Steam has introduced a new way to suggest fresh and upcoming games in its latest update: the Personal Calendar. According to Polygon, the feature has been tested in Steam Labs since last year and is now officially rolled out.
What is the Steam Personal Calendar?
The calendar is a widget on the Steam Store homepage and also has its own dedicated page. It displays games by release date that you might find interesting: those released in the past month and those launching in the coming month. This gives you an at-a-glance view of what's just come out or is arriving soon.
You can filter by tags, Early Access status, and whether a game is on your wishlist. This is handy if, for example, you only want to see RPGs or keep an eye on your wishlist.
How are the Calendar Recommendations Generated?
The calendar updates daily. According to Valve's blog post, it uses your recently played games to find people with similar playtime profiles, and then looks at which games those people wishlist or play. This is not hand-curated, and developers cannot purchase placements. An algorithm makes the decisions.
The Polygon author tested the calendar on their own account. It suggested well-known titles like Emberville and Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered, as well as the Early Access game Sulfur, which is leaving Early Access and wasn't on their radar until then.
What Does the Calendar Offer for Players and Developers?
From our perspective, this approach is exciting because it focuses more on your own playing habits than general lists. Polygon notes that the selection appears significantly more specific than the "Popular New Releases" and "Popular Upcoming" tabs. For smaller games, this could be an advantage if they appear to the right target audience, even without massive marketing. At the same time, the algorithm is likely to influence which games get seen at all. How well this works in practice remains to be seen.
Just try it out: Look for the widget on the Store homepage or open the calendar page and set the filters to your liking.
Source: Polygon
Has the Personal Calendar already brought a game to your attention? Let us know in the comments!
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