Valve has asked game developers to cease the practice of exchanging Steam keys for Greenlight votes.
The message was relayed to developers via a locked announcement page, but the Steam Database Twitter account was able to take a screenshot.
Valve is asking developers to no longer promise keys for Greenlight votes. pic.twitter.com/8v5zCdEhyl
— Steam Database (@SteamDB) February 10, 2015
“When you give away copies of your game in exchange for votes, you put us in a really uncomfortable position,” Valve announced. “We do not think these votes accurately reflect customer interest and it makes our job harder in deciding which games customers would actually buy and play on Steam.”
Valve believes that if developers give away copies of their games for votes, it will set a bad precedent which will see others follow suit, under the belief that doing so is necessary to secure votes. The company does not believe that doing so is "healthy" or "what consumers want" from the Greenlight system.
“We understand that running contests or giving away copies of your game can be viewed as a form of marketing,” Valve continued. “But for the purposes of Greenlight, we don’t think that giving away copies of your game in exchange for votes accurately reflects genuine customer interest.”
