Steam adds a feature that users have requested for years

It looks like Valve has quietly added a Steam feature that people have been asking about for a long time now: the ability to add a game to your library without having to download it. This might seem like a small thing (and it really is), but it’s something that players have only been able to do in the past with workarounds that didn’t offer the most convenient methods. It’s only a very useful feature when you’re downloading free games, but it seems to have some uses other than that as well.

This new Steam feature was not announced in any kind of Steam patch notes this week, so this hidden feature was only noticed by people who shared their news online after their discovery. Twitter user robot brushFor example, take a screenshot of the option in the image below (which you may have to expand) which shows the usual “Play Game” button next to a new button that says “Add to Library”. fellow Twitter user murwall Putting this into context for those who may not have understood what was going on from the first tweet alone.

As others have pointed out in responses there and in other threads Where this feature has been discussed, this add to library option was already available to some extent. There was no dedicated button for this action, and to achieve a similar effect, players could finish downloading a game in the first confirmation window that pops up to add the game to your library but not downloaded at that time. This workaround is now basically condensed into the single button you see in the image above.

For paid games, this wouldn’t really be helpful to know how you have to buy the game anyway before adding it to your library. But given the proliferation of free games nowadays with no end to that monetization method in sight, this feature will only be more useful as a free game add-on. It will also come in handy when claiming free DLC for a game you already own.

One caveat is that it doesn’t appear to be an option available on the Steam website at the moment and only exists within the Steam app itself. It’s also unclear whether the Add to Library button is on temporarily free or free to own games, noting that there aren’t any games promoted in this way on Steam at the moment, but these offerings are never far from us. Some, so we’ll soon see if the button actually works that way as well.

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