Digital game libraries are convenient, sure—but if you’ve ever raged at an out-of-place title ruining your Steam shelf aesthetic, you’re not alone. Now, Valve is finally giving users what they’ve wanted for years: full control over how games appear and sort in their library.
Steam Users Can Now Tidy Their Game Libraries Like Never Before
Steam’s latest beta update might not sound huge at first glance, but it brings one feature that’s been a long time coming—custom game names and sort titles.
Previously, if a game had a weird title formatting—like using a subtitle instead of a number or breaking from the naming pattern of its series—there was nothing you could do. Now, users can simply go into the new “Customization” tab in a game’s properties and change how that game is displayed in their library.
For anyone with hundreds (or thousands) of titles, this is a game-changer. Think of it like giving your cluttered bookshelf a fresh reorganization—one where you make the rules.
Customization Tab: A Long-Awaited Feature for OCD Gamers
The addition of a “Customization” tab in game properties is more than just cosmetic fluff—it gives power back to the user.
Let’s say you own all the Final Fantasy games, but one of them is listed under a subtitle like “Lightning Returns” and sits awkwardly between unrelated titles. Now you can rename it to “Final Fantasy XIII-3” or whatever makes sense for your sort order.
Short, sweet, and sanity-saving.
The customization options currently include:
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Setting custom artwork (finally ditch that awful cover art)
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Creating a custom sort title that overrides the official name
And yes, it’s all saved locally—so don’t worry about accidentally breaking anything on Steam’s end.
Linux Gamers Finally Get Some Relief Too
Valve didn’t stop at library sorting in this update. Linux users—often the neglected middle child of PC gaming—also get some important fixes.
First up, Steam has been re-released for users with 32-bit GTK-3 libraries. The previous version had a nasty crash bug, making it nearly unusable on some systems. That’s now fixed.
In addition:
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Steam now adapts its DPI scaling better when using XWayland, which should reduce those annoying UI mismatches
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Stability improvements make the beta usable again for Linux gamers who got locked out last time
It’s not flashy, but it’s appreciated. Especially for people using custom setups or Steam Deck-like builds running SteamOS.
Why This Matters: Control, Consistency, and Personal Taste
Let’s be honest: the way Steam auto-sorts your library isn’t always logical. Some series don’t group correctly. Others are sorted by publishers instead of sequels. And some games just use titles that drive obsessive users up the wall.
This update acknowledges that no one knows your library better than you.
Even if it seems small, this kind of granular control speaks to something bigger: Valve is listening. And after years of complaints about library disorganization, they’re finally giving users a way to fix it themselves.
There’s a good reason this change has been getting praise online—it scratches that very specific itch for better digital ownership.
Steam Store Updates and Full Beta Patch Notes
In addition to the library and Linux tweaks, this beta also includes a few background adjustments to the Steam Store, though Valve hasn’t gone into great detail. A larger store redesign is also in the works and already available to beta testers.
For reference, here’s a quick table summarizing the notable changes in this Steam Beta release:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Custom Sort Title | Change how games are listed in your library |
| Custom Game Artwork | Set personalized cover art |
| Linux GTK-3 Fix | Addresses crash issues on systems using 32-bit libraries |
| DPI Scaling Fix (XWayland) | UI now adapts better to display scaling changes |
| Steam Store Tweaks | Minor adjustments as part of ongoing redesign efforts |
Valve hasn’t said when these features will hit the stable release, but if history is any guide, it shouldn’t be too long. The company usually tests betas for a few weeks before rolling them out platform-wide.
Still in Beta, But Looking Promising
As always with beta updates, you’ll have to manually opt in via the Steam client settings if you want to try these features early. They’re stable enough for daily use based on early feedback, but keep in mind: it’s still a test build.
That said, this isn’t just a cosmetic tweak—it’s a meaningful quality-of-life upgrade that could seriously improve how people interact with their massive game collections. Valve has been slowly reshaping Steam into something more personal, and this feels like a thoughtful step in the right direction.
For collectors, list-lovers, and anyone who wants their digital shelf to look just right, this is a win.
