Discussing the Crisis of Shovelware Oversaturating Video Game Marketplaces Like Steam and the PlayStation Store

If you’ve browsed the ‘New Releases‘ tab on Steam recently, you’ve likely noticed something: a flood of games that feel… off.

We’re not talking about indie gems or passion projects from first-time developers, but those that look hastily put together, with little effort, minimal gameplay, and often a bunch of easy achievements attached.

Ever wonder why so many of these ‘trophy-hunting’ games exist? Welcome to the world of shovelware, one of gaming’s biggest problems.

A Recurring Problem That Didn’t Start With Steam

All shovelware is bad games, but not all bad games are shovelware. This issue isn’t as simple as the AAA bloat we’re seeing these days, nor is it anything new.

The shovelware problem got so bad in the 1980s, that there was a massive downturn in the gaming industry, lasting from 1983 to 1985 in the U.S. There were too many consoles and games, most of which were shovelware, resulting in the entire industry suffering.

For the past few decades, iOS and Android app stores have been battling this exact problem. You try searching for a new game to pass the time, and you’re hit with an endless wave of titles that are basically carbon copies of each other.

You’ll notice a recurring pattern: Minimal gameplay, tons of ads, and annoying monetization tactics at every turn. It’s a frustrating experience, but mobile gaming has always been a bit of a free-for-all and tends to have some of the least regulation.

Unfortunately, PC and console platforms, once bastions of higher quality, are catching up. Steam, PlayStation, and others are now facing the same problem.

Developers are releasing games that are barely games, hoping to snag a quick buck. The issue has only snowballed with the accessibility of AI generation, allowing people to generate all the assets they need to create barely functioning games that follow a generic formula.

Gaming Marketplaces Are Turning a Blind Eye

At one point, Steam banned games with AI-generated content, only to loosen its stance later, allowing it under the condition that it’s clearly labeled. This has made the problem worse, but shovelware doesn’t always need AI to be bad.

These games are low-budget, low-quality cash grabs that often prey on unsuspecting players with promises of easy achievements or low prices. And with the sheer volume of these games, it’s becoming harder to find actual gems hidden in the junk.

According to Statista, Valve’s digital marketplace sold about 409 million games by 2022, excluding free downloads. With the average price of a game hovering between $11-$20, it’s safe to assume that a significant chunk of those sales could be shovelware.

The problem isn’t just that shovelware exists. It’s that it’s everywhere, crowding the marketplace and making it harder for genuine indie games to get noticed. It used to be as easy as just scrolling past it, but when you’re scrolling for minutes and only seeing this kind of content, would you rather continue or give up your search entirely?

Console marketplaces like the PlayStation Store are falling victim to this, too. PlayStation games are generally more expensive, so if you’re browsing for something cheaper, you might end up wading through a sea of low-effort titles.

Take the simulator genre, for instance, which has become a shovelware hotspot. See a popular game like Supermarket Simulator? Give it a week, and you’ll find a dozen knockoffs with worse graphics, clunkier controls, and none of the charm.

The sad reality is that these games are often scams in disguise. You might find websites selling bundles of cheap game keys, where you can snag five Steam games for $10.

Sounds like a good deal, right? Never mind that the actual developers never see a cent of this money. Typically, these games are almost always shovelware, inflated in price, and bundled together to look like a steal.

It’s Not Just Consumers That Are Hurting

Indie developers are one of the biggest victims here. Shovelware saturates digital storefronts, making it harder for their legitimate, hard-earned games to be discovered.

On Steam, at least, you have a bit more control with filters, tags, and curator lists. But on console platforms like PlayStation, it’s a whole different struggle. Without solid filtering options, indie developers are buried under a mountain of low-quality, fast-turnaround games.

It doesn’t help that some gamers are fully aware of what shovelware is, yet still buy it because of the easy trophies and achievements to boost their profiles. This only encourages the churn of these low-effort games and makes the problem worse.

How do we fix this? More curation is clearly needed, but that’s easier said than done. Strict policies can hurt indie developers who are just trying to break into the market, and not every simple game or those released in quick succession is shovelware.

Just look at Cookie Clicker, a game where you click cookies to generate more cookies. It’s simple, but not anywhere close to the problem we’re talking about.

Word-of-mouth marketing, social media, and curator lists on platforms like Steam can help players find genuine games, but it’s not foolproof.

While this will keep away the cash grabs, what happens to the indie developers that never catch people’s attention? Of course, this is always the risk with creating any type of content, but these ‘scammy‘ games make an already difficult climb a thousand times harder.

In the end, we need to find a balance between protecting indie creators and consumers while filtering out spam.

Platforms need to implement smarter curation tools that allow good games to shine while keeping the marketplace clean from these spammy titles. The longer we wait, the more cluttered these digital stores will become.

What do you think? How can we clean up these marketplaces without hurting genuine developers in the process? Let us know your thoughts below!