Never Miss a Release Again — Steam’s New Personal Calendar Shows Games You Actually Care About
Steam has launched a new Personal Calendar that shows recently released games and upcoming releases tailored to what you play. The feature is rolling out as a Steam Labs experiment and aims to surface titles you’re likely to care about based on your play history.
1. Personal Calendar overview
2. How personalization works
3. What the calendar shows
4. Examples and links
5. Access and feedback
Personal Calendar overview
Valve announced the feature on its store news page. You can view the new Personal Calendar on the Personal Calendar page. According to Valve, the calendar is “filtered down to the set of games we think you are most likely to be interested in.” It is presented as a Steam Labs Experiment, so the company is asking for user input as it develops the tool.
How personalization works
The system bases recommendations on the games you actually play. Valve states, “The system is more focused on games that you play the most (relative to other players),” so your heavier-played titles influence what appears. Playing a demo for 30 minutes won’t skew your recommendations, but sinking 100 hours into The Witcher 3 certainly will.
Also, Steam faces a high volume of releases: this year, between 1,300 and 1,700 games have been released each month on Steam, which helps explain why a personalized feed is useful.
What the calendar shows
The Personal Calendar provides several time-focused views. First, it shows a snapshot of games released in the last month. Then, it spotlights titles that came out in the last seven days. Finally, it offers a detailed view of upcoming releases week-by-week for the next eight weeks. The calendar also includes games already on your wishlist, even if the system didn’t recommend them.
You can adjust the calendar to hide games you already own, and you can customize how many upcoming games you want to see. Valve has published details in its announcement, which explains these features and the experimental nature of the tool.
Examples and links
Steam’s announcement and the calendar itself link to specific games and to Steam’s experiment discussion. For example, some indie titles mentioned by users as appearing in personalized feeds include Hypogea, Ayasa: Shadows of Silence, and Unpetrified: Echoes of Nature. The calendar also shows titles you’ve already wishlisted, helping centralize release dates for games you care about.
More details on the feature were published in Valve’s announcement: see Valve’s post.
Access and feedback
You can try the Personal Calendar from the Steam store and leave feedback through the Steam Labs Experiment discussion. Valve has an active thread for user input at the Steam Labs group: Steam Labs Experiment discussion. Valve says it is looking for feedback to inform further development.
