The changes in the Steam design begin by combining the left link column with the blue menus bar, in order to create a single menu and group all the main links in a single unified and reorganized space. «Many of these elements appeared in both sections, and it was difficult to know where to find what you needed,» Valve explains. In addition, the search and menu are available in more pages throughout the store, while the menus bar is hidden but appears in case of moving up.
Regarding the search panel, it expands the options to go beyond being able to look for what each one needs. In this way, by clicking on the search, the most popular searches will appear, the games recently seen to return to pages visited, the option to search for categories, labels, editors and more, and a link to go to the advanced search. The advanced search offers several filters to refine the results.
For those who, instead of looking, they want to get lost by Steam, there are also improvements in navigation that begin with the Explore tab, which offers various ways of searching for games for popularity, launch date, price and discount, «the most useful filters to find the most popular games in the community,» says Valve. On the other hand, recommendations have been organized in a section to discover content and new games without having to check several sections, while the categories tab becomes completely personalized so that titles that fit with the user's style appear.
«The intention of these changes is to improve experience and better fit your needs,» says Valve. «From what users tell us, and what we see ourselves, it was difficult to reach some of Steam's most visited sections. So, whether you buy often and if you are starting to create your game library, this new design is designed to get more easily wherever you want.»