Steam's New Library Overhaul Update Is Now Live

Steam’s library update is here, and you can check out the new features for free by joining the platform’s beta program now.

Steam outlined some of the features implemented in the new library update. These include giving the store a complete visual facelift, altering the UI and streamlining navigation, providing more tools to stay connected to your friends and a game’s community, and more. Steam applied these changes because it wants the platform’s library to represent “a fun place to explore and find whatever it is that you’re looking for.” Check below for some screens of Steam’s library overhaul.

The library overhaul update also introduces folders, or collections, that allow you to organize your games by filters and tags. You can display these collections in Steam’s new library shelves, which can be customized to suit your needs. Further, Steam will give you a better sense of how games are changing by highlighting when developers implement events or updates in their titles. And you can more easily pick up where you left off in a game you played most recently with a new UI button.

Steam provided a helpful guide for opting into the platform’s beta program, where you can try out the new features.

• Select “Steam” in the upper lefthand corner of the application and choose “Settings” (or “Preferences” on Mac).
• On the “Account” tab, click on the “Change…” drop-down menu to the right of “Beta Participation.”
• Select “Steam Beta Update,” click “OK,” and press the “Restart Steam” button when prompted. This will reboot the application, implementing the Steam library update.

Alongside its library overhaul, Steam announced a store update earlier this month. This update will allegedly change how it presents games on the platform, recommending already-popular titles to you less often. There’s no confirmation on when this store update will be made public.