PC gamers are going through sort of a platform war right now, much like those who have consoles have gone through. Now, there are many places to get PC games online. One standout, and has been for quite some time, is Steam. This digital distribution platform for PC games has been in existence ever since 2003.
Despite being so old, it has been plagued with some glaring issues. Most notably, the overall design isn’t the most user-friendly. Well, it appears Steam has finally listened and is making some great improvements. This re-design isn’t changing every element, so PC gamers can still expect a similar performance experience.
However, there are some major improvements to highlight. One of the most notable is Steam is finally adding a homepage where users can see what’s happening with the games they play. The large game thumbnails that will be available are a nice touch. They will be big and bold, making it easy to see what titles you want to explore.
The friends-list portion will be conveniently featured on the right column. This upgrade makes it extremely easy to see games while interacting with friends, whether it’s through chats or looking at their personal achievements.
As far as the games that you currently own, they’re receiving upgrades in thumbnail size as well. It will be nice to see all of your games sitting in one organized section, where you can browse effortlessly from title to title. It’s an upgrade that has long been needed. Well, Steam has listened.
In terms of usability, Steam is refining its advanced search bar. You will be able to specify searches using various tags, helping you see certain titles relatively quickly. You will also have the ability to save a tag search in your collection, making it much easier to access later on whenever you want.
These additions aren’t currently available to the masses, but Valve did announce that they would be putting out beta versions here pretty soon. It’s nice to see them constantly trying to improve the user experience for PC gamers. They make up a bulk of the gaming community today.
These recent upgrades should give Steam an edge over many of its competitors, including the Epic Store. They’re doing all of the right things to give PC users the best experience possible when it comes to purchasing games. It’s also exciting to think about what more upgrades they’ll make to the platform in the next few years.
