When Steam Greenlight first launched, developers could freely add their video games to the mix and take their chances at bubbling to the top for a shot at being on Steam. Unfortunately, this submission process appears to have been largely unmoderated. Things quickly devolved, and Greenlight became a stream of horrifying and pornographic endeavors. Steam quickly instituted a $100 fee to curb this onslaught, but that outraged the indie community. As something of a compromise, Steam Greenlight now includes a Concepts tab where folks can throw up ideas to see if they stick before taking the $100 plunge.
Joystiq explains:
“Concepts,” a new section on Steam Greenlight, allows developers to post their games without paying the $100 fee normally required ā the catch? Games can’t be Greenlit through Concepts. Concepts is a hub for developers to gauge interest in their games and build a community, even if the developer doesn’t have the resources to take its chances on Greenlight.
This whole mess seems like it could be easily solved by an approval queue, but sure, a compromise that really satisfies nobody is obviously the best solution.
(via Joystiq)
- Software finally came to Steam too
- Steam for Linux is actually going to happen
- Steam Greenlight apparently works
