After looking at hundreds of games that released in 2023 that had fewer than 10 reviews, I can assure you that the vast majority of those games were first time developers just learning how to make games and market on Steam.
In my last blog I looked at the 14,000+ games released in 2023 and hoped to calm people’s fears, or at least inform them that the overwhelming growth was in games that earned 0-9 reviews. 10 reviews is the minimum bar that you must clear to get the tiniest bit of visibility from Valve. After looking at hundreds of games that released in 2023 that had fewer than 10 reviews, I can assure you that the vast majority of those games were first time developers just learning how to make games and market on Steam. Sub 10 games are not taking away visibility from professional game studios, or from teams that follow best practices when marketing. I am not saying it is easy to find success on Steam, but shaking your fist at the 14,000 other developers who have the same dream we all do is not the reason it is so hard.