Valve has just made the Steam Workshop far more user-friendly

a workshop from the game workshop simulator
(Image credit: Intermarium)

At long last, Valve has implemented many new improvements to the Steam Workshop to make the platform far more user-friendly. 

Steam, which is the client that hosts most of the best PC games around, received the Workshop all the way back in 2016, however, while other aspects of the site have been updated, the workshop area has largely stayed the same until now. 

Announced recently on the Steam Workshop landing page itself, it reads: "With this update, when you search within a game's Workshop, the results will now handle partial string matches and will organize the results to prioritize the most relevant results, taking into account popularity and user ratings". This is followed by: "You can check out the improvements to search by exploring your favorite game's Steam Workshop". 

It sounds like a small improvement on the surface, but in actuality, it will mean that finding specific items will be significantly faster and more straightforward. For years, Steam Workshop has been the place for officially sanctioned community mods and content in hundreds of popular titles on the service. The problem that some users have had in the past is finding items made by specific creators or by a particular search term, however, this new update should fix the issue. 

It's all part of Valve's recent efforts to greatly overhaul the Steam client for the better. Last month, the game developer and publisher launched a massive client update to the desktop and mobile versions of the service. Chief among them was a much faster overall UI experience bolstered by a new in-game overlay and a much more lightweight feel. It was the first extensive visual and functional change received in the better part of a decade. 

With there being more competition than ever on the digital distribution front, with services such as Ubisoft Connect, the Epic Games Launcher, GOG Galaxy, and more, it's good to see Valve finally pouring energy into the user experience. 

If you want to go big-screen, you can kick back and play PC games on one of the best gaming monitors or even the best gaming TV. In this case, the best Xbox controllers could be preferable to the best gaming keyboards and the best gaming mouse.

Aleksha McLoughlin
Contributor

Aleksha McLoughlin is an experienced hardware writer. She was previously the Hardware Editor for TechRadar Gaming until September 2023. During this time, she looked after buying guides and wrote hardware reviews, news, and features. She has also contributed hardware content to the likes of PC Gamer, Trusted Reviews, Dexerto, Expert Reviews, and Android Central. When she isn't working, you'll often find her in mosh pits at metal gigs and festivals or listening to whatever new black and death metal has debuted that week.