Steam’s New Personalized Calendar Actually Works!
Some nights, after losing one too many matches in League of Legends, I find myself scrolling through endless lists on Steam trying to find something fresh to play. Most of the time, nothing sticks. But this week, something changed. Steam might’ve just fixed that problem for me.
Yesterday, Steam rolled out its new personalized calendar, which recommends games based on your playtime and the wishlists of players with similar habits. Personally, I’ve sunk countless hours into games like Hollow Knight: Silksong, Lethal Company, Valheim, and The Witcher 3. Initially, I wasn’t surprised to see the mainstream games recommended. Then, the more I scrolled, the more I saw smaller titles I’d never heard of before that were right up my alley. Games such as Constance, Absolum, and Storebound immediately went to my wishlist. All of them line up perfectly with the kinds of games I actually enjoy. It didn’t feel like random suggestions; it felt curated.
The system updates daily, quietly refreshing as release dates shift and new games get announced. I didn’t have to make any adjustments; it just worked.
Accessing the feature isn’t obvious at first. In the Steam client, click “More” near the search bar, then head to “Special Sections” on the left and “Steam Labs” on the right. The calendar is slightly buried after the storefront redesign, a move a lot of users aren’t too happy about.
Once you’re in, you get a clean eight-week timeline of upcoming releases. It focuses on weekdays, since most launches happen then, and automatically includes anything on your wishlist. Everything else is ranked by what you like to play and what’s popular among players with similar tastes.
Steam already has its “Popular Upcoming” and “All Upcoming” lists, but this feels more practical. Instead of scrolling through hundreds of irrelevant games, I can look a few weeks ahead and immediately spot the titles that actually matter to me.
For recent releases, the calendar groups games by week or month. That small change makes it way easier to catch up on what’s new without obsessing over exact launch dates. Games can also appear up to a month before release, which gives smaller titles a better chance to gain traction before launch. That early exposure could make a real difference for indie devs.
The calendar is still part of Steam Labs Experiment 16, so it’s technically in testing. But after a few days of using it, I can honestly say it’s one of the most useful features Steam has rolled out in a long time.
For more articles like this, check out our Tech News page!