Steam is adopting a console tile-like interface when it launches a library redesign beta on September 17.
Evolving from a decade-old interface, the new layout provides a cover art focused view of your games and activity. A seamless flow of visuals makes it easier to follow your content. Dynamic Collections will automatically update and organize titles manually and based on game tags such as genres. The consolidated setup is quite similar to other digital storefronts.
Gamers aren't the only ones to benefit from the change as Valve will also be handing developers the tools to drive community interaction and maintain hype around their titles. Steam Events will promote tournaments, live streams and in-game events such as cosmetic drops or double XP weekends in a shiny new interface.
On the horizon is a slightly enhanced search page with price filters and the ability to focus on your preferences. Deep Dive, an algorithmic recommendation system will direct you towards similar games and promote discoverability on Valves saturated platform of over 40,000 games.
As a casual PC gamer who doesn't utilize most of the in-depth features of Steam, I'm excited by the prospect of jumping straight into games with minimal navigation. Steam takes yet another step ahead of it's closest competitor, the Epic Games Store, which is currently less featured.