The secret to using Steam as a developer is to make Valve earn their 30 percent

We have a wealth of stories from GDC today, including tips on making Steam work for you, career advice in a chaotic time, level design secrets, performance notes from the team behind Baldur's Gate 3 and much, much more! We also have plenty of news from the likes of Xbox, Blizzard, and more.

The secret to using Steam as a developer is to make Valve earn their 30 percent

Chris Zukowski argues that Valve can do a lot to help your game become more visible, which is worth its weight in gold. All you have to do is ask.

Zukowski argued that the most important thing Early Indie developers can do is translate their store pages and demos, even if the final game is not translated. He recommended Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and then FIGS (French, Italian, German, Spanish) in that order of priority.

"Simplified Chinese has overtaken English in the languages spoken on Steam. It may seem like a big expense but it is absolutely worth every penny. A lot of non-english speakers play demos."

Xbox rolls out new framework to help devs design better for inclusivity

The goal of this production framework is to "weave intentionality and inclusion into the products they make, in order to reach a broader set of players worldwide in a meaningful way."

Unreal Engine blockbusters and UEFN tools take center stage at State of Unreal

Fortnite development is moving to UEFN and Amy Hennig is leveraging UE 5.4 to bring to iconic Marvel characters to life.

The key to future employment in games dev is diversifying your skill set

Game design professor Jeremy Bond shares how to prepare your students for the uncertain game industry future.

Avoiding the 'compliment sandwich:' Techniques for mentoring others in the art of level design

Christopher Totten explains why mentoring others in level design can be such a problem and how to take time to teach without interrupting the pipeline.

Building Baldur's Gate 3's memorable characters was all about forming trust in performance capture

Baldur's Gate 3's performance director Greg Lidstone explained how they built trust with their actors, including having an intimacy coordinator on the team.

Capturing the spontaneity and creativity of improvisational theater with Once Upon a Jester

Mark Lohmann and Kyon Edelenbosch talk about the appeal of bringing their love of improvisational theater and music to the world of video games with Once Upon a Jester.

Blizzard is making Overwatch 2 heroes free for everyone

You get free Heroes, YOU get free Heroes!

Tarn Adams decries industry layoffs mandated by 'horrible, greedy people'

Adams didn't mince words, saying the barrage of layoffs and canned projects were done by "greedy people trying to make some venture capital thing work out."