Offering thousands of games to millions of players, Steam is an indispensable resource for both gamers and game developers. However, the services offered by Steam are not limited to games only. It also provides traffic reporting data that helps game developers measure the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns.
Traffic reporting data allows game developers to see the sources, devices, geographic regions and conversion rates of visitors to their Steam store pages. In this way, game developers can better understand their target audience and promote their games better. However, the technology behind these features creates some issues with player privacy.
Why is Steam dropping Google Analytics?
Much of Steam’s traffic reporting data was based on Google Analytics (a third-party analytics tool). Google Analytics is a system that tracks and reports the behavior of visitors to websites and applications. However, the data that Google Analytics tracks may contain personal information of players. For example, data such as age, gender, location or interests. This data may be collected and shared without the consent or awareness of the players.
Valve took action to change this situation and announced that it will end support for Google Analytics on July 1, 2023. Instead, they will use their own reporting data designed for player privacy. In addition, the fact that Google will switch to Google Analytics 4 in July was also effective in Valve’s decision.
It seems like a logical move for Steam to drop Google Analytics. This move aims to align what Steam is doing with its own privacy policy. Of course, this change requires some sacrifices. For example, the scope of reported data will be reduced or more generalized. However, Valve will continue to provide important information to game developers and not share players’ personal data in return.
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