New Steam Library UI Update Now in Beta, Removes News Articles from Game Pages

Valve has rolled out a hefty visual interface update for their long-running Steam client, this time focused on your Steam game library.

The new update brings a big visual and navigation update to your library, aggregating a lot more information to just the landing page alone. Previously, your library was more of a plain list and each game page had its own mini hub of information and details. Now, the UI overhaul puts game updates, recently played games, friend activity, and more right in your collection.

The new events feature will let developers push their game, should it be in your library, to the top of your home page so that you’ll know right away if there’s a timed event or something going on. This also naturally applies to new content updates, DLC, and more.

One of the biggest changes, however, is the removal of the “News” section on a game’s page in your library. Each game’s page has been completely revamped to focus entirely on community engagement, so the News section has been dropped. Now, only updates from the game itself or activity from you and your friends will appear on the game page under “Activity.”

Here’s a comparison between the old and the new library game page layout:

Previously, this section would aggregate game updates from the developer, as well as articles from some very old gaming websites that don’t really cover said games anyway. The News section still exists, however you have to drill down to the Community hub for said game, which still uses the old UI, to view it. Valve is probably phasing this out as well, considering the UI is now outdated.

While the update is in beta, you can easily opt in by launching Steam, selecting “Settings”, and clicking “Change” under “Account”. From here you can select “Steam Beta Update”, and your client will update automatically and restart itself.

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