Valve has revealed the latest batch of improvements and new features coming in the next Steam Client Beta update, the biggest being a complete overhaul of Steam's in-game overlay. The feature was primarily used to chat with friends or check on things related to the game you were playing, but this latest update has now added a whole bunch of new functions and a new interface for extra customizability.

For example, the in-game overlay now comes with a toolbar which can be used to open different apps or anything you might need whilst gaming. You can chat with your friends, check out acheivements or guides, and even open up a web browser if you need one. Obviously, this can be extremely helpful depending on what game you're playing, but another nifty feature added in this update also allows you to pin windows from the overlay so they appear in-game.

While Valve has primarily designed this feature so you can quickly check guides, discussions, or the new notes app, there's also nothing stopping you from pinning a web browser to your game whilst playing. This means that with the in-game overlay, you can head on over to Netflix or any other streaming service, boot up a TV show or movie that you want to watch, pin the web browser to your game, and watch your chosen piece of media whilst grinding runes in Elden Ring. Valve even admits that you can do such a thing in the update notes.

Valve says that you can watch movies while playing games by pinning the web browser in the new Steam update https://t.co/pfVopde0ZD

— Wario64 (@Wario64) April 27, 2023

Of course, this isn't something that's been officially rolled out just yet. It's currently a feature for those that are signed up to the Steam Client Beta, a system that allows users to test out new features before anyone else. Thankfully, it's easy to access - and you can find a tutorial for you to do so here if you don't know how - but be aware that there's a chance you may run into some issues since you're pretty much beta testing for Valve.

In other Steam news, the platform accidentally restricted over 2,400 accounts earlier this month for marking a negative review as helpful. This review provided a detailed explanation of how to remove anti-cheat software from free-to-play MMO Warlander, something which Steam viewed as against its terms of service. Instead of just punishing the reviewer, every account that marked the review as helpful also had their accounts restricted. Valve has unrestricted these accounts, but it's just a small reminder not to go endorsing reviews willy nilly.

Posted: Apr 30, 2023 9:38 pm
Related Forum: PC Gaming Forum

Source: https://www.thegamer.com/steam-client-beta-update-in-game-overlay-watch-movies/