Steam Implements Changes to Alleviate Internet Bandwidth Concerns

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PC gaming platform Steam has implemented new features, as well as mention current options, to put less stress on players' internet bandwidth

As many have started working or attending school remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic, home internet bandwidth becomes a problem for anyone trying to complete work online. Steam has introduced some changes to some of its features to help alleviate some bandwidth issues people may have.

Beginning this week, Steam will make changes to how it schedules updates. According to the post, the platform, “has already been scheduling updates for the next off-peak local time period,” but will now be spreading out these updates over several days. Essentially, updates for games players have installed but haven’t played within the last 3 days will not update immediately. However, the game will begin updating if a player decides to start an application that has yet to be updated. Players can also manually begin an update from the Download Manager.

Steam also lays out some features that players can control to help take the stress off your home’s internet bandwidth. This includes scheduled auto-update windows, toggling automatic updates off, self-throttle your connection to Steam, and taking advantage of Library Folders settings. As stated in the post, more of these details can be found on the Steam Support page.

Steam is not the only platform to implement changes to help alleviate any internet bandwidth concerns. Recently, YouTube has reduced the default streaming quality to 480p. You can still view videos at higher qualities, but you will have to manually choose your desired resolution.

In other Steam related news, id Software’s latest release Doom Eternal reached nearly 105,000 concurrent players on Steam. That is three times more than the all-time concurrent peak for 2016’s Doom. You can check out our review of Doom Eternal where Logan Moore says, “Doom Eternal proves now more than ever that the grandaddy of the first-person shooter genre is once again the king of them all — and it doesn’t look to be ceding the throne any time soon”