Valve

Valve has updated the Steam Client Beta — users can now attach their hardware specs to game reviews in the store. This will help developers better understand compatibility and optimize projects for real PCs.

Valve has portable gaming fans on edge again — only this time, it’s the sound of total radio silence. The Steam Deck OLED, now the sole surviving model in the lineup after the LCD version was quietly retired, has completely disappeared from sale in the U.S. and several Asian markets. No warning. No restock dates. Just… gone.

Microsoft has filed a copyright complaint against the indie game Allumeria, leading Valve to remove it from Steam. The voxel sandbox from developer Unomelon was preparing to appear at Steam Next Fest in January, but just two weeks after its announcement, the game vanished from the store. The stated reason: alleged copyright infringement of Minecraft.

Valve has introduced a useful new feature specifically for Steam Early Access projects. Developers can now officially specify the planned release date for version 1.0 — the key milestone when the game leaves Early Access and transitions to a full release.

Valve has finally shed some light on the performance of its long-awaited living room gaming PC, the Steam Machine. The company outright states a target of 4K and 60 frames per second for the entire Steam catalog, but reading between the lines reveals an unexpected nuance that might dampen the enthusiasm of even its most ardent fans.

Valve has officially confirmed delays for its new hardware lineup: the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and updated Steam Controller. The company originally planned shipments for early 2026, even giving some journalists a specific timeline — Q1 2026. But worsening memory and storage shortages have pushed the release to later in the first half of the year.

Rumors suggesting that Half-Life 3 would serve as a launch title for the new Steam Machine continue to stir the community, but this theory appears to be falling apart. Well-known dataminer and Valve community insider Gabe Follower stated that the release of the long-awaited shooter is not dependent on Valve's new hardware launch — even if the company encounters issues with its rollout.

The comedy adventure Earth Must Die from Size Five Games nearly faced a release delay on Steam due to controversial content. The issue stemmed from a scene described on the game’s store page as “an alien orgy depicted as a writhing mass on the floor.” This description drew the attention of the platform’s moderators and triggered additional review.

The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal has allowed a collective lawsuit against Valve to proceed, accusing the company of abusing Steam’s dominant position in the PC games market. The claim was filed in 2024 and concerns alleged overpricing for users in the United Kingdom. The total amount of potential compensation could reach up to $900 million.

The developers of Counter-Strike 2 have released a patch in which they partially canceled the VAC bans. Accidental blockages have recently started to occur due to Valve's struggle with cheaters.

The hero shooter Deadlock has received a massive update titled Old Gods, New Blood, which overhauls several core systems and brings a wealth of new content — from heroes and game modes to UI improvements and post-match statistics.

Valve has launched Season 4 of the Premier Mode in Counter-Strike 2, bringing a massive update packed with balance tweaks, new community maps, fresh items, and a long list of bug fixes.

Shooter Counter-Strike 2 brought Valve more than $1 billion. Around the same time, the game set an online record of about 1.8 million simultaneous players.

Valve has revealed details of the upcoming game compatibility verification program for its Steam Machine mini-PC. Unlike the existing system for the Steam Deck, the certification process will be less stringent, making life easier for both developers and users awaiting the new platform's launch.

Steam continues its unstoppable streak of breaking personal records for user activity. According to the latest stats, on January 11, 2026, Valve's digital platform reached a brand new all-time high with exactly 42,042,778 users online simultaneously. This eclipses every previous milestone in Steam's entire history, underscoring the platform's relentless expansion in the PC gaming world.

Valve has rolled out an important update for the Steam Workshop, addressing one of the community’s most persistent issues — mod incompatibility after game updates. The new APIs and configuration tools allow developers to link specific game versions to corresponding mod versions, dramatically reducing the chance of mods breaking after patches or beta updates.

Steam has broken its own online record. 41.8 million users were simultaneously on the digital platform. At the same time, there were 13.3 million people in the games.

The developers of the fan project CS:Legacy, aimed at updating Counter-Strike 1.6, have shared an update on their plans for 2026. The team announced that the project is currently on hold, and all their focus is now on developing their own game on the Godot engine.

One of the creators of Counter-Strike, Minh “Gooseman” Le, has revealed that, years later, he has mixed feelings about leaving Valve. In an interview with Edge, he admitted that it’s sometimes hard not to notice just how financially successful his former colleagues have become.

Valve has released a Steam Client Beta update dated December 24, and among the smaller fixes there is an unexpectedly important change for fans of Mafia 2 (Classic). The client has finally resolved a bug that caused the game to close unexpectedly on launch due to Steam DRM.