Something to look forward to: It's been years since Steam received a major overhaul of its UI design, but Valve is working on a revamp. Now, thanks to some leaked images, we have a better idea of what that might look like.
The images come from Twitter account Steam Database, which said they were accidentally leaked through an update to the Chinese Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Launcher. Assuming this is the real deal, it definitely appears to be an improvement over the current version of the platform, which is looking a bit dated these days.
While certain elements remain unchanged, the screenshots reveal a sleek new library section featuring large thumbnails for each owned game. It also shows a list of recently played titles, and the complete collection is sorted by 'favorites first.' There's even a slider to alter the cover size.
A work in progress version of the new Steam client interface leaked through an update to the Chinese CSGO launcher. We're currently digging through the changes, we'll post more if we find anything noteworthy. pic.twitter.com/jb4B1Yd5EG
--- Steam Database (@SteamDB) June 9, 2019
Going into an individual game's page, in this case it's Euro Truck Simulator 2, we see workshop content is at the top, while its DLC is placed down the right-hand side. There's also a notification letting users know the game has been updated since it was last played.
One pretty cool new effect comes as part of Steam's trading cards. Moving the mouse pointer over an individual card will see it pop up off the page, which is quite stylish.
Loving this hover effect on trading cards in the new library UI. pic.twitter.com/FSvHDYUzY0
--- Steam Database (@SteamDB) June 9, 2019
Back at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March, Valve previewed an official redesign of the Steam library, which emphasizes game updates. It highlights instances where new characters, game modes, or other changes have been added to a title. The newly leaked images do resemble what Valve showed off, so they appear to be genuine.
The changes to Steam are expected to arrive this year, probably sometime during the summer.