{"id":62785,"date":"2018-04-11T07:26:41","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T07:26:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=62785"},"modified":"2018-04-11T07:29:38","modified_gmt":"2018-04-11T07:29:38","slug":"latest-steam-update-bad-news-steam-spy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/technology\/latest-steam-update-bad-news-steam-spy.html","title":{"rendered":"Latest Steam Update Is Bad News For Steam Spy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Latest Steam Update Is Bad News For Steam Spy<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Today, Valve added new privacy options that let Steam users decide how they\u2019re viewed by the community. One big side effect: people\u2019s game libraries are now hidden by default, spelling the likely end of data-tracking monolith Steam Spy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Steam Spy is a service that sweeps publicly viewable Steam profiles to estimate game sales and a boatload of other statistics across the entire platform. While it\u2019s not always 100 percent on the money, it\u2019s the closest thing people have to an accurate look behind Steam\u2019s proprietary curtain. It\u2019s been used by everyone from curious users to sites like Kotaku to developers trying to gain leverage on publishers. Founded by game developer Sergey Galyonkin in 2015 as an experiment, it\u2019s now an institution.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now it might be doomed. Because games owned by users are now hidden by default, it\u2019s become prohibitively difficult for Steam Spy to estimate sales. \u201cSteam Spy relied on this information being visible by default and won\u2019t be able to operate anymore,\u201d Galyonkin said. Most of the new privacy settings don\u2019t interfere with Steam Spy at all, but the new library default is a game-changer.<\/span><\/p>\n

He added in an email to Kotaku that while it might be tempting to believe this was a targeted strike on Valve\u2019s part (this is data they\u2019d probably prefer to keep private, after all), he thinks Steam Spy\u2019s unceremonious fate is more of a byproduct. \u201cI\u2019m not sure this was done to remove Steam Spy, seeing as they\u2019ve also limited people\u2019s ability to join their friends in their games,\u201d he said. \u201cThis has far too many implications for Steam.\u201d More privacy by default is, of course, a good thing, but it\u2019s come at the cost of a service that thrived in Steam\u2019s margins.<\/span><\/p>\n

Responding to Twitter questions about Steam Spy\u2019s future, Galyonkin further explained that opt-in data gathering won\u2019t work for the types of estimates his site was doing, and he doubts he\u2019ll be able to strike a deal with Valve to regain the level of data access he had before. He added that, if nothing else, he\u2019ll keep an archive up, and he\u2019s considering other estimation methods. They wouldn\u2019t be as precise, but they\u2019d be something.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, he\u2019s not particularly optimistic at the moment.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there are any options unless Valve reverts this particular part of the update,\u201d he told me.<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019re reading Steamed, Kotaku\u2019s page dedicated to all things in and around Valve\u2019s wildly popular PC gaming service. Games, culture, community creations, criticism, guides, videos\u2014everything. If you\u2019ve found anything cool\/awful on Steam, send us a message to let us know.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-https:\/\/steamed.kotaku.com\/latest-steam-update-is-bad-news-for-steam-spy-1825163900<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t <\/div><\/div>\n\t\t