Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Steam’s revamped chat client makes it easier to game with friends

By
Valve

Steam’s overhauled chat client is now available to all Steam users. The client, which comes off as Valve’s answer to Discord, had been available in beta since June.

The bottom line: the client is a substantial improvement over the previous version, which badly needed an update. The mantra of the new client is versatility. It now supports group chat, differentiated channels, voice chat, and instant sharing of images and video, including YouTube clips and GIFs. You can now easily see which of your friends are online and invite them to voice chat using a simple drag and drop system.

Recommended Videos

The new client is obviously aimed at providing a better gaming experience with friends. Being able to create groups on the fly and save them for future use is one of the most impactful changes. Now you can keep your Counter-Strike: Global Offensive group separate from your League of Legends group. If you want to invite a friend to play with you, you can do that with ease now. You can also send a link through email, text, or in-app message to invite them into your game party.

Steam’s voice chat uses WebRTC on its backend for security. Voice chat is encrypted and goes through Steam’s servers, not directly to your friends. This design keeps both your IP address to yourself and hides your location.

Valve designed a fresh UI for the chat, one that it said makes it easier to improve the overall Steam experience going forward.

“Friends and chat are just the beginning. This update was built using a new UI framework and includes some important architectural improvements under the hood, all of which allow us to make more frequent updates to our web-based Steam components. There are many improvements to the overall Steam experience that we plan to tackle, and your feedback helps us to prioritize what’s next.”

The interface, as you’ll notice in the screenshot above, bears resemblance to Discord, the leading app for online gaming communication. It remains to be seen if Discord users will move over to Steam’s new and improved chat client, but at least gamers now have an option that doesn’t require them to have both Steam and Discord running at the same time.

Steam’s new chat app is available via the client app and on browsers.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Steven Petite
Steven Petite
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…
Steam Deck 2: release date speculation, specs, pricing
Steam Deck held between two hands.

It's a matter of when we'll see the Steam Deck 2, not if we'll see it. Valve has talked publicly multiple times about its plans for a next-gen Steam Deck, which shouldn't come as a surprise given that the original is easily the best handheld gaming PC you can buy.

Although the Steam Deck 2 is still a few years off, Valve has been dropping hints about the handheld for a while. Here's everything we know about the Steam Deck 2 right now, from the possible release date to details on specs and performance.
Steam Deck 2: release date speculation

Read more
Xbox Game Pass loses some horror greats, but gains a kid-friendly racing game
A custom car built drives around Lego 2K Drive.

We've learned what games will come to Xbox Game Pass over the first half of this April, and leading the batch is Lego 2K Drive, a Lego racing game that's a solid alternative to the Forza Horizon games that are also available on Microsoft's subscription service.

Lego 2K Drive was released in May 2023 and is an enjoyable racing game where players can build their own Lego vehicles and race throughout several open worlds. It found the middle ground between the likes of Mario Kart and Forza Horizon and thrives in that space, even if the microtransactions can be a little aggressive for a game aimed at children. Playground Games has not yet confirmed if another Forza Horizon game is in the works at this time, so Xbox fans can play this game to fill that void until a new one is announced.

Read more
Steam Spring Sale: best deals, how long is the sale, and more
Ichiban and Sujimon celebrating.

Spring is in the air, which means it's time to do some Spring cleaning. Thankfully, that doesn't mean cleaning out your wallet because Steam has launched its seasonal sale event to cut prices on tons of amazing games to some of the lowest we've seen.

Given how many incredible games were released last year and at the beginning of this year, odds are you have quite a few games on your backlog you've yet to get to. Your patience may have paid off if you've held out until now. Act fast, though, because this sale won't last forever.
When is the Steam Spring Sale 2024?
The Steam Spring Sale has already sprung and will close on March 21.
Best deals for the Steam Spring Sale 2024

Read more