Steam Store Receives Major Redesign
Valve officially launched the new Steam store menu design on September 24, after months of testing phases, now available to all users. The new design integrates previously scattered navigation elements, providing players with a smoother game discovery experience.
Major Redesign Features
Unified Navigation System
The most significant change is merging the left store navigation panel and top blue menu bar into a single intuitive navigation panel. Valve stated: “Many items were displayed in both locations, making it difficult for users to predict where to find the content they need.”
The new navigation structure includes the following dropdown menus:
- Browse
- Recommendations
- Categories
- Hardware
- Ways To Play
- More
Enhanced Search Functionality
The search system received significant upgrades, with the new search menu positioned at the top, including:
- Best-selling games
- New releases
- Discounted games
- Suggestions based on common searches
- Recent search history
Personalized Category Experience
The new “Categories” dropdown menu provides tailored content recommendations, extracting content based on player preference types and providing suggested tags to discover similar games.
Cross-Platform Support
This store menu redesign supports:
- Steam PC client
- Steam Deck handheld
- Steam mobile application
Ensuring players enjoy consistent browsing experiences across any device.
Mixed User Reactions
The new design has generated varied responses in the Steam community. Some users appreciate the unified navigation system, believing they can find desired content faster. However, other users have expressed concerns about the new panel navigation system, considering “panels still inefficient.”
One user humorously commented in a PC Gamer report: “Thanks Valve, now I feel like grandma using Steam on an old Samsung tablet.”
Other Important September Updates
Besides the store menu redesign, Steam launched multiple updates in September:
Accessibility Features
- New accessibility settings menu in desktop mode
- High contrast mode
- Reduced animation settings
- UI scaling controls
Game Library Customization
The September 9 update allows users to:
- Change game cover art, backgrounds, logos, and wide cover art
- Set hidden titles for games
- Use hidden titles to sort in Steam collections
Store Page Layout Optimization
Store pages are now more spacious, with main columns expanded to 1200px width.
Design Philosophy and Future Outlook
Valve stated this redesign aims to “provide a more dynamic and personalized experience wherever Steam is used.” The unified menu design integrates all important links into a more organized space, reducing user confusion when searching for functions.
This update represents Steam’s commitment to improving game discovery features and providing a more modern, smoother browsing experience across all platforms. As Steam Deck and mobile Steam gain popularity, cross-platform consistency becomes increasingly important.
How to Experience New Features
All Steam users can now experience the new store menu design. If you haven’t seen the update yet, try restarting the Steam client. This update requires no additional setup and will automatically apply to all supported platforms.
For users still adapting to the new interface, Valve stated they will continue collecting feedback and making optimization adjustments to ensure the new design meets different users’ needs.
This article is based on Valve’s official announcements and reports from multiple gaming media sources, with information current as of September 26, 2025.
