The Steam registry is like a Pokedex for PC games, and with its latest update, Valve do seem to be trying to catch 'em all. One of NeoGAF 's data miners has gone into the distribution service's database and found listings for a huge bunch of potentially upcoming games - everything from the unannounced (Quantum Conundrum 2), to the soon to be ported (Fez) and the long thought lost (Halo 3). In fact, there are enough odd entries to cast doubt on their validity. More on that below.
First, here's NeoGAF's list:
- La-Mulana
- The Splatters
- Octodad: Dadliest Catch Beta
- Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition (Duke Nukem 3D+)
- Super House of Dead Ninjas
- Fez
- LucasArts Test App
- Fast and Furious 6
- Lococycle
- Yogventures!
- Hardware
- Hardware (Demo)
- Dyad
- Cut the Rope
- Shadow Warrior Complete
- Hardware (VIP)
- Hardware (Internal)
- THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII
- Retro/Grade
- Resident Evil: Revelations
- THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2002 UNLIMITED MATCH
- THE KING OF FIGHTERS '98 ULTIMATE MATCH
- Quantum Conundrum 2
- Halo 3
- Halo 2
- Halo: Combat Evolved
- The Witness
- Angry Birds Space
- Angry Birds Seasons
- Second Life
Some of this makes sense. We already knew that Fez was going multiplatform , so a Steam listing shouldn't come as a surprise. Steam also seems like a natural home for Jonathan Blow's upcoming The Witness, although there's still no announced release date for the puzzler.
Others are questionable, most obviously the Halo games. There's no reason why Microsoft couldn't finally bring Halo 3 to PC, although after five and a half years, I'm not entirely sure why they would. Plus, Halo 2 recently closed its multiplayer servers, which makes a potential new lease of life on Steam sound dubious.
Steam's database is full of old listings, some of which never make it to release. League of Legends has an entry , but it's based on an old Collector's Edition, and doesn't signify a Steam release.
The Steam Apps Database site has released a blog post about the reliability of these recent entries. They point out that a recent update to the tool now lists Steam Hub entries, causing many old apps to update. "There are lots of errors in the Steam Database, some bigger than others, and this might just be one of them," the post states. "Is it a placeholder and is Halo 3 actually on it's way to Steam? Or is it just another Steam Hub page that one of the publishers made for name-reserveration's sake?"
Certainly there are irregularities. One app lists the Steam Hub name as "Total War: Caveman", which sounds more like a joke name for a test listing. Any of the names could be there as placeholder, or even completely made up by developers mucking around on their supposedly private page.
But others are confirmed as Steam games. Yogventures, Octodad and La-Mulana have all been Greenlit, so are due to appear on the service in the future. Essentially, if it hasn't been officially announced, there's plenty of cause to be sceptical. That doesn't mean you can't hope. Personally, I've got fingers crossed for DYAD and Retro/Grade. They're wasted on the Playstation Network.
We've contacted Valve for an explanation of how entries are generated.
Thanks, Gamechup .
