Steam Compromises on Greenlight Fee, Adds Concepts Tab That Doesn’t Solve Problem

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When Steam Greenlight first launched, developers could freely add their video games to the mix and take their chances at bubbling to the top for a shot at being on Steam. Unfortunately, this submission process appears to have been largely unmoderated. Things quickly devolved, and Greenlight became a stream of horrifying and pornographic endeavors. Steam quickly instituted a $100 fee to curb this onslaught, but that outraged the indie community. As something of a compromise, Steam Greenlight now includes a Concepts tab where folks can throw up ideas to see if they stick before taking the $100 plunge.

Joystiq explains:

“Concepts,” a new section on Steam Greenlight, allows developers to post their games without paying the $100 fee normally required – the catch? Games can’t be Greenlit through Concepts. Concepts is a hub for developers to gauge interest in their games and build a community, even if the developer doesn’t have the resources to take its chances on Greenlight.

This whole mess seems like it could be easily solved by an approval queue, but sure, a compromise that really satisfies nobody is obviously the best solution.

(via Joystiq)

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