After two and a half months of beta testing, the highly-anticipated Steam client updates, first announced in late 2023, have officially launched for all users of the platform.
The updates make numerous enhancements related to completing purchases, gifting, and privacy in gaming. Valve has improved the shopping cart and introduced the option to hide applications from friends and other users.
During the beta test phase, Valve also opted to make additions to private games hidden by default. Moreover, an exclusive icon has been added to the account status above the friends list in private games, visible only to the account owner.
The updated cart has been enhanced to be universal across all authorized devices, including mobiles and Steam Deck. It also allows users to purchase gifts for multiple friends in a single order.
In an effort to streamline the check-out process, Valve has simplified order placements and added a privacy feature for making games private at the point of purchase.
Users reacted positively to Valve’s announcement of the official rollouts. Necroel, for instance, praised the developers of Steam for introducing much-desired features and deemed the updates as “the main update of the year!”.
These features will be available upon the next log-in to a Steam account. Valve extended gratitude to players for their feedback and promised further improvements in the purchase process.
