Steam Store Updated With a Personal Calendar of New Games

There are so many games that get released on Steam each day that it's become a little cliche to even mention it. And while I love the sheer variety of games on the platform, it gets really hard to find the games that I actually want to play. One of the ways I've typically got around that is through the Steam Discovery Queue. That system debuted all the way back in 2014, and even now, 12 years later, I still find myself clicking through my Discovery queue whenever I'm bored at home. The problem, though, is that those queues have a tendency to shove games in my face that I'd never in a million years have any interest in playing. Valve recently pushed a store update that finally includes the personalized calendars it teased all the way back in October. Functionally, these are very similar to the Discovery Queue, but are instead focused on new releases, rather than just surfacing hidden 'gems' from the Steam store. As for how Valve is deciding which games to put onto the calendar, the answer of course comes down to data. According to Valve's Steam Labs blog about the feature, the calendar will be populated based on your 'playtime profile'. Basically, based on the games you play the most, Valve's algorithm will gather up games that similar players play the most and give you a heads up when they're coming out. Importantly, this isn't based on the games you buy. I don't know about you, but I buy dozens of games on Steam that I never actually play, and so I wouldn't necessarily want my recommendations to be filled with games based on that. Instead, the recommendations seem to revolve around the type of games that I'll get lost in for hours. And, at least based on a quick glance at my calendar page, filled with lengthy RPGs and weird Rogue-lites, Valve's nailed it. Just like with any system like this, the longevity is going to depend on how reliably it can surface games that people actually care about. Valve does have a pretty good track record, but over the last decade, I've known plenty of people who have pretty much forgotten that the discovery queue even existed. But, at least Valve has put it smack dab in the middle of the new Store home page, so it's at least pretty hard to miss for now. This update comes at around the same time that Valve has reiterated its Verified program for the Steam Machine, which might actually come out sometime this Summer. It's also available on the Steam Deck, which had a huge price increase last month. Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

Jun 6, 2026 - 02:54

Steam Store Updated With a Personal Calendar of New Games

There are so many games that get released on Steam each day that it's become a little cliche to even mention it. And while I love the sheer variety of games on the platform, it gets really hard to find the games that I actually want to play.

One of the ways I've typically got around that is through the Steam Discovery Queue. That system debuted all the way back in 2014, and even now, 12 years later, I still find myself clicking through my Discovery queue whenever I'm bored at home. The problem, though, is that those queues have a tendency to shove games in my face that I'd never in a million years have any interest in playing.

Valve recently pushed a store update that finally includes the personalized calendars it teased all the way back in October. Functionally, these are very similar to the Discovery Queue, but are instead focused on new releases, rather than just surfacing hidden 'gems' from the Steam store.

As for how Valve is deciding which games to put onto the calendar, the answer of course comes down to data. According to Valve's Steam Labs blog about the feature, the calendar will be populated based on your 'playtime profile'. Basically, based on the games you play the most, Valve's algorithm will gather up games that similar players play the most and give you a heads up when they're coming out.

Importantly, this isn't based on the games you buy. I don't know about you, but I buy dozens of games on Steam that I never actually play, and so I wouldn't necessarily want my recommendations to be filled with games based on that. Instead, the recommendations seem to revolve around the type of games that I'll get lost in for hours. And, at least based on a quick glance at my calendar page, filled with lengthy RPGs and weird Rogue-lites, Valve's nailed it.

Just like with any system like this, the longevity is going to depend on how reliably it can surface games that people actually care about. Valve does have a pretty good track record, but over the last decade, I've known plenty of people who have pretty much forgotten that the discovery queue even existed. But, at least Valve has put it smack dab in the middle of the new Store home page, so it's at least pretty hard to miss for now.

This update comes at around the same time that Valve has reiterated its Verified program for the Steam Machine, which might actually come out sometime this Summer. It's also available on the Steam Deck, which had a huge price increase last month.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra

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