Valve wants developers to stop trading game keys for votes on Steam Greenlight

Valve has asked developers on Steam Greenlight to refrain from handing out game keys "in exchange for votes."

The message was sent to developers through the developer-only discussion section on Steam Greenlight.

Steam Database took a screencap of the announcement message and posted it on Twitter.

“When you give away copies of your game in exchange for votes, you put us in a really uncomfortable position,” reads the message. “We do not think these votes accurately reflect customer interest and it makes our job harder in deciding which games customers would actually buy and play on Steam.

"Additionally, when you give away copies of your game for votes, then every other developer on Greenlight thinks that is now the thing they need to do in order to get noticed. We don't think that is healthy for the system or really what customers want."

Valve said handing out keys for games which have yet to be greenlit has been "coming up more and more lately," and it will be taking such actions by developers into account "when evaluating titles to be greenlit," resulting in a longer approval process.

Via IGN.