Steam gets a massive UI overhaul in a new update – introducing notes
the desktop Steam has needed some love for a while.
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It’s about time the desktop version of Steam got some love and attention. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Steam get any UI updates. Apparently, Valve thought so too, that’s why Steam gets a massive UI overhaul in a new update.
Steam receives a UI overhaul in a new update
Did you think the Steam desktop program needed a big upgrade? Well, Valve thought so too. On the 15th of June, Valve launched an update for the platform that includes new stuff they’ve been trying out in the beta version of Steam over the last few weeks.
The new client has improved fonts and menus, a better notification system, and a new design for the in-game overlay. And the best part is that Valve rebuilt the platform with a brand-new framework that makes it easier to release features for all versions of Steam at the same time.
It’s easy to see in this video the extent of the UI modifications that Valve has made to the desktop Steam client. Now, the Steam client is more in line with the versions of Steam we see on mobile, and we see on the Steam Deck. You can’t argue that both platforms have a better, more modern take on Steam.
You’ll be happy to know the Steam eating 1GB of RAM issue has been resolved.
A fresh coat of paint
Steam wrote in its update post “This update also brings targeted visual and usability improvements across Steam – we’ve gone through and updated dialogs, menus, fonts, and colors. The main Steam header and footer, Settings, and the Screenshot Manager are just a few examples of spots with refreshed UI.”
Better notifications
Valve has overhauled the notifications tab, giving us faster access to the notifications we want to see, with a new little animation too. Valve wrote: “The green bell only lights up when there’s truly something new for you. The tray view is limited to new notifications, and there’s a “View all” page with a historical view.”.
Completely overhauled in-game overlay
The in-game overlay has been around for a long time, and it’s in desperate need of some improvement. It was cluttered, overclouded, and relatively unintuitive. Valve had this to say about the in-game overlay overhaul:
“We’ve completely overhauled the in-game overlay (accessible via Shift+Tab while in-game). It’s got a brand-new user interface, adding new utility and allowing for more customizability. There is a new toolbar, giving you access to anything you may need in the middle of a game – friends chat, achievements progress, guides, discussions, a browser, and more.
We’ve picked a few overlay windows to show by default, and you can pick and personalize the pieces of content you’d like to see in your own overlay – settings are saved between games.”
The ability to personalize the in-game overlay is revolutionary, say bye-bye to all that clutter. We can finally start using the in-game overlay, as opposed to Alt+Tab out of the game into the Steam client.
Steam gets a new notes feature
Now, within the in-game overlay, you can now make notes on whatever you desire. Shopping list? Game objectives? List of upcoming birthdays? You name it, you can list it in Steam’s new notes tab.
These notes are tied to the game you make them in and sync across all devices you’re signed in. This includes the Steam Deck. That’s not all, you can also pin the notes to the game you’re currently playing, to create an extra set of objectives, or to serve as some form of reminder.
Adding this kind of functionality really makes Steam stand out from other platforms. Valve is doing an exceptional job staying ahead of the curve with this update.
That’s not all for the new Steam UI update
There’s so much you can do with the new in-game overlay, Valve wrote:
“The overlay now includes a Game Overview panel: your one-stop shop to see what’s going on with the game since you last played it. It shows what achievements you have in progress, which friends are also playing, top guides, news, and more. In addition, the browser, achievements, and screenshot manager windows have been updated (both in the overlay and in the desktop client).”
The in-game overlay has actually been made useful in this update, no longer is it a mess of features nobody ever uses.
Valve has made a massive improvement to the controller experience. Now, when you connect a gamepad to your PC, the updated Controller Configurator, used on the SteamDeck, will show up in the in-game overlay. This will make it easier than ever to configure any controllers you might be using.
Steam on Mac and Linux gets some love
The technical work done behind the scenes makes it possible to enable hardware acceleration on Mac and Linus. This means that Steam will now use your GPU to process animation and other elements of the GUI. Resulting in smoother animations and better transitions.
If you want more details, you can view the Full Patch Notes over on Steams website. This was our ” Steam gets a massive UI overhaul in a new update.” article.
