The Steam Curator overhaul first discussed at Unite Europe earlier this year has taken form as the Curator Connect program being launched into closed beta today.
The new program itself comes with a number of changes to the existing curator system across the board, but what game developers might be most interested in is how Curator Connect endeavors to make curators more accessible.
For one, Curator Connect gives devs the ability to search for curators by name, operating system, language, or curator-specified tags. Developers are then given details on each matching curator, including their follower counts and linked social media accounts to verify their identity.
But one of the most beneficial changes introduced through the system is the newfound ability for devs to send game copies to a list of selected curators directly through Steam itself rather than the traditional method of sending keys out via email.
In addition to cutting out some of the legwork, the curation overhaul adds some extra security for developers that might be wary about illegitimate review key requests and Steam keys falling into the hands of key resellers.
Right now, Valve is opening the program up to a few dozen curators to pull in some early feedback ahead of the full Curator Connect launch at an undetermined day a few weeks from now. More details on the coming changes can be found over on Valve's blog.