How the numbers are checked
Every number on the board can answer two questions: where it came from, and how it was counted.
Where the numbers come from
The developer makes a Steamworks key that can only read reports. Our sync server, on one fixed IP, reads the daily wishlist report from Steam’s official API. That is the only source of the numbers on the board.
- Steam returns each day; the developer never touches the numbers
- The key reads reports; it cannot change the store, prices or builds
- Synced daily; the page shows the last update
- Developers can see every request we make with their key
Games without a key
A game whose developer claimed the store page but has not connected a key is not public: it is not on the board and has no public page.
- We do not take files the developer exports, and we do not estimate
- The game is listed once its key is verified
How we count
Net = adds − deletes − purchases − gifts
7 / 30 days = the sum of that many closed GMT days
Lift = the N days after a promotion − the median of the 14 days before × N
Missing days say “not enough data”. We do not fill them in or estimate. Repeat clicks from the same person within 30 minutes count once. Lift is a before-and-after comparison, not a claim of cause.
Who we make stories for
- We choose and review the games we make videos about, listed or not; that goes for paid requests too. Numbers appear only for listed games with a verified key.
- We do not tell stories with other games’ data, and we do not rank games from public data or estimates. Every number on a page comes from that game’s own read-only key.
- A before-and-after goes public once it is final; connecting the key to list the game is the consent. When a game is withdrawn, its numbers and cases come down and the video card stays.
Public API
The numbers on the board can be read through an API: read-only, no sign-in. It returns listed games only, without the blocks a developer turned off.
GET /api/v1/games: the boardGET /api/v1/games/:id: one gameGET /api/v1/games/:id/series: its daily curveGET /api/v1/badges/:id: the rank badge, as SVG
Every game page has an AI-readable Markdown version: /g/{slug}/index.md. The site itself is described in llms.txt.
When a game is held for review
- A day adds at least 500, far above the previous 28 days, and more than 3× the best of those days: the game leaves the 7-day and 30-day boards for now and stays on the total board.
- Our team can hold a game while they check it; a held game is not ranked.
A spike within two days of a recorded promotion is noted and does not trigger the rule.