Valve Just Made Some Big Changes to Steam Tags, And The New Additions Shed Light on Recent Trends

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Steam, a hugely popular platform for buying PC games, has so many titles that it can be difficult to find new ones. Valve, the company behind Steam, has been working on improvements, recently updating the homepage and storefront to offer better game recommendations. Now, they’ve significantly revamped Steam tags, making it even easier to discover games you’ll enjoy. These changes also reveal some interesting things about what kinds of games people are playing.

Steam recently updated its game tags on May 18th, removing 28 old ones and adding 17 new ones, with some tags also being combined or tweaked. These tags, which help players find games they’ll enjoy, are added by game developers, players, and Steam’s own experts. Since the tag list hadn’t been refreshed since the start of 2024, this update introduces new categories and reflects current gaming trends. New tags include genres like “Bullet Heaven” and “Desktop Companion,” as well as very specific interests like games featuring “Capybara.” This update aims to make it easier to browse Steam and highlights what’s popular in PC gaming right now.

Newly Added Steam Tags Prove Cozy & Idle Games are On the Rise

Let’s start by looking at the new tags Steam recently added. This update includes 17 tags designed to help players find games based on their genre and content. Looking at the complete list below, I’ve noticed some interesting trends:

  • Bullet Heaven – The opposite of Bullet Hell; Focus on upgrades while automatically attacking hordes of enemies
  • Desktop Companion – Games that only use part of your screen and keep you company while you do other things
  • Organizing – Tidy up, de-clutter, or unpack, carefully placing items in virtual spaces
  • Cleaning – Satisfying removal of grime and dirt from stuff
  • Decorating – Creative placement of furniture and other objects
  • Wuxia – Historical fantasy adventure featuring martial arts, competing sects, and inner qi
  • Xianxia – Fantasy adventure focused on cultivating supernatural powers and strength
  • Falling Blocks – Arranging, rotating, and placing blocks from above
  • Espionage – Spying or secretly securing valuable intel
  • Samurai – Japanese warriors best known for katanas, loyalty, and self-discipline
  • Zoo – Care for and display a park full of wild animals
  • Wolves – Also known as Canis Lupus
  • Capybaras – The largest and possibly most adorable rodent species
  • Animals – Cute and furry, or large and terrifying, and everything in between
  • Cult – Small groups with extreme devotion to a person, thing, or belief
  • Poker – Draw, bet, and bluff
  • Language Learning – Learning and teaching new languages

A lot of the popular tags right now show what kinds of indie games people are enjoying, like poker-style games similar to Balatro and fast-paced “bullet heaven” titles. We’re also seeing a big interest in relaxing games – things like cozy games, desktop pets, and games about organizing or decorating. Animal-themed games are popular too, with tags for animals, capybaras, and zoos being frequently used. These new tags should help players more easily find the games they’re looking for in these categories.

Full List of Steam Tags Removed or Modified in the May 2026 Update

The new tags highlight what’s trending, but some tags have been removed for different reasons. A few relate to specific licenses and aren’t suitable for community use. Others cover topics already included in existing categories, and some were considered too open to interpretation. Here’s a complete list of the 28 tags no longer available on Steam starting May 2026:

  • 3D Vision
  • Ambient
  • America
  • Blood
  • Crowdfunded
  • Cult Classic
  • Documentary
  • Drama
  • Dungeons & Dragons
  • Electronic
  • Experience
  • Feature Film
  • Foreign
  • GameMaker
  • Games Workshop
  • Illuminati
  • Kickstarter
  • LEGO
  • Masterpiece
  • Mature
  • Movie
  • Narration
  • NSFW
  • Roguevania
  • RPGMaker
  • Warhammer 40K
  • Web Publishing
  • Well-Written

In addition to removing some tags, Valve has also updated the names of others to make them clearer and more consistent. Here are the tags that have been changed in the latest Steam update:

  • “Clicker” has been renamed into “Incremental” to capture the broader essence of games that focus on numbers going up.
  • “Conversation” has been renamed to “Dialogue Heavy” for clarity
  • We’ve made a few tags plural to match other tags: Dogs, Foxes, Vampires, Elves, Dwarves, and Assassins
  • “Pool” was humorously applied to games with a swimming pool, so we’ve renamed this to “Billiards”, which is the overarching term for all games played with cue sticks anyway
  • Merging “Jet” into “Flight”, as the term “Jet” was not unique enough.
  • Merging “Unforgiving” into “Difficult” since these terms mostly overlap in usage and intent

These changes are designed to improve Steam community tags. Because players create these tags, they haven’t always been reliable. By ensuring tags accurately represent new games, Steam hopes to address this. It’s also worth noting which tags Valve considers popular enough to warrant creation.

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2026-05-19 18:21