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Steam curators and key requests: Curator Connect and key scams
DreamEp, founder of NextWishlist · Updated · 3 min read
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Short answerCurator Connect is Valve's free tool to send your game to up to 100 curators, at most 5 copies each, once your page is public, without keys. Use it rather than emailing keys, check a curator's followers and recent reviews first, and treat unsolicited key requests as likely resellers.
Once your Steam page is public, your inbox fills with key requests from curators and creators. Some are real, many aren't. Here is how Steam's own tool for curators works, which ones are worth a key, and how to spot the scams.
01What Steam curators are
A Steam curator is a person or group that recommends games on Steam. Players who follow a curator see its recommendations on store pages and in their store. A recommendation from a big curator in your genre can show up on many players' pages; most curators, though, have few followers.
02Curator Connect: Valve's tool
- Free, in Steamworks, once your store page is public.
- Send your game to up to 100 curators, with at most 5 copies each.
- No keys: Valve makes a license available to the curator directly through Steam, so nothing can be resold. The game is playable right away, even before release.
- A dashboard shows the copies sent to each curator and how many were accepted. Curators have no obligation to play or review.
- You can't take back a game once accepted, but you can expire an offer that wasn't.
That's why practitioners treat Curator Connect as the legitimate route: anyone who asks for a key outside it is worth a second look.
03Which curators are worth it
- Followers: shown on the curator page. Prefer curators with a real following in your genre.
- Recent activity: dozens of reviews in the past months, in your genre.
- Real reviews: a sentence or two about the game, not a generic line copied everywhere.
- A linked channel: a YouTube, Twitch or website with an audience you can check.
Sending to many small curators costs you nothing through Curator Connect, but don't expect wishlists from them. Creators who play your genre on video bring far more: how to get YouTubers to play your game.
04How to spot a key scam
Keys have resale value on grey-market sites, so developers get a steady stream of fake requests. The usual signs:
- The email comes from a Gmail or lookalike address, not from the address listed on the creator's channel.
- It asks for several keys, or keys "for giveaways".
- The channel's numbers don't match its engagement: big subscriber counts, few views or comments.
- A curator asks by email for keys instead of through Curator Connect, or threatens a bad review if you refuse.
When in doubt, reply through the contact listed on the creator's own channel. Real creators don't mind.
05Better than keys: a demo
Before launch, a free demo removes the problem: creators can play it now, with no key to resell. Send the demo link with a short pitch and your press kit (indie game press kit). Keep keys for the launch, sent 1 to 2 weeks before release to creators you've checked.
06Know which creator brought players
Give each creator their own Steam UTM link, then compare the wishlists each one brought (Steam UTM links). NextWishlist finds the creators who played games like yours and measures what each video brought.
Steam curators and key requests: quick answers
What is Steam Curator Connect?
A free Steamworks tool to send your game to up to 100 curators, at most 5 copies each, once your store page is public (Coming Soon is enough). It uses no keys: curators receive a license directly in Steam.
Are Steam curator key requests scams?
Many are. Keys can be resold, so fake curators and YouTubers ask for them by email. Real curators can receive your game through Curator Connect.
How do I check if a YouTuber asking for a key is real?
Reply through the contact listed on their channel, check that their views and comments match their subscribers, and be wary of requests for several keys.
Do Steam curators bring wishlists?
A few large curators in your genre can. Most have small followings; creators who play your genre on video usually bring far more.
Sources
Valve's rules can change: the official Steamworks page always wins. Practitioner benchmarks are surveys of developers, given as ranges.
- Valve, Curator Connect (Steamworks) (read Oct 3, 2026)
- Game Developer, “Avoiding ineffective or scam discovery interactions with influencers” (read Oct 28, 2026)
- Fruitbat Factory, “How to recognize a review key scammer” (April 23, 2017)
- Steam Page Analyzer, “How to get streamers to play your game” (August 17, 2026)
- Valve, UTM analytics (Steamworks) (read Oct 28, 2026)
Know which post, creator or subreddit brought wishlists.
Your posts and tracking links tied to your wishlists, the formats that work for games like yours, and the creators of your niche. NextWishlist is a Steam marketing tool for indie developers, in private beta.