Steam’s long-awaited overhaul to its suite of social features has now been rolled out to everyone, as it’s left its beta phase. Valve has both revamped its chat, added Discord-esque text and voice channels, in-game details, and a swath of other goodies that are now available to all players. Originally introduced as part of a beta test, the new chat featured group chats, invisible mode, and other cool new features meant to make it a more viable competitor for Discord as well.
“The new Steam chat features, which have been in beta since June 12th, are now available to all Steam users,” the platform mentioned in a new press release detailing the changes. “The new system makes it easier to chat and play games with your Steam friends. Valve would like to thank everyone who participated in the beta.”
Upon logging in to try out the new features, users will notice that the overall UI will look similar, but friends will now be grouped by the games they’re currently in, and there are more, simpler ways to arrange your online acquaintances and group your instant messaging windows. As previously stated, it certainly looks a lot like Discord, but it looks quite functional and attractive too. It’ll also be available without having to worry about logging on to a separate program if you want to utilize additional social features.
