SteamDB project lead and developer Pavel Djundik has uncovered what he thinks are pre-traces of a loyalty scheme in the making. Steam code samples shared on GitHub are highly indicative of Valve developing some kind of regular customer benefits. Additionally purported dates for the Steam Summer Sale have leaked.
Dealing with the most straight forward piece of news first, the Steam Summer Sale has been confirmed to begin on Thursday 25th June and end on 9th July. With the sale kick-off such a long time off it is still possible that the dates might shift somewhat, though not by any significant degree. Expect the Steam Summer Sale to start in roughly 6 weeks time.
Valve looks like it is investing in developing a customer loyalty scheme, which may possibly debut in time for the Steam Summer Sale. UK shoppers will be well aware of loyalty schemes, with many people wielding wallets stuffed with various retailer branded plastic, and keychains bristling with the smaller barcode / QR code marked versions. Likewise the Steam scheme will furnish a customer with redeemable points for their purchasing activities.
Database mining brings up the following indicative strings in the Steam code:
- LoyaltyRewardDefinition_CommunityItemData,
- LoyaltyRewardDefinition_BadgeData,
- LoyaltyRewardPurchaseBonus,
- and more…
Djundik reckons that shoppers will be able to earn "reward items, redeeming points for badge levels, and possibly game discounts". Social aspects of Steam look set to be spruced up at the same time with comments and new reaction emoticons in the UI. Strings indicate users will be able to add 'heartwarming', 'hilarious', 'helpful', and other common reactions to posts and comments.
