According to data miner Pavel Djundik, Steam could be working on a brand new feature for its winter sale. The data miner found an API hinting at a year-in-review feature on Steam, similar to Spotify Wrapped.
The API Djundik found showcases various statistics linked to a Steam account. It includes the total sessions playtime on various platforms, from Microsoft Windows to the Steam Deck and VR headsets.
If this information appears to be correct, Steam would release a year-in-review feature this December, alongside its winter sale. Not only would that give gamers funny information to share with friends, but it could also let Steam promote more games that align with each player’s interests. And if those games are better targeted, it will bring more sales to the platform.
December is still pretty far ahead, even though the end of summer often means Mariah Carey will soon be singing again. Steam still has plenty of time to either go further with that year-in-review idea or scrap it altogether.
The year-in-review feature on Steam could quickly backfire though. If sharing your favorite songs on Spotify or Deezer is fun, sharing your gaming binge might be more awkward. Do you really want people to know you’ve spent 500 hours on Hatoful Boyfriend or that you played plenty of hours on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive without inviting your friends?
Those cases apart, sharing more love for gaming could be a great opportunity to discover new games. Seeing someone else’s Steam year-in-review could highlight games you missed or new indie titles that are worth a try. Moreover, it would bring some eyes to Steam’s winter sale, and Valve sure wants to sell you more games.
Steam’s shop is already tailored to your gaming preferences. If you spent many hours on a game, Steam will be more likely to suggest similar games. It also features a Discovery Queue to introduce new games you haven’t played yet. But seeing games already approved by your friends could be more interesting than the review of a random player you never met.
If Steam releases its year-in-review feature at the end of the year, it wouldn’t be the first gaming company to launch this kind of service. PlayStation and Nintendo both share information about how many hours you spent on a game. Of course, it isn’t as fancy as Spotify Wrapped and there is no way to tell which game would protect you from Vecna. But that is still a source of information worth sharing with fellow players.
According to the leaks, Steam could release its year-in-review feature this December, ahead of its yearly winter sale. However, the company hasn’t yet confirmed whether this feature was currently in development or if it would release this year.
