The landscape for PC game development is under rigorous scrutiny, with many in the industry pointing to discoverability as a chief obstacle for new releases. As smaller studios navigate the saturated market on platforms like Steam, conversations regarding visibility and sustainability have reached heightened levels. Hooded Horse CEO Tim Bender now brings a differing view to this debate, emphasizing that discoverability may not be the main issue stalling growth for most indie and mid-sized developers. In his perspective, industry health requires not just better storefront exposure, but more realistic planning and risk distribution among publishers and larger corporate entities. This conversation occurs as games like Manor Lords, 9 Kings, Cataclismo, and Endless Legend 2 from Hooded Horse achieve both critical and financial success, highlighting the varied challenges teams face beyond simple platform visibility.
Earlier discussions about discoverability on Steam heavily criticized the platform’s algorithm and storefront, often blaming these systems for underperforming sales figures, especially for indie games. However, Bender’s position appears more nuanced than the prevalent narrative, suggesting factors beyond store mechanics weigh more on developers’ outcomes. Recent industry layoffs and closures led many to demand higher visibility guarantees, but success stories among Hooded Horse’s portfolio suggest that precise budgeting and realistic market assessments play substantial roles. Unlike previous calls for backstage reforms by Steam or storefront operators, this viewpoint shifts attention to the economic decisions made during and before production, and the long-standing approach of risk absorption by publishers.
Is Discoverability on Steam Still a Problem?
Tim Bender challenges the idea that poor discoverability is the core problem for PC developers. He describes Steam’s design as highly focused on surfacing new games to relevant players according to their preferences.
“I’ve seen a lot of people argue that right now lack of discoverability is a fundamental problem for PC games, but I disagree,”
he notes, highlighting that the platform’s discovery tools routinely propose titles both within and outside users’ interests. This suggests exposure is present, but the abundance of games can make it difficult for each title to stand out without resonant content or accurate targeting.
What Does Bender Say About Managing Expectations?
Bender argues that many developers and publishers set unrealistic sales or exposure expectations, given the volume of games released and the varying sizes of potential audiences. He contends this industry-wide optimism drives unsustainable budgets and can ultimately determine a studio’s fate.
“Sustainability comes from taking hard, early looks at games and the reality of the market size they will reach compared to their costs, when viewed from likely scenarios rather than extreme optimism,”
insists Bender, urging more conservative financial planning and better alignment of project ambition and market scope.
How Should Publishers and Corporations Handle Financial Risk?
The CEO also calls on publishers and larger corporate owners to assume a fair share of financial risk, rather than passing it entirely to developers through strict recoupment practices. He points out that publishers are able to absorb losses across their broader portfolios, whereas a single failed project can end a small studio’s viability. Bender further suggests that corporate parents should avoid closing studios solely due to profits not meeting projections, arguing that teams responsible for losses today may produce hits in the future, if allowed to continue.
Bender’s insights clarify that challenges in PC game development are multifaceted, relying on a combination of marketplace visibility, project realism, and equitable risk-sharing. Steam’s discovery algorithms and dense catalog, often maligned for crowding out new releases, are only one facet of the dilemma. Realistic financial planning and publisher support play just as vital a role in determining whether studios survive long enough to create successive projects. For developers, moderating budgets and aligning expectations with achievable sales milestones are practical measures. Meanwhile, publishers with multiple properties can mitigate individual losses and foster innovation, provided they resist imposing undue risk or unrealistic expectations on their partners. Industry observers and participants might focus on more holistic solutions—like flexible budgeting and risk-sharing—rather than relying solely on platform reforms to improve outcomes for game creators.
