Dec 8, 2020
Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
Left 4 Dead 2 - Valve
An update has been released for Left 4 Dead 2.

Script:
- Global: "LocalTime" Fills out a table with the local time
- Player: "IsSuppressingFallingDamage" returns true if falling damage is currently suppressed for the player
- Run optional script "response_testbed_addon.nut" for all active addons
- Don't report addon file collisions for "sound.cache"
Other:
- Fixed talker typos
- Minor fixes to RocketDude and Taaaank! Mutations
- Enabled game stats reporting for DLC content
- Removed a legacy vpk loading path that allowed malformed vpks to crash the game.
Dec 7, 2020
Steam Client Update Released
Client Update - Valve
A new Steam client has been released and will be automatically downloaded.

General
  • Improved preallocation disk space performance when installing or updating content
  • Improved performance of Steam overlay, macOS and Linux web browsers
  • Fixed videos from youtube.com not starting automatically when browsed to

Downloads
  • Fixed downloading for developers on some networks using local content servers

Library
  • Fixed some game manuals opening inside of the Steam client instead of in the user's browser.
  • Fixed shelf dropdown rendering from displaying without a background.

Server Browser
  • Changes were made to harden the server browser protocol. Gameserver operators and anyone who writes custom clients that speak this protocol (A2S_INFO, S2C_CHALLENGE, etc) can read this post.

Steam Chat
  • Fixed Windows issue where voice hotkey may be erroneously triggered if unset
  • Fixed macOS issue preventing setting of voice hotkey when cleared

Steam Input
  • Added support for PS5 Controllers to Steam Input including trackpad, gyro, lightbar, and rumble functionality
  • Added a directional swipe mode for use with trackpads and gyro
  • Improved support for games that use raw input for controllers
  • Fixed the Xbox Series X controller showing up as 2 separate controllers
  • Fixed controller input for some games using embedded Chrome

Windows
  • Fixed unintentional overlay activation in Apex Legends after returning to the game via alt + tab then pressing shift

Linux
  • Updated steam runtime to v0.20201203.1
  • Improved the filtering of available compatibility tools in the game properties dialog
  • Fixed launching of non-Steam games over Proton 5.13 (steam-runtime#287)
  • Fixed games not getting stopped via the 'Stop' button in the client UI (steam-for-linux#7435)
  • Added auto-migration of Steam libraries using the old 'SteamApps' directory casing to 'steamapps' when possible (Proton#4206). Users will be warned if the transition is needed but auto-migration fails.
  • Improved how host LD_LIBRARY_PATH settings are picked up and transformed for the Steam runtime (steam-runtime#274)
  • Improved host LD_LIBRARY_PATH support (steam-runtime#306)
  • Fixed blank UI windows appearing at startup on some systems (steam-for-linux#7450)
Dec 3, 2020
Team Fortress 2 Update Released
Team Fortress 2 - Valve
An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:



Happy Smissmas 2020!
  • All players who play TF2 during the event will receive a Stuffed Stocking as a gift! Stockings contain goodies for good little Mercenaries.
  • Featuring 4 new community maps: Pier, Snowfall, SnowVille, and Wutville
  • Added the Winter 2020 Cosmetic Case
    • Contains 20 new community-contributed items
    • The Festivizer can be found as a bonus drop when opening the case
  • Added the Winter 2020 War Paint Case
    • Contains 13 new community-created War Paints that make-up the Winter 2020 Collection
    • Has a chance to give a taunt Unusualifier as a bonus item
  • Added 8 new community-contributed taunts to the Mann Co. Store
    • Taunt: The Pooped Deck
    • Taunt: Time Out Therapy
    • Taunt: Rocket Jockey
    • Taunt: The Boston Boarder
    • Taunt: Scorcher's Solo
    • Taunt: Texas Truckin'
    • Taunt: Spin-to-Win
    • Taunt: The Fist Bump
  • Added 19 new community-created Unusual effects
    • 12 new effects for Unusual hats
    • 7 new effects for Unusual taunts
  • All cosmetic and taunt cases will grant Smissmas 2020 Unusual effects instead of their normal Unusual effects during the event. This does not include crates.
  • Mann Co. Store winter sale!
  • Smissmas runs through January 7th, 2021
General
  • Fixed exploit where players could use "retry" in the console to reset the MvM timer and prevent the wave from starting
  • Updated item schema with community fixes from Andrés S. (rabscootle)
  • Updated web page with community fixes from Liam Stone (boba)
  • Updated Spy invis materials with community fixes from Liam Stone (boba)
  • Updated materials with community fixes from Andrés S. (rabscootle) and NeoDement to fix broken Jarate effect
  • Updated/Added some tournament medals
  • Updated the localization files
Dec 1, 2020
Left 4 Dead 2 - Update
Left 4 Dead 2 - Valve
An update has been released for Left 4 Dead 2.

Script additions:
- Added "Inflictor" field to damage table for "AllowTakeDamage"
- Director function "WarpAllSurvivorsToCheckpoint"
- Director function "WarpAllSurvivorsToBattlefield"
- Director function "WarpAllSurvivorsToFinale"
Other:
- Updated RocketDude mutation to version 1.7.
- Fixed some typos in talker scripts.
Nov 25, 2020
The 2020 Steam Autumn Sale and Steam Awards are here!
Steam News - Casscolors


The 2020 Steam Autumn Sale is now live, with great deals across the Steam catalog through Black Friday and Cyber Monday, ending at 10am Pacific on Tuesday, December 1st. Discover featured titles and franchises, personalized recommendations, plus browse top titles by tag when you shop the Autumn Sale now!

Steam Awards Nominations Open

Join us in our fifth annual Steam Awards by nominating your favorite new games of 2020 across 10 categories, and earn profile XP and badges for participating! Your nominations will help determine the finalists for each category. In December, you can vote on the winners for each category during the Steam Winter Sale. Select your nominations today!


New Autumn Sale animated avatar frames and background are also available now in the Points Shop.




Nov 24, 2020
Top Releases of October 2020
Steam News - andrewl


We're continuing our Top Release series with a look at games released in October. As with past months, this list highlights the top 20 products measured by revenue generated during the first two weeks after release. We’re also highlighting the top 5 free-to-play products, measured by their unique player counts following release.

Terrifying Top Releases
October culminated with Steam's annual Halloween sale, so it's no surprise that the Top Releases of the month include a number of horror games that really resonated with players. In Silence provides a unique twist on the survival-horror multiplayer experience, while Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope and Amnesia: Rebirth take players on fresh new narratives that are sure to deliver plenty of chills. Not every player has the fortitude to jump straight into a horror game, so thankfully October saw a wide variety of other genres and themes to go for. From the immersive and epic RPG experiences in Baldur's Gate 3 and The Outer Worlds to the action-packed multiplayer hits of STAR WARS™: Squadrons & FIFA 21, October's list features plenty of choices for every type of player.   

Developer Highlights
We're also excited to see new teams finding success on Steam. With October's list, we are welcoming 12 development teams who are bringing a product to Steam for the very first time. Congrats and welcome to (DOMO Studio, Echtra Inc., Jagex, LiLith, https://store.steampowered.com/app/1377580/Soulworker/., MOTIVE, Nolla Games, Ravenhood Games, Redstone Interactive, Tactical Adventures, Tuxedo Labs & YC Games).

These teams come together in a variety of ways, so for this month's list, we caught up with some of them to hear a bit about their unique stories:

Teardown - Tuxedo Labs

As the name might imply, Tuxedo Labs began as a technology experiment with Dennis Gustafsson designing a system to create fully destructible voxel worlds. As the experiment progressed, Dennis realized that smashing environments made of voxels could make for a pretty compelling game. After bringing along a team of industry veterans that he'd met through the years, the sandbox heist was brought to life. 

Solasta: Crown of the Magister - Tactical Adventures

After 20 years in the gaming industry, both working at Ubisoft and co-founding Amplitude Studios, Mathieu Girard formed Tactical Adventures to turn his lifelong passion for tabletop RPGs into a game. Not only does the team at Tactical Adventures come from all corners of the video game industry, most have plenty of experience with tabletop RPGs as well. So naturally, each week the team shares in some epic tabletop campaigns.

Beyond the Wire - Redstone Interactive

What began as a small exploratory side project within Offworld Industries, slowly grew into a brand new team: Redstone Interactive. Formed by veterans of Squad and Post Scriptum along with passionate members of their respective modding communities, Redstone is now completely dedicated to the Early Access development of their debut true-to-life WWI FPS, Beyond the Wire. Time will tell what mods the Redstone community creates, possibly cultivating the next generation of this development legacy.

Noita - Nolla Games

While working on a pixel-physics prototype in a coworking space in Helsinki, Finland, lead designer Petri Perho recruited fellow developers Arvi and Olli to form Nolla Games and create their innovative and highly successful debut: Noita. All three members of the Nolla Games team got their starts on Steam with completely separate games that many fans will immediately recognize.

--

October's Top Releases

Here's the list of October's top releases ordered by release date (we've organized this list on a handy sale page too):


STAR WARS™: Squadrons
MOTIVE (Canada)


Baldur's Gate 3
Larian Studios (Belgium)


EA SPORTS™ FIFA 21
Electronic Arts (USA)


The Survivalists
Team17 Digital Ltd (UK)


Second Extinction™
Systemic Reaction™ (Sweden)


Torchlight III
Echtra Inc. (USA)


The Jackbox Party Pack 7
Jackbox Games, Inc. (USA)


RuneScape ®
Jagex (UK)


Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition
Tantalus Media & Forgotten Empires (Australia & USA)


Noita
Nolla Games (Finland)


Crown Trick
NExT Studios (China)


In Silence
Ravenhood Games (Turkey)


Amnesia: Rebirth
Frictional Games (Sweden)


Solasta: Crown of the Magister
Tactical Adventures (France)


Beyond The Wire
Redstone Interactive (Canada)


The Outer Worlds
Obsidian Entertainment (USA)


Ghostrunner
One More Level, 3D Realms & Slipgate Ironworks™ (Poland & Denmark)


Xuan-Yuan Sword VII
SOFTSTAR & DOMO Studio (Taiwan)


The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope
Supermassive Games (UK)


Teardown
Tuxedo Labs (Sweden)

--

October's Top Free Releases


And here are the Top 5 free-to-play titles from September, ranked by total unique player count:


RuneScape ®
Jagex (UK)


Eternal Return: Black Survival
Nimble Neuron (Republic of Korea)


Action Taimanin
LiLith (Japan)


Soulworker
Lion Games Co., Ltd. (Republic of Korea)


Blood of Steel
YC Games (China)

--

If you're curious about previous months, here are more Top Release lists:

Nov 18, 2020
Left 4 Dead 2 Update
Left 4 Dead 2 - Valve
An update has been released for Left 4 Dead 2.

- Honorary achievement for Gnome Chompski's upcoming journey into space on Rocket Lab's "Return To Sender" mission.
Nov 12, 2020
The Steam Fighting Game Sale is ON!
Steam News - Erik.P

Lace up those gloves and pick up some skull-crackin' deals on the best fighting games on Steam, on now until November 16th at 10am Pacific! From 2D and 3D Fighters to Party Brawlers and Beat ‘em ups, the Fighting Game Sale comes in like a spinning piledriver with discounts on games like:

TEKKEN 7
Street Fighter V
Mortal Kombat 11
Injustice 2
GUILTY GEAR xrd -REVELATOR-
Streets of Rage 4
Castle Crashers
SOULCALIBUR VI
THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIV STEAM EDITION
Slap City
BlazBlue Centralfiction

...and so much more!

So what are you waiting for, Fighting Game Fans? Dropkick on in here:
https://store.steampowered.com/sale/FightingGameSale
Nov 9, 2020
Now Available on Steam - Dreadlands, 20% off!
Dreadlands - Valve
Dreadlands is Now Available on Steam and is 20% off!*

Welcome to Dreadlands! A perilous landscape brimming with potential in the form of Glow. Command one of 3 unique factions in this turn-based tactical RPG and play through their campaigns, be it solo or Co-Op, or battle it out in PvP. So far no one has tamed the Dreadlands. Will you be the first?

*Offer ends November 16 at 10AM Pacific Time
Nov 5, 2020
Team Fortress 2 Update Released
Team Fortress 2 - Valve
An update to Team Fortress 2 has been released. The update will be applied automatically when you restart Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:

  • Mannpower update
    • Dominant players are now marked for death only when carrying a powerup
    • Shield charge meter passive refill rate reduced. Reduction is greater when carrying a powerup
    • Items or actions that add to the shield charge meter now add less when carrying a powerup
    • Carried buildings now deploy faster than default, but not instant
    • Decapitating swords no longer get the base melee damage boost other melee weapons get in Mannpower
    • Strength powerup no longer multiplies critical damage
    • Medic
      • Powered up medics with unpowered up targets get a less reduced heal rate (50% -> 75% of default rate)
      • Reduced ubercharge gain on Ubersaw hit in Mannpower. 40% of regular rate if not powered up, 20% of regular rate if powered up
...