If the algorithm sees good numbers, Steam quickly rewards the game with lots of views on the discovery queue, additional featuring in “More Like This,” better featuring during genre sales and festivals, and even the opportunity to opt into Daily Deals.
In my experience, the only way to get a game to 1000 reviews is to have something special about your game. You also can’t buy your way there with ads. To get up THAT high, Steam has to notice it has the magic and apply its priceless featuring and promotion to it. And to get that featuring, Valve has to see good sales velocity or ongoing concurrent players after launch. If the algorithm sees good numbers, Steam quickly rewards the game with lots of views on the discovery queue, additional featuring in “More Like This,” better featuring during genre sales and festivals, and even the opportunity to opt into Daily Deals.