Steam’s Tag Purge Oversimplifies Some Categories That Should Not Have Been Simplified

Steam recently updated its game categories, removing some tags and adding new ones. They made these changes because many of the old tags had better alternatives already available on the platform to accurately describe the games.

Initially, this seems logical, but reviewing the tag updates has given me pause. While most of these changes seem helpful, Steam’s new tags are flattening some categories that actually need more detail.

Steam Might Want to Rethink Some of Its Removed Tags

While Valve has been working on bigger projects like the Steam Machine, a recent update to how tags work on Steam is still noteworthy. As Steam has become a leading platform for discovering new games, players may need to adjust how they search to find exactly what they’re looking for.

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It makes sense that many of the removed tags were fairly niche and didn’t add much value. However, some of the deletions are surprising, particularly tags like “LEGO” and “Warhammer 40K.” While reducing tags tied to specific brands is often a good idea, these two have so many associated games that keeping the tags might actually be more helpful. Both Warhammer 40K and LEGO have become large enough that they essentially function as platforms with their own unique collections of games.

Steam has removed the “NSFW” and “Mature” tags, and is now categorizing everything with sexual themes under a single “Sexual Content” label. This change groups games with mild suggestive content alongside those with explicit material, potentially making it harder for players to find what they’re looking for. The original tags offered more specific information, and keeping them would have allowed for a more nuanced understanding of a game’s content. While many games on Steam are considered mature, the level of mature content varies significantly, and the previous tags helped clarify those differences.

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While a few of the Steam tags that were removed were useful, the new additions are a welcome improvement. With so many new games being released on Steam, players are developing more niche interests, and these tags effectively cater to what they’re looking for. Interestingly, the tag for “Capybaras” stands out – there’s clearly enough demand for this adorable, large rodent to justify its own category instead of simply being grouped with other animals.

The new Steam update now includes a dedicated category for “Bullet Heaven” games, which is great news for fans! Popular titles like Vampire Survivors and Saros have really brought this genre to the forefront, and they likely played a role in Valve officially recognizing it with a Steam tag.

While Valve is focused on big projects like the Steam Deck 2 and Steam Machines, bringing back a few simple tags – like those for LEGO, Warhammer 40K, adult content (NSFW), and mature games – could really improve the Steam experience. These tags might seem small, but they’re surprisingly important for helping players find what they’re looking for.

2026-05-27 18:05

Steam’s Tag Purge Oversimplifies Some Categories That Should Not Have Been Simplified

Steam Might Want to Rethink Some of Its Removed Tags

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