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Valve has been busy overhauling its Steam Community, and, over the last few days, has been announcing the new features in store for Steam users. But now that all of the features have been unveiled, Valve has finally announced that a lucky few thousand will be able to try them out early.

Today, the Steam Community Update Beta is now open. The catch is that only the first 50,000 users who earn the "Pillar of the Steam Community" badge will be accepted into the beta. Those who don't get in, however, will still be able to celebrate with Team Fortress 2, the new mode for which, Mann vs. Machine, is now available for all.

As for the 50,000 "Pillars" who do get in, they will be able to get a first look at the features Valve will be bringing to the new Steam Community, which include the following (as listed by Valve):

• Game Hubs - Every game on Steam now has a Game Hub, which provides a quick way for users to browse the best of a variety of content as rated by the community at large. Each Game Hub also includes a game-specific discussion area where players can talk about their favorite Steam games.
• Group Updates - Player-created groups have been redesigned so it's now easier to see what a group is all about and who is participating in it. Groups now also include public and private discussion areas where they can remain in touch with their own communities.
• My Content Updates - The content you've created now lives in one central place with new viewing options including an "image wall" layout that showcases your top-rated content. Also new is the ability to mark screenshots, videos, and workshop items as Favorites to save or share with friends.
• Friend Activity - The new feed makes it easy to view, rate, and comment on the content and activities of your friends in a visually-rich and interactive presentation. Players can also broadcast game-specific status updates to start a conversation with their friends, directly in the activity feed.

That all sounds rather cool. Perhaps this is enough incentive for me to finally use my Steam account for more than just buying Portal 2. What about you? What do you make of the new features for the Steam Community? Let us know.

And for more info regarding the updated Steam Community, follow the link below the one marked "Source".

Source: Valve press release

Link: Steam Community info page

Peter Grimm A writer, journalist, and aspiring storyteller, Peter Grimm has been gaming since the days of the Nintendo 64, and reporting on the goings-on in the World of Gaming since late 2011. His base of writing operations is located within the void between Here and There, or so he would have you think.

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