Is it only required here because they are both on Steam? I'm just a little confused because there are so many games out there with the same name.
In this instance, a descriptor is required for each of the two entries because they share the same base name and are in the same category. And because of the current limitations of the database, it's irrelevant that they're entries for two totally different items—the rules still apply. Until there's ever a change in how the database is designed, that's how we're to handle these kinds of situations. A more egregious example is below:
Maze (2019)
Maze (2020)
Maze (2021)
Maze (2024)
Maze (2025)
This makes sense. I was interpreting the wording of "release" to mean releases of the same title, not different games ("titles") with the same name.