Bigger And Beta

The ins and outs of Steam’s smart new redesign

- Wes Fenlon

Remember when Steam was a drab olive green? That was a long, long time ago, and yet Steam’s library, the place we go to launch games every day, has rarely changed in that time. In fact, rumours and leaked images have pointed to a new library design since 2017. Valve’s been taking its time, but it’s finally here: a spiffy new library with smarter tools for organising games and big, shiny box art that makes browsing a pleasure.

“There are three main goals,” said Valve’s Alden Kroll when he showed off the library redesign at an event in Seattle. “To help players find the games that are in their library and find what to play next. Secondly, to stay up to date with the things happening in the games, what their friends are up to, things like that. And then also, for those who have been collecting games for years in Steam, help them organise their games and find what they might not even remember they have in their library collection.”

At time of writing, Valve hasn’t yet rolled the design out to everyone, but you can try it yourself by opting into the Steam client beta (Settings > Account > Change beta participation). It’s still a work in progress, but rest easy if you’re expecting the kind of beta where you clip through the floor or get shotgunned from across the map.

The client is perfectly stable, but the design is still in flux, as Valve sees how people react to its first major library changes in many years.