Valve makes major Steam update

Valve is in the process of completing a major update to its digital platform Steam.

The Washington-based indie giant’s new Steam client boasts a sharper UI, an integrated Steam news service, as well as enhanced customisability and more thorough game and download info pages.

A opt-in Beta version of the update is available now.

In making the announcement, Valve says that Steam’s userbase has grown 200 per cent to reach over 25 million users in the last twelve months. The PC client offers over 1000 games after launching in 2004.

“Increasingly the most effective way of reaching new gamers is through the existing players of a game. With the new Steam release, gamers will now be able to see which games their friends have purchased directly within the Steam storefront,” the developer said.

“25 million gamers create a highly effective and knowledgeable source of purchase suggestions.”

John Cook, director of Steam development, said that the update has implemented hundreds of changes based on user feedback.

"For example, we swapped out the Internet Explorer rendering engine with WebKit, which gives us a bunch of size, stability and performance benefits. This release of Steam leaves us well prepared for another year of strong growth."