directly on Steam. Recently selected demos will have their own map, separate from the full version of a particular game. Demos will also now appear in multiple lists, headed by categories like “New & Popular” or “New on Steam.”

Developers will even be able to allow user reviews to be added to demos. In any case, it is positive that after a certain period of retreat from demos, this format is now gradually returning. Also, at least in the case of Steam, the trial versions will get even more space after the new update.