Steam received a makeover today. A newly organized storefront and additional functionality has been added to the store. The goal is to build upon the now two-year old Discovery Update that added the Discovery Queue and Curators. This new redesign is called Discovery Update 2.0.
Valve have included a helpful picture chart of all the new additions and functions, which you can find at the link above.
The new store front features recommended games at the top. Now it breaks down exactly why the games were recommended. Reasons can include similar tags to games you play, as well as recommendations and reviews from your Steam friends. A bevy of new links were also added on the left-side to make navigation easier.
A Special Offers section expands the currently active sales and discounts front and center. Below that a new section shows which games your Steam friends have been playing.
Curators are an interesting experiment that most folks seem to have forgotten about. They essentially let you follow certain people’s recommended games. The new update gives more attention to your Curator lists. Top Curators include YouTuber TotalBiscuit and PC Gaming websites PC Gamer and Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
A list of your recently updated games is included next. Finally you get to the familiar New Releases lists. The filters have been updated to remove games you own as well as those you’ve marked as ‘Not Interested.’ It’s now easier than ever to ‘Add to Your Wishlist’ or mark ‘Not Interested’ with a new drop down menu in the top right of each game’s picture.
Steam remains top dog in PC gaming with over 100 million users. The digital service has become increasingly bloated and difficult to navigate thanks to the insane influx of games over the last few years. The rise of indie gaming and the Wild West of Steam Greenlight can be tricky to wade through, so any update that puts more power in the consumer is a huge boon.
