Valve has announced significant improvements to its Free Demos feature. Enhancements include better visibility for demos on the Steam platform, making it easier for players to find and try out games before purchasing. Developers now have more options to promote their demos, with increased opportunities for featuring during events and festivals.
The update also streamlines the process for players to access and play demos, aiming to provide a smoother and more engaging experience. These changes reflect Valve’s commitment to supporting developers and enhancing user experience on Steam.
You can now add demos to your library without having to immediately install them. Just click on the new “add to library” button next to demos you may not be ready to install. Demos can be installed even if you already own the full game. Primarily, this will make it easier for developers to test demos, but it will also help players more easily manage installing or uninstalling demos.
Demos can be explicitly removed from an account by right-clicking > manage > remove from account. When a demo is uninstalled, it will automatically get removed from your library. It will also be possible for players of the demo to post user reviews for the demo. These reviews and score will appear on the demo store page just like reviews for any other game on Steam.
Valve has stated that developers have been asking for a way to enable a full store page to better describe the contents of the demo, add separate screenshots, upload a trailer, and specify supported features. This is now possible and you’ll find that clicking on a demo sometimes loads a full demo store page while other times will take you to the full game’s page with a button to install the demo.
