Valve overhauls tag system on Steam to improve game discoverability

Valve has updated its tagging system on Steam, introducing 17 new classifications, eliminating 28, and consolidating or renaming several others.

Among the eliminated tags are ‘NSFW’ and ‘Mature,’ which overlapped significantly with descriptive options such as ‘Gore,’ ‘Violent,’ and ‘Sexual Content,’ according to Valve.

Descriptors like ‘Well-Written’ and ‘Masterpiece’ were removed due to “disagreements and inconsistent application”. Others, such as ‘Drama’ and ‘Ambient’, were taken down because they apply to few products.

Terms related to specific intellectual property, such as Lego and Warhammer 40k, have also been removed since franchise pages already cover these titles.

The additions feature content-focused keywords like ‘Wolves’ and ‘Zoo’, broader genres such as ‘Bullet Haven’ and ‘Desktop Companion’, as well as options for gameplay elements like ‘Organising’ and ‘Decorating.’

Several entries have also been renamed or merged to eliminate overlap and clarify their purpose.

For instance, Valve explained that ‘Pool’ was frequently assigned to titles with swimming pools. This label is now ‘Billiards,’ which more accurately refers to cue stick games.

“These changes are made with the goal of helping players identify the games that best fit their interests, and helping Steam generate appropriate recommendations,” Valve said.

You can read the full list of tag changes here.

Last year, Valve introduced new accessibility tags on Steam, helping disabled players find inclusive games while allowing developers to better communicate their games’ accessibility features.

GamesIndustry.biz also spoke with TinyBuild CEO and founder Alex Nichiporchik about the importance of Steam tags.

“Based on the games that you play and the tags associated with those games, you are given a lot of personalised recommendations,” said Nichiporchik. “If we were to launch [The King is Watching] three or four years ago, it probably wouldn’t have done as well, because the wish lists that we have accumulated were directly targeted for this very specific target audience.”

“Valve’s decision-making was initially surprising to developers and publishers, but now you can really find a concrete niche for your game.”