Valve trials new Steam reviews option that lets you include your hardware specs, letting everyone know if those performance issues are a you problem

• Copy link
• Facebook
• X
• Whatsapp
• Pinterest
• Flipboard
• Email

Share this article

0

Join the conversation

Follow us

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Newsletter

Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors

---

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful

---

Want to add more newsletters?

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

Signup +

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Signup +

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

Signup +

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Signup +

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

Signup +

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

Signup +

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!

Signup +

---

An account already exists for this email address, please log in.

Subscribe to our newsletter

The latest Steam update toys with letting players attach their hardware specs to their reviews so others can more easily see whether they are likely to experience the same level of performance while playing.

As mentioned in the latest Steam Client update notes, one of the beta additions is "the option to attach hardware specs when writing or updating a Steam User Review on a game's store page."

Other additions include the option to send your framerate data to Valve so the company can "learn about game compatibility and improve Steam", bug fixes for Linux users, and the option to add a comment when you report that a game is not suitable for Steam Deck.

However, the ability to include personal hardware specs to Steam reviews is the star of the show with the latest beta update. Steam reviews eschew any form of numerical rating in favor of a simpler recommendation system. This means that many choose not to approve a game purely based on performance.

It makes sense. If a game constantly crashes on you, then you're not going to recommend it, even if you would've loved it had you been able to play perfectly. This can be the case with new games, even if you pass the minimum or even recommended specs on the Steam page.

The new review option will allow players to show others how powerful their machine needs to be to run a game that has been anointed with the dreaded 'Mixed' tag due to performance issues.

Valve is revisiting Steam Machine pricing and release timing due to "rapidly" increasing memory and storage shortages