Valve has pushed the next Steam Labs project live, adding new ways to navigate and browse the Steam Store to the main client.
This program was in beta for the last four months in Steam Labs, and brings new entry points, category search capabilities, themes, and player support.
The New and Noteworthy menu is a new feature that will provide users a quick snapshot of what is new and popular on Steam. This allows quick access to the Steam charts, current specials, recent updates, and upcoming titles headed to the platform.
The Categories section is also being expanded, providing an easy way to browse a list that will let players quickly search through genres, themes, and different types of software, such as free-to-play, demos, and early access titles. These are divided into three core categories:
- Genres: “What kind of game is this? What is it like to play?”
- Real-Time Strategy, Adventure RPG, Farming Sim, Metroidvania, etc.
- Themes: “What is the game about?”
- Science Fiction, Survival, Mystery, etc.
- Player Modes: “Who can I play the game with?”
- Single-player, Multiplayer, MMO, Co-op, etc.
In total, there are 63 new categories, divided into 48 genre categories, eight theme categories, and seven player mode categories.
Any category or other details not mentioned on this new menu might be searchable through Steam tags and metadata. Specifically, Categories grouped under the Genres and Themes entry points are defined by tags, while categories grouped under Player Modes are defined by additional metadata provided by developers.
Additionally, clicking on any of those categories will take you to a “dedicated content hub” for that type of game. Once there, you can search through the pages within that section using the updated tabs, while sorting through different tags too.
- New and Trending
- Top Sellers
- What’s Being Played
- Top Rated
- Upcoming
All of these subcategories and tag searches will make a unique Steam URL that you can share with friends so they can view the same selection, too.
