Steam update adds feature we've spent years begging for
Steam has just added an update that we’ve all been requesting for years.
Steam has been going for about nearly 22 years now. Over the years, Valve has constantly been adding new features to the service to expand it and make it useful for users.
Some of the most popular features added over time include Steam Workshop, which lets users add mods to their games without needing to faff around with their files, and Big Picture Mode, giving the client a console-like interface for launching games.
Valve has just added a new feature to Steam too, and it’s one we’ve been wanting for years.
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Steam beta branch users can now download a new update which adds an in-game overlay performance monitor.
What this means is that your games will be able to have a small overlay at the top of your screen which breaks down how well your game and PC are performing.
For example, it’ll show CPU load, GPU load, RAM usage, and temperatures. There’s a lot of information it can break down, but these are the main parts of it.
What’s really cool about this is though that it also features an FPS counter, split between native framerate numbers and the ones generated by FSR or DLSS. Most FPS counters I’ve tried using in the past don’t have this feature, so it’s nice to see Valve addressing this.
Although you’ve already been able to access most of these features on Steam Deck for years, so it’s nice to have the option also available elsewhere.
If you want to know more about the new in-game overlay performance monitor, Valve has created a handy document to understand each feature.
To get these features, you’ll need to be in the Steam client beta. Go to Steam settings, then navigate to Interface, then find a dropdown box labelled “Client Beta Participation”. Select “Steam Beta Update” from this dropdown and then you’ll be prompted to restart Steam.
There’s no idea on when Valve expects to launch the update out of beta and into the main version of Steam. Typically, these features stay in beta until they’re ready, so it could be a matter of weeks, or even months, depending on when Valve feels ready to launch.