Looks like this is the Steam download page's sexy new look

A screenshots of Steam's new download page
(Image credit: Valve)

Elements of Steam's UI appear to be set for an overhaul, and SteamDB creator and general data-sniffer Pavel Djundik has managed to access the new-look download page. Seriously big news folks, especially if, like me, you've spent a stupid amount of your life oddly hypnotised as the little lines dance up and down, as gaming magic comes down the pipes.

The new look is visually consistent with other recently overhauled elements of Steam, such as the games library. The information displayed is more-or-less as it was, just presented in a more eye-pleasing fashion. It's worth adding the caveat that this look could change when it's officially released, but the style lines up with what Valve's been doing generally.

Djundik went on to say that "They're working on a new settings page as well, but it doesn't open so easily though. Looks like Valve is slowly but surely heading towards removing VGUI." VGUI is the Valve Graphical User Interface, i.e. the software behind how everything has looked on Steam and in Source games over the product's lifetime.

This certainly seems to be an interesting period for Valve, with the biggest recent leak being its work on a potential handheld console. And if nothing else, maybe these UI improvements to Steam will wake up some competitors, and one day we'll get an Epic Games Store with a decent frontend.

Rich Stanton

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."

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