In an attempt to demonstrate not only the speed in which Valve handles support requests with their recent revamp, but also the sheer magnitude of such requests, the company launched a tracker that allows users to see how the management is going. The tracker, launched alongside an explanatory blog post, shows both the amount of submissions coming in and those still waiting for a response. In the category breakdown on the tracker is where things get astonishing, especially in the Steam refund requests department.

Valve averages about 75,000 help requests daily and now averages near the 10,000 mark on requests still awaiting a response at the end of the day. As shown in the graph above, this is a tremendous dive, in the best way, from their 50,000 or more left waiting at the beginning of the year. Valves blog post discusses their effort in support but the numbers speak for themselves in terms of how many Steam refund requests the company has to sift through. Valve, however, remains optimistic:

Our goal going forward is to keep the backlog of requests shrinking and to be able to respond to all requests as quickly as possible”

The category breakdown mentioned earlier gives a sobering look at the numbers. Of the roughly 75,000 support requests a day, a little over 48,000 are often Steam refund requests. It takes Valve’s support team anywhere from 1.35 to 1.99 hours to respond, depending on the kind of workload. This paints a fairly vivid picture of what Steam support has to deal with on a daily basis.

Support is one part of a multifaceted attempt to overhaul problematic areas in Steam. With the high volume of games rolling out daily, it can be tricky identifying problems, and even more difficult trying to find solutions and anticipate potential problems therein. As always, this remains a work in progress and plans to handle the Steam refund requests are already on their way.

Can Valve manage the overwhelming task of overhauling Steam? Join in on the conversation in the comment section below! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for live gaming and entertainment news 24/7!