Steam is finally getting a redesigned library—here's our first look

After years of rumors and leaked mockup images, it's finally happening: Steam's library is getting a new look. This isn't a full-on redesign of Steam in its entirety, so the store and other parts of the interface aren't changing as far as we know. In its keynote at GDC on Thursday, Valve showed off the new library view, highlighting a redesigned page with large game thumbnails and more categorization around what's going on with your games.

"The biggest thing we're introducing is the Steam library homepage," said Valve's Alden Kroll. "This provides an opportunity for players to see 'what else is happening in the games that I play?'"  

Some key elements of the new library view:

  • The friends list is now integrated into a right-hand column 
  • The top module shows recent games you've been playing with a library view reminiscent of Plex or the Apple TV
  • The rest of your collection is shown with nice vertical thumbnails that can be scaled to show larger icons or more games
  • The left-hand games list has a new look but is fairly similar to the existing design

The biggest new feature for the library, at least in terms of functionality, is an extension of the tags Steam has been using on the store for several years. Those tags now carry over to the library page, and you can perform an advanced search using several tags to drill down through your games. The cool addition here is that you can save a tag search as a "collection" of similar games, like, say, "Ninja Action." 

The library detail page for individual games (see image below) has also been reworked, with a cleaner layout prioritizing recent updates or livestreams for the game at the top of the page. Below that is an activity feed with recent actions from your friends list. The right-hand friends list carries over but will highlight any friends currently active in that game at the moment. Below your friends list are DLC, achievements, trading cards, and screenshots.

Valve didn't announce a release date for the new library view, but told me over email that it's aiming for a beta release this summer.

The library redesign news follows the recent launch of Steam Link Anywhere for on-the-go streaming and Valve opening up the Steam network infrastructure it uses for CS:GO and Dota to all games on the platform. As part of its talk on Thursday, the company also showed off a new page on Steam for promoting in-game events. Read more about it here

The new game detail page.
TOPICS
Wes Fenlon
Senior Editor

Wes has been covering games and hardware for more than 10 years, first at tech sites like The Wirecutter and Tested before joining the PC Gamer team in 2014. Wes plays a little bit of everything, but he'll always jump at the chance to cover emulation and Japanese games.

When he's not obsessively optimizing and re-optimizing a tangle of conveyor belts in Satisfactory (it's really becoming a problem), he's probably playing a 20-year-old Final Fantasy or some opaque ASCII roguelike. With a focus on writing and editing features, he seeks out personal stories and in-depth histories from the corners of PC gaming and its niche communities. 50% pizza by volume (deep dish, to be specific).

Latest in Platforms
Screenshot of Children of Clay showing a mysterious clay model
Five new Steam games you probably missed (March 10, 2025)
discord
Brace yourself for Discord to get worse: Reports swirl that the company is in talks with bankers about opening itself up to shareholders
The Spy from Team Fortress 2 holds up a folder with an accusatory expression.
Steam users react ecstatically to update that lets them access their heaving game notes via the web, also it fixes Monster Hunter Wilds video recording
HasanAbi
Twitch streamer Hasan Piker suspended after saying Republicans would 'kill Rick Scott' if they really cared about Medicare fraud
Screenshot from Faceminer showing a PC desktop with several windows open
Five new Steam games you probably missed (March 3, 2025)
PORTSMOUTH, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 20: A man smokes a cigarette while he looks at a smart phone screen on October 20, 2024 in Portsmouth, England. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
Meta says sorry for turning Instagram into a horror show of violence, gore, dead bodies, and other graphic content that 'should not have been recommended'
Latest in News
Will Poulter holding a CD ROM
'What are most games about? Killing': Black Mirror Season 7 includes a follow-up to 2018 interactive film Bandersnatch
Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers
Sony, which is making a Helldivers 2 movie, is also making a new Starship Troopers movie, but it's not based on the Starship Troopers movie we already have
Assassin's Creed meets PUBG
Ubisoft is reportedly talking to Tencent about creating a new business entity to manage Assassin's Creed and other big games
Resident Evil Village - Lady Dimitrescu
'It really truly changed my life in every possible way': Lady Dimitrescu actor says her Resident Evil Village role was just as transformative for her as it was for roughly half the internet in 2021
Storm trooper hero
Another live service shooter is getting shut down, this time before it even launched on Steam
Possibility Space concept art.
Possibility Space owners sue NetEase for $900 million over allegations it spread 'false and defamatory rumors' of fraud at the studio that ultimately forced it to close