We had shovelware games 25+ years ago (and probably 40 years ago, though I suspect the lack of microcomputers limited that). There were bargain-bin selections (literally bins full of CDs) that cost a few bucks and were utterly shite. I suspect the target audience was tech-unaware relatives who would be "little Johnny likes video games, I'll get him one of these...". Most of them were bad takes on popular games of the time.

Unity + Steam just makes this process a bit easier and more streamlined. I think the new thing is that as well as the dickwads who are trying to rip people off, there are well-intentioned newbie or indie developers releasing their unpolished attempts. These folks couldn't publish their work in the old days, because making CDs costs money, while now they can.