Summary
With just a few days left until Christmas, Valve released a beta build for itsSteamclient that allowed players to label some games as private and give them more shopping cart options to sort out gift purchases for themselves and their friends.Steamusers can test this beta version and the new game privacy feature on all current platforms that Valve’s service is on.
One month before the Steam client beta build went live, rumors began to circulate thatValve would give players some discretionover their libraries. Thanks to this update, those rumors proved true. Though Steam has seen plenty of changes since its inception as a launcher forCounter-Strikein 2003, the fact that a feature to hide games was not among them until 20 years later is a long overdue addition to the service. While it is a beta feature and still subject to change, Steam users can now test the ability to keep their libraries away from prying eyes and provide feedback on how it functions.
However, if Steam users want to hide that they playeda dubious game such asThe Day Before, they will need to opt into the Steam beta client first. According tothe Steam beta notes, users can go into the Settings menu, select Interface, and activate the Steam Beta Update option from the drop-down menu. This will force Steam to restart and download an update that is roughly 88 MB. After the update is complete, users can select a game and click on the cogwheel icon to mark a game as private. This will obfuscate the game in question from all Steam users, including friends, and will hide all achievements and playtime from view. However, this mark can be revoked freely and given to an unlimited number of games and applications available on Steam.
Steam Beta Client Shopping Cart Updates (Jun 22, 2025)
In addition to marking games as private, a change to the shopping cart was added to give Steam users more streamlined ways to give gifts to friends. In addition to labeling games as private from the shopping cart, users can also buy gifts for their friends and themselves in a single transaction. This change will make giftingmultiplayer titles such asLethal Companymuch more convenient for users who want to play together over the holidays.
With the Steam Winter Sale right around the corner, andmore Steam sales planned in 2024, Valve’s software has taken big strides towards giving users what they want. It remains to be seen what features will be added in the future.
Steam
Steam is a digital video game storefront and program developed by Valve that allows gamers to purchase, play, and mod their titles all through one convenient program.
