Steam Spy will now refuse all requests for removal of data

Steam Spy will no longer comply with requests for game data to be removed from its website. According to Sergey Galyonkin, the site's founder, doing so has the potential to "hurt" its audience with no obvious benefits to anyone.

In the past, Steam Spy has agreed to remove games from several developers and publishers, including Paradox Interactive and Squad, which makes Kerbal Space Program. However, a request from Techland has prompted a change in policy, with Sergey Galyonkin taking to Twitter to state his belief in, "building a tool that is useful for...game developers."

Paradox and Squad's games are now back on Steam Spy, and Galyonkin subsequently told Polygon that the decision was taken for the greater good. "Removing several important independent games from the service will hurt everyone else while not necessarily benefitting the publishers of the removed games," he said.

Galyonkin's point speaks to the way he sees Steam Spy: not as a source for accurate sales data (Steam Spy reports "owners," not sales figures), but more like a presidential poll that shows the level of public interest.

From a developer's perspective, the common concern is that, however Galyonkin frames the matter, Steam Spy's data can still be misinterpreted as an accurate indicator of sales and revenue, creating potential issues with both fans and business partners.