Valve has updated the tagging system on its Steam platform to improve game discovery and recommendations. The company announced the changes on May 17, 2026, as part of an ongoing effort to help developers describe their titles more accurately. Valve states that these tags help the store understand game content and display it to players through targeted recommendations.
Valve introduces new tags while removing subjective descriptors from the store system
The update introduces 17 new tags to the platform. These additions include categories such as Bullet Heaven, Desktop Companion, Organizing, Cleaning, Decorating, Wuxia, Xianxia, Falling Blocks, Espionage, Samurai, Zoo, Wolves, Capybaras, Animals, Cult, Poker, and Language Learning. Valve also removed 28 existing tags from the system. The removed tags included subjective descriptors like NSFW, LEGO, Mature, Masterpiece, and Well-Written, as well as IP-specific tags like Warhammer 40K and Dungeons & Dragons.
Several other tags underwent structural changes. Valve renamed the Clicker tag to Incremental, changed Conversation to Dialogue Heavy, and updated Pool to Billiards. The company merged the Jet tag into Flight and combined Unforgiving into Difficult. Additionally, Valve pluralized several tags to maintain consistency, including Dogs, Foxes, Vampires, Elves, Dwarves, and Assassins. These adjustments aim to create a more standardized vocabulary for the store.
The most popular tag on Steam remains singleplayer, which is applied to over 98,000 games. This represents approximately 62 percent of the total library. The second most common tag is indie, which covers over 82,000 games, or about 53 percent of the store. Valve notes that tags form the foundation for store hubs, allowing players to find games based on their favorite genres, themes, and styles.
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