Steam has announced they will be ending the Steam Greenlight program in favor of a new program called Steam Direct. According to Steam over 100 Greenlight titles have made over $1 million in sales. However, Valve stated that in an attempt to streamline their distribution system and allow for direct publishing path, they will be discontinuing Steam Greenlight in Spring 2017 and replacing it with Steam Direct.

Steam Greenlight allowed developers to submit their game to Steam for a $100 fee and be voted on by the community. The games with the most votes were allowed to release on the Steam digital storefront, and many indie publishers were able to connect to gamers in a way never available before through Greenlight. However, according to Valve's announcement, they see Steam Greenlight as a stepping stone to a more direct distribution system.

Steam Direct will dismantle the Greenlight voting system. Instead, developers will be asked to be verified, complete paperwork, and tax documents. Once developers have applied and are accepted into the Steam Direct program; they'll have to pay a refundable application fee for each new game they wish to distribute through Steam.

The publishing fee for Steam Direct hasn't been finalized yet, and neither has the launch date of the new program. With the abuse of Greenlight voting in the past, I can see why Valve would desire to deal directly with developers. However, there was a large community built around Steam Greenlight that may feel betrayed by Valve's move. We'll bring you more on Steam Direct as information becomes available.