Valve is overhauling how Steam achievements work — and completionists finally have a reason to celebrate. A new Steam client beta update introduces Achievement Sets, letting developers separate base-game, DLC, and seasonal achievements so a new DLC pack can no longer knock your tidy 100% down a peg.
Previously, unlocking every achievement for a game earned a 100% in your achievements list — but if that game later got DLC with new achievements, that 100% would drop accordingly. “What if you have no intention of playing the DLC, but want to retain 100% completion bragging rights?” PC Gamer asks. This update fixes that, assuming developers use it.
Achievement Sets, Explained
Developers can now create sets of achievements customized to their game — like mastering a specific character class or finishing a singleplayer campaign. Sets also distinguish base game achievements from separate DLC and seasonal sets. Valve’s own example is a set called “Halloween Event Achievements,” valid for a certain period, which do not affect the achievement count of the base game — an approach that should work well with battle passes and seasonal events. If you have the completionist itch but skip a season, your base game stats stay intact.
Compare With Up to Three Friends
The changes come with a refresh of the achievements page itself: most achievements info is now displayed on a single page, showing your progress towards overall completion and towards unlocking individual achievements. You can also now directly compare achievements with up to three friends at once. As PC Gamer notes, both features have existed on PlayStation consoles for a while — it is nice that Valve has caught up.
64-Bit Linux and a Faster Client
The same beta finally turns the Linux Steam client into a 64-bit app, TechPowerUp reports. And ahead of the beta launch, Valve also responded to Epic Games’ new vibe-coded Epic Games Launcher beta with a mainline Steam client update that delivered significantly faster cold-start times.
The achievements overhaul is in beta now and will likely release widely in about a month.
Sources
- PC Gamer — Steam achievements are getting a huge overhaul, with separate sets for DLC and season passes
- TechPowerUp — Linux Finally Gets 64-Bit Steam Client and New Game Achievements Management in Client Beta
- DualShockers — Valve Rubs Salt Into Epic’s Wound by Making it Even Better for Completionists