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A platter of experimental discovery features are heading to Steam

Steam has rolled out a number of new and updated experimental discovery features though its Steam Labs initiative.

Chris Kerr, News Editor

September 6, 2019

1 Min Read
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Steam has rolled out a number of new and updated experimental discovery features though its Steam Labs initiative.

For starters, the Micro Trailers experiment has now been made available for every game after being initially trialed with hundred games across 15 categories. As you might've guessed from the name, Micro Trailers is used to show users 6-second quick-cuts of game trailers when they hover over a listing to give them a quick burst of flavor.

Created in partnership with indie game developer Ichiro Lambe of Dejobaan Games, Micro Trailers can be used in conjunction with the Automatic Show experiment and will now work with every game on the Steam Store, categorized into nearly 400 tags. 

Steam Labs has also introduced a completely new experiment called Search, which will help people discover titles on Steam using new price and sale filters. Shoppers will also be able to use the feature to exclude owned, wised-for, or ignored items from display results, letting them create specialized searches that deliver tailored results. 

Finally, Valve hopes to further aid Steam discoverability with the impending launch of a new Diving Bell prototype, created by indie game developer Lars Doucet. Diving Bell, now known as Deep Dive, will arrive soon, and will offer an "exploratory interface to discover new games based on their similarity to familiar ones, plus the ability to use these recommendations themselves as a jumping-off point to dive even deeper into what Steam has to offer."

For more information on each Steam Labs experiment, be sure to check out the Steam blog.

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2019

About the Author

Chris Kerr

News Editor, GameDeveloper.com

Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.

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