Wholesome mining games Dwarf Fortress and Deep Rock Galactic unite to demand their own 'Dwarf Games' tag on Steam
And who are we to oppose them?
Developers making games featuring dwarves are uniting to try and get their own tag on Steam.
The entire thing kicked off earlier this week, when Red Dead Redemption 2 was controversially awarded the 'Labor of Love' award at The Steam Awards. In response, Kitfox Games, who helped port Dwarf Fortress to Steam back near the end of 2022, responded with the tweet below, believing Deep Rock Galactic should've taken home the fan-voted award over Rockstar's prequel.
Deep Rock Galactic should have won over Red Dead 2. And I'm NOT just saying that because people who make dwarf games are our friends 😤January 4, 2024
That lead to the tweet just below, again from Kitfox Games, revealing the developer's shock that there isn't a 'Dwarf' tag for dwarf-starring games on Steam. Just think of the discoverability the dwarf-led games could have if they all had a corresponding tag on the PC storefront!
Hey @JoinDeepRock I'm not sure what they are doing over at Steam but there is no dwarf tag for our games! This seems like a huge oversight and I don't think we can let this slide.January 4, 2024
Deep Rock Galactic got in on the act pretty quickly, joining the Dwarf Fortress devs in their dismay. These two development studios truly believe that the dwarves all deserve their time in the spotlight, and who are we to disagree with them?
I just checked and there is NO dwarf tag on Steam. We need to rally the dwarven communities and get this fixed! https://t.co/OTFjs4gyhGJanuary 4, 2024
This entire thing has probably been hastened by the fact that Steam finally acknowledged 'Boomer Shooters' with their own tag. Retro-themed shooters have been an ongoing trend for years now, and now Valve has finally solidified them as a genre unto themselves with an appropriate Steam tag. Will dwarf-led games see similar joy? Only time, and Valve, can tell.
You can check out our upcoming PC games guide for a look ahead at whether there's any other dwarf-led games on the radar for launch on PC in 2024 and beyond.
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Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.