Steam's store home page gets a fresh coat of paint and new tiles, but indie discoverability could take a hit

Valve has finally released its Steam Store home page refresh, and it’s all looking very shiny. There’s been a big focus on visual consistency, and the new, larger tiles seem to be a perfect fit for some Steam controller scrolling (Valve, I’m still waiting for my turn, please help a fella out). However, in all of the redecorating, one major algorithmic change could make it harder to find your next indie game binge.

“Over the years we’ve introduced new sections and added more ways for you to discover and learn about games,” Valve writes, “and this update aims to make the store home feel more cohesive.” On first scroll, everything appears to look trim and proper. Mousing over certain tiles silently autoplays the game’s trailer, making it easy to quickly get a sense for what’s going on behind the key art.

Alongside the flash, Valve has aimed to bake some extra functionality into the Steam Store. My favorite new feature is easily the personalized calendar, which is dangerous due to the fact that I am now even more likely to get hooked into adding something to my basket. The discovery queue no longer takes you away from the home page, while infinite scroll’s been added to the bottom for even more recommendations. Games everywhere, I love it.

The only kicker, which I can see quickly becoming an issue for the indie space, is that the ‘Popular Upcoming’ section has been updated “to better capture the most anticipated releases of the coming month.” Effectively, only the most in-demand games will be shown here now, relegating “niche” upcoming PC games to your personal calendar. How much of an impact this will have remains to be seen, though it’s worth noting that Valve’s made this change based on player feedback. If you don’t like it, let ’em know.

While the updated UI may be a bit bulky for those who prefer an ultra-condensed view of things, it’s worth remembering that you can at least cut out a lot of the chaff recommendations in your Steam account settings. I can already see a few games in my calendar that I have absolutely zero interest in, so I’ll be taking a little time over the weekend to make the necessary tweaks.