Steam is preparing to overhaul the way discounted games and sale events are presented to users, moving away from its current manually scheduled system toward a more dynamic, algorithm-driven approach.
Valve announced that its Discounts & Events section will gradually shift from a calendar-based model to one that personalizes game recommendations for individual customers. The change is expected to be completed in early 2027, although Valve has not yet provided an exact date.
Under the existing system, Valve and participating developers can schedule games for curated placements, including promotions such as Weekend Deals, Midweek Deals and Daily Deals. Valve has now paused the scheduling of new curated placements, while previously scheduled promotions will continue to run.
The upcoming system will instead use Steam’s algorithms to determine which discounted games and events individual users see. Valve said it has already been testing personalized recommendations by replacing some manually curated positions with dynamic selections.
According to Valve, those experiments allowed Steam to showcase 10 times more games to customers in a single day within the relevant section. The company also reported increases in Steam store-page visits, wishlists, and items being added to shopping carts.
The change could also alter how smaller and independent developers attract attention on Steam. Game Developer reported that some developers have already seen increased traffic from the personalized Discounts & Events section. Hooded Horse CEO Tim Bender, for example, said one of the company’s games received more than 7,000 visits from the section in a month, compared with only a small number of visits during the preceding months.
Valve says the goal is to help players discover games that are more relevant to their interests while allowing developers to concentrate on creating compelling games and discounts rather than seeking manual placement.
Game developers will also receive new and updated tools for managing discounts and sale events through Steamworks. Valve says further information about the transition will be provided in the coming weeks.
The move represents another step toward a more personalized Steam storefront, where algorithms increasingly determine which games receive visibility based on individual users and their interests rather than a single schedule applied across the platform.
