The video game industry has a discoverability problem. Sure, you’re bound to know a new Call of Duty is releasing this fall, but what about Double Fine’s Keeper? By player Steam player counts, it looks like not many people know it’s out. And who can blame them — between 1,300 and 1,700 games have been released each month on Steam this year, and that doesn’t take into account games exclusive to other storefronts, like Nintendo’s eShop or Sony’s PlayStation Store. Deciding what new game to play is a challenge when there are just so many new games to play.
Steam is rolling out a new tool to help users wade through that sea of endless new releases. Announced Tuesday, the Personal Calendar will display a snapshot of games that have recently released and those coming in the near future. According to Valve’s Tuesday announcement, the Steam Personal Calendar is “filtered down to the set of games we think you are most likely to be interested in.”
The Personal Calendar shows a snapshot of games released in the last month, then spotlights those that have come out in the last seven days. It then offers a detailed look at upcoming games releasing each week for the next eight weeks.
The calendar isn’t just a list of the biggest games coming out. Instead, it’s a personalized release slate based on the games you spend the most time with. “The system is more focused on games that you play the most (relative to other players),” the announcement notes. Playing a demo for 30 minutes won’t skew your recommendations, but sinking 100 hours into The Witcher 3 certainly will.
I only play PC games on a Steam Deck, which has turned into my indie machine over the years. Because of that, my recommendations show indie releases I’ve had my eye on, like Dispatch and The Lonesome Guild. Upcoming games Hypogea, Ayasa: Shadows of Silence, and Unpetrified: Echoes of Nature I hadn’t previously heard of have immediately caught my eye on my Personal Calendar, and — yep, now they’re on my wishlist.
The Personal Calendar also includes games already added to your Steam wishlist, even if the system didn’t recommend them. You can also adjust the calendar to hide games you already own, and customize the number of upcoming games you’d like to see.
Spend some time tinkering with the Personal Calendar and leave feedback about it for Steam if you feel so inclined. It’s a Steam Labs Experiment, so the company is looking for user input to help inform development on the feature.
