Valve's PC gaming client Steam stands tall as the most popular launcher and storefront for PC players around the world with over 132 million monthly active users. In addition to its age — the very first iteration of Steam released all the way back in 2003 22 years ago — Steam's huge array of different features also gives it an edge over competing clients. And thanks to a new update, it's gotten some new ones.
News of the update's release came Thursday morning, with Valve announcing the arrival of support for showing accessibility options within games on the Steam store in a new blog post.
"Steam now surfaces information on games with accessibility features as we aim to make it easier for players to find games with the support they need," wrote the distributor. "This update comes after gathering valuable feedback from developers as well as players with disabilities, and over 5,000 applications have added details about their accessibility support (with more developers updating their games each day)."
This support includes two new features: the addition of filters in the Steam store that let you search for games with specific accessibility options, along with a new field on the right side of game listings where developers can list the accessibility options their game has.
The options you can search for include everything from color alternatives for colorblindness and adjustable text sizes to custom volume controls and special input options that only utilize keyboard, mouse, or touch, among several others. Notably, there are even a few that players may find useful even if they're not affected by a disability, such as a filter for games with adjustable difficulties or the ability to save your progress at any time.
One thing to keep in mind is that developers aren't required to add these new accessibility tags to their game listings, so if you see a title you'd like to play that doesn't have them, it's possible the game does have those options and that the studio that made it either forgot to show them or just hasn't gotten around to it yet. In cases like that, it's best to search around communities like Reddit or the game's own forums on Steam for answers.
All in all, this is an excellent update for gamers in need of accessibility options. An important part of accessibility is ensuring that the people who rely on it can find the best PC games that offer it easily, and Valve has just made that process incredibly simple on Steam.
