Last month, word got out about an impending update to Steam's client interface, and today that update has finally rolled out. If you open up Steam now, you'll notice that it looks a little different, with a lot more happening on the left column, and cleaner, more targeted recommendations in the centre.
The left column lists most categories you'll ever be inclined to browse: recommendations by friends and curators take pride of place at the top, with the former leading to a chart organised by playing time. That column then lists genres and "your tags", meaning tags applied to games you regularly play.
The centre column is a bit more flexible and informative: now each item in the carousel shows a number of screenshots as well as its tags, and if you want to add an item to your wishlist or smite it from your interests list, you only need to hover over the top righthand corner of the key art. Meanwhile, special offers are given better real estate. Friends Activity, Discovery Queue and Curator Recommendations run beneath the fold, followed by "recently updated" and then the good 'ol tabbed list of popular new releases, top sellers and more.
One of the most useful features is the ability to filter out material from the carousel and front page. In other words, hit the (initially invisible) blue button in the top righthand corner of the key art, hit "preferences" and you'll have a flexible options list – including the freedom to filter tags out, among other things.
Valve has offered a rundown of the update over here, but chances are it's not exhaustive. I've only tinkered with the new UI for ten minutes or so, so let us know if you find anything especially interesting.
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