Valve will change how Steam's 'Discounts & Events' section operates starting in early 2027. The core of the change is phasing out the system where staff manually assigned featured games based on a schedule, moving instead to personalized recommendations tailored to user preferences.
Valve announced the plan via a Steam announcement on September 29 (local time) and paused scheduling curated placements for the section. The paused placements include 'Weekend Deals', 'Midweek Deals', and 'Daily Deals'. Previously scheduled placements will proceed as planned, and developers do not need to take any separate action.
Until now, this section was filled with slots scheduled directly by developers via Steamworks or assigned by Valve's Steam team. Because the number of slots was fixed, only a fraction of games discounted during the same period appeared on the store front page. Valve explained that following the overhaul, more discounted games and sale events will have the opportunity to be visible on the homepage and across Steam.
The overhaul is based on the results of experiments conducted over recent months. Valve stated that after replacing some curated spots with personalized recommendations, the section showed 10 times more games to users per day compared to before. Valve explained that store page visits, wishlist additions, and cart additions also saw meaningful increases, though specific growth figures were not disclosed.
Valve stated, "The constraint of a manually managed calendar doesn't make as much sense with such diverse customer tastes and so many relevant deals for customers available at any given time." The company added, "We don't believe this will be perfect right away, but we are confident the new system will result in better outcomes for customers and developers."
An exact launch date has not been set. Valve said it is still tuning the details and will provide clarity on the schedule in the upcoming weeks. Alongside the overhaul, Valve will release new and updated tools to help developers manage their discounts and sale events. Valve explained, "Our goal is to let developers focus on crafting the most compelling games and deals for customers, and not spend time trying to convince someone at Valve to feature their products."
With this move, promotional exposure on Steam is shifting from human curation to recommendation algorithms. On Steam, where game releases continue to grow and discounts are constant, limited featured deal slots served as a key exposure channel for indie and mid-sized developers with modest marketing budgets. While eliminating fixed slots removes the competition for scheduling, which games appear to which users will now depend on user engagement data and recommendation criteria.
