Valve has introduced a serious replace to its Steam utility that brings a “recent” new look, higher notifications, a brand new in-game overlay and new Notes characteristic.

Introduced on Twitter (see beneath), and with a weblog put up, this is among the greatest updates to Steam we’ve seen for a very long time – and as a result of reputation of Valve’s Steam platform, these modifications will doubtless affect virtually all PC avid gamers.

Howdy! We have simply shipped an enormous replace to the Steam Desktop shopper. New options embrace a very redesigned in-game overlay, new notes performance, pinnable in-game home windows, enhancements to notifications and extra.Study extra in regards to the replace right here: https://t.co/6OWnUQOBqs pic.twitter.com/A9OI8WMaqbJune 14, 2023

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Probably the most noticeable change is the key redesign of the Steam interface, which Valve describes as “focused visible and value enhancements throughout Steam.” Whereas the app stays recognizable, the brand new look feels extra trendy, with Settings and Screenshot Supervisor getting explicit consideration.

Higher notifications

When you use Steam – and if you happen to play lots of the finest PC video games it’s doubtless that you just do, you then’ll most likely have observed notifications popping up within the nook of your display screen whereas enjoying. Whereas these can typically be helpful, as a rule they’re ineffective alerts about somebody including you to their ‘Associates listing’, doubtlessly distracting you at a key second within the sport.

So the truth that Valve has improved notifications to be “extra helpful to you” is actually welcome – as is Valve’s acknowledgement that Steam notifications haven’t been nice. With the brand new replace, the ‘bell’ icon on the high of the display screen will solely mild up inexperienced when there’s “really one thing new for you,” and the notification pop-out window can be restricted to new notifications (older ones will be seen by clicking the ‘View all’ possibility).

Steam now additionally offers new notification settings that allow you to fine-tune which notifications pop up, and the place they will seem. Hopefully this may put a cease to immersion-breaking pop-ups displaying up whilst you’re enjoying video games.

New and improved in-game overlay

The in-game overlay, which seems if you press Shift+Tab whereas enjoying a sport, has obtained a brand new look as properly, with a brand new toolbar alongside the underside that accommodates buttons for issues comparable to chat, achievements, guides and an online browser, to allow them to all be rapidly accessed. It’s just like the Sport Bar in Home windows 11 (which you’ll open by urgent the Home windows key +G in your keyboard.

You may as well customise which components seem within the in-game overlay, and these settings will carry over no matter which sport you play.

Now you can pin home windows from the overlay to seem on-screen whilst you’re enjoying. This could possibly be actually useful for placing up guides that will help you by a difficult a part of a sport, or – as Valve suggests – you could possibly use it to multitask, comparable to enjoying a video or podcast whilst you sport.

The in-game overlay additionally comes with two brand-new options. The primary is the Sport Overview panel, which supplies you a load of easily-glanceable details about the sport you are enjoying, together with achievements, progress, information and extra.

Valve has additionally added a brand new Notes characteristic, which lets you kind out fast notes and ideas, or paste pictures, whereas enjoying. This might show actually useful for maintaining monitor of puzzles inside a sport, or for making a ‘to-do’ listing to make sure you get probably the most out of the sport.

These notes are synced, so you’ll be able to see them on any PC you employ Steam on – and that features the Steam Deck, which is a pleasant contact.

Steam Deck enhancements

Whereas the principle focus of this replace is on enhancing the PC expertise of Steam, Valve has additionally carried out some background work on enhancing the consumer expertise on its handheld console, the Steam Deck.

Code is now extra generally shared between the Steam desktop shopper, Large Image mode and the Steam Deck, and Valve guarantees that this may imply that any modifications and updates made to the desktop shopper will now seem on the Steam Deck extra rapidly.

It ought to work the opposite approach round as properly, and Valve has famous that the controller configurator characteristic of the Steam Deck, which is among the finest instruments included with the hand-held, can now even be utilized by the desktop model of Steam (through the in-game overlay), making it simpler to configure gamepads related to your PC.

Background work introducing {hardware} acceleration to Mac and Linux variations of Steam has additionally been included, so avid gamers on these platforms ought to get an expertise that’s extra in-line with the Home windows model, which once more is welcome.

To this point the modifications seem to have been warmly acquired by Steam customers, and the replace must be rolling out proper now. For more information, try Valve’s video highlighting the modifications beneath: