Valve continues its fight against "fake games" on Steam
Games that haven't reached Steam's "confidence metric" will be restricted from user achievements and game counts
Valve has placed limitations on achievements and game counts in another step to combat "fake games" on Steam.
In May last year, Valve limited access to Steam Trading Cards until games had reached a "confidence metric" - the point at which it becomes clear that a game is being bought and played by real users.
However, the "fake games" exploiting Trading Cards have been exploiting other systems on Steam; specifically those related to achievements and game counts. In a post shared with the private Steamworks group, Valve said the following restrictions will be placed on games until they reach the same "confidence metric".
Valve is concerned that fake games have been "inflating achievement and game counts" among an, "insignificant number of users." However, while the number of users have taken advantage, "the existence of these fake games still confuses our algorithm and our users."
Managing the content on Steam has been a hot topic in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the company addressed what many saw as inconsistent standards in what was allowed on Steam by seemingly throwing the gates open to all games that aren't, "illegal, or straight up trolling."
Valve then removed AIDS Simulator, Asset Flip Simulator, ISIS Simulator, and Triggering Simulator from Steam, giving an indication of what "straight up trolling" might mean.