Steam update overhauls desktop client, brings notes and pinned windows

Steam users who boot up today will likely notice that the major client update Valve has been working on has officially launched. The update visually gives Steam a “fresh coat of paint”, promises to deliver more helpful notifications, and adds a note-taking feature that we found particularly useful.

But for the most part, Valve says the biggest Steam client update improvements come behind the scenes. “A lot of the work went into changing the way we share code across the Steam Desktop Client, Big Picture Mode, and Steam Deck,” developers said in a blog post introducing the update. They noted that due to the newly shared codebase, many of the Steam Desktop Client features now rolling out are shared concurrently with Steam Deck.

For useful features, the largest would be the Steam Notes app, which Polygon previewed at the end of April. Steam also now allows players to pin windows from the overlay to appear on top of the game screen during gameplay. “This feature is perfect for tracking progress or guides while gaming,” developers said, “or for multitasking maniacs who like to have a movie playing in the background while they game.”

Those who play on gamepads will be pleased to know that the controller configurator used by Steam Deck is now part of the Steam Desktop Client overlay (when a gamepad is connected), and virtual menus can also be used when gaming on the desktop.

The full list of changes, upgrades, and quality of life features is outlined in this blog post. The update is free and available now for all platforms (Windows PC, Linux and Mac).