'Dwarf' is now a tag on Steam following silly yet "very serious" demands from Dwarf Fortress and Deep Rock Galactic devs

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It's a big win for the little guys

Deep Rock Galactic
(Image credit: Ghost Ship Games)

Valve has finally given in to demands to have "Dwarf" added as a tag on Steam.

Recently, developers behind Dwarf Fortress and Deep Rock Galactic launched a rather amusing yet at the same time "very serious" campaign to give games starring dwarves their very own tag on Steam. The whole thing started back in early January, likely sparked by the arrival of the 'Boomer-Shooter' tag to highlight those fast-paced retro-style FPS titles.

Updating fans on the situation on Wednesday, January 31, the developers, in a joint statement on Twitter, said that they'd been told "no" by Valve. Thankfully, all was not lost, as the company also said it was willing to add the tag if "people on Steam started trying to use it." Naturally, this led to the developers calling on players to do just that. "Next time you see a dwarf game on Steam, go ahead and add the tag manually," the devs said. "Over time, Steam will see that we are very serious about the value a Dwarf tag would bring to the platform."

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Seemingly, this led to fans of those mythical stocky miners using the tag in droves, as Valve did concede in a rather speedy fashion, though not before it had a little fun with the situation. 

A day after the statement was shared, Twitter user @simoncarless noticed that 'Elf' had popped up as a tag on the platform.

As you might expect, those behind the recent campaign were none too pleased to see this mythical race added instead. "They did WHAT?!" replied Dwarf Fortress publisher Kitfox Games. The official Steam Twitter account then, a short time later, replied to Kitfox's tweet saying, "Oh whoops, wrong button," before revealing that dwarves now also have their very own tag.

Most in the comments are overjoyed at the news, though many now also have their own demands for tags. "Dwarf is cool and all, but where's a Rock tag? Dwarfs aren't the only ones mining rock!" says @TheCounterWolf. "How about crab," asks @AggroCrabGames, the team behind crustacean-themed Souls-like Another Crab's Treasure.

Following this victory, we also expect many developers and fans of games featuring centaurs, wizards, and other magical entities to be reaching out to Valve right about now.

Keep on top of the year's biggest and best releases with our guide to new games 2024.

Anne-Marie Ostler
Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.