Valve has started testing a new feature that will allow users to add hardware specifications to user reviews, giving you more information when attempting to determine how a game might run on your own PC.
The update, which is currently being deployed to the Steam Beta Client, will give users the ability to attach hardware information to user reviews instead of just relying on users entering this in the text directly. The patch notes don't mention how or if these specifications will be verified by Steam, or whether the information is going to be sourced from Steam's optional Hardware Survey database.
Either way, it should give reviews more context when users leave criticism over a game's performance, letting you make a decision over whether it might affect your current hardware configuration. In addition to this, Valve is also giving users the option to allow for anonymized framerate data collection. This is currently exclusive to devices using SteamOS (which is officially just handhelds currently) but will apparently be used to help Valve determine game performance and compatibility to improve Steam going forward.
That sort of data would be very valuable to the ongoing development of Valve's SteamOS-powered desktop, the Steam Machine. This console-like PC was recently delayed into the first half of 2026, but Valve did reaffirm that it expects most games to run at 4K and 60fps while making use of upscaling techniques. Given the hardware underpinning the Steam Machine, additional frame rate data might help guide Valve into more focused optimization avenues for games that are currently popular.
You can check out both changes if you opt into Steam's Beta Client channel, with both features likely to be patched into the official branch in the near future.
Source
The update, which is currently being deployed to the Steam Beta Client, will give users the ability to attach hardware information to user reviews instead of just relying on users entering this in the text directly. The patch notes don't mention how or if these specifications will be verified by Steam, or whether the information is going to be sourced from Steam's optional Hardware Survey database.
Either way, it should give reviews more context when users leave criticism over a game's performance, letting you make a decision over whether it might affect your current hardware configuration. In addition to this, Valve is also giving users the option to allow for anonymized framerate data collection. This is currently exclusive to devices using SteamOS (which is officially just handhelds currently) but will apparently be used to help Valve determine game performance and compatibility to improve Steam going forward.
That sort of data would be very valuable to the ongoing development of Valve's SteamOS-powered desktop, the Steam Machine. This console-like PC was recently delayed into the first half of 2026, but Valve did reaffirm that it expects most games to run at 4K and 60fps while making use of upscaling techniques. Given the hardware underpinning the Steam Machine, additional frame rate data might help guide Valve into more focused optimization avenues for games that are currently popular.
You can check out both changes if you opt into Steam's Beta Client channel, with both features likely to be patched into the official branch in the near future.
Source