Valve once hosted flash sales on its game distribution service, Steam. The service would offer a substantial percentage of discount on a game for a limited time, which a lot of customers ended up waiting for. After garnering criticisms that it hurt the market by making people avoid buying games at full price, Valve did away with the flash sales model in November 2015.
However, a new report has popped up which signals the potential return of the flash sales to Steam. Tyler McVicker of Valve News Network has dug up new strings which indicate that the flash sales may soon return to Steam. But, from the looks of the leaked image, the developers would likely be given an option to choose from a selection of flash sales, controlling their duration from six to 12 hours. He commented positively to the possible return of the flash sales, saying that it can make "sales feel more like an event again."
While flash sales were met with criticism later in their lifecycle at Steam, they also offered a chance to buy games on the cheap and discover unexpected games on the way as well. With developers having full rights to decide whether or not to hold flash sales, the new system might help them reap the benefits of flash sales while avoiding their caveats.
Source: Tyler McVicker (Twitter) via TechSpot