Valve have just announced Steam Greenlight . The new service will work like the Steam Workshop, but for indie games. Creators can submit their work, whether it's an unfinished playable build or screenshots and videos, and gamers can then vote on the games they like. The best rated games will enter Valve's approval process for inclusion in the Steam store.
Steam Greenlight is currently due to launch at the end of August, and it should be a boon to any developer trying to make a living from indie games.
"Making the call to publish or not publish a title isn't fun," said Anna Sweet, in a press release the developer just released . "Many times opinions vary and our internal jury is hung on a decision. But with the introduction of the Steam Workshop we realized an opportunity to enlist the community's help as we review certain titles and, hopefully, increase the volume and quality of creative submissions."
Currently any indie game designer can submit their work for inclusion on the Steam store, but the approval process can be frustrating. Valve get far more submissions than they can quickly process, and indie developers whose games have been rejected often say they weren't given a clear reason why. Being accepted, meanwhile, can make the difference between success and failure as an indie game developer.
This new process should make it much easier for the best games to get on to the service. Best of all, gamers can make the difference. Have a favourite indie game that's currently not available through the Steam store? Convince the developer to submit it, then rally the community to vote it to the top of the Steam Greenlight pile. My first vote will go to the excellent turn-based strategy game Unity of Command .
Steam Greenlight was revealed at a private event in London for British indie designers, and the official website has more details. What indie games do you think should be on Steam?
