There’s a note in my Google Keep account that’s years and years old, documenting my ideal Skyrim armor setup, complete with dozens of doubled-up and stacked enchantments, many of which are only possible because of extensive modding. The latest Steam beta update might be made specifically for me, because the addition of a cloud-based note system to the in-game overlay is the perfect spot for this most nerdy of lists.

The new Notes app lets you save more or less any text-based messages for yourself, sync them across your Steam installations, and pin them to the screen while you’re playing. You can even edit them outside the game, if you’re deep into a wiki dive on how to optimize your Baldur’s Gate build. But that’s only the start of the new additions to Steam’s in-game interface. The toolbar and game overview screens have been redesigned, including chats, guides, and a full browser you can open without closing your game. Any of these can be pinned to your screen while playing your game for easy access without switching windows.

Steam says that the notification system has also been overhauled, limiting the tray view to new notifications with a more extensive “view all” page elsewhere, and the Screenshot Manager is now faster with options for large or small thumbnails. Under the hood, Steam’s desktop client, Big Picture Mode, and Steam Deck implementations have been given some upgrades that should mean faster iterations of changes across all three interfaces.

The beta is available to download now (here’s how to try it if you’re new), and most or all of these features should make it to the standard build within the next few months.

Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer

Michael is a former graphic designer who’s been building and tweaking desktop computers for longer than he cares to admit. His interests include folk music, football, science fiction, and salsa verde, in no particular order.

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