Steam Achievement Sets Beta Groups DLC Achievements

Valve is testing a new way to organize Steam achievements, with a beta for Achievement Sets now live in today’s Steam Client beta and in a handful of games that have already added support. The idea is to deal with games that keep growing through DLC, expansions, and seasons, where achievements added after launch can be hard to find and can break the completion status of anyone who already finished the game. It’s a similar problem XBOX addressed a little over two weeks ago with Mythic Achievements, which only count a game’s original achievements and tag anything added later as add-on content.

Developers decide how many sets a game has and what each one covers, so one game might split its achievements into single-player and multiplayer sets while another breaks them into eight class-based sets. You still unlock achievements by playing as usual, but when you browse them afterward, Steam groups the list into those sets, each with its own progress bar. Completing a set adds a “set complete” trophy to your profile that stays put even if more achievements are added to that set later, and developers can create new sets for new content so returning players can see what’s been added without losing their earlier completion.

There are two kinds of sets: Base Game sets, which every player can earn and which show up in blue, and DLC sets, which show up in purple and don’t count toward your overall progress until you actually own the content. Valve is also letting developers archive individual achievements or entire sets, which it’s pitching for season-based games and time-limited holiday achievements. Anyone who already unlocked an archived achievement keeps it on their profile, while players who missed it won’t see it and won’t have it blocking their progress toward completing a set or the game.

All of this is tied together by a new achievements page that shows overall progress, progress in each set, and per-achievement details. Global Stats have moved to a toggle on that page, and search now has filters for specific sets and for locked or unlocked achievements. You can also compare progress with up to three friends, including rare achievements and DLC sets, and Steam is introducing a new total achievement count based on what each player can actually earn, which means the number can differ from friend to friend.

Completed sets will also show up across Steam, including the Recently Played section of your profile, your Games List, and your Library. The Perfect Games tab is now called Completed and includes games with completed achievement sets, those games can be added to the Completionist Showcase, and store and Library pages will note when a game supports sets. Games played through Family Sharing now appear in the Games List, and friends with Family Sharing playtime are eligible for comparisons. The beta is open to both players and developers now through the Steam Client Beta, and here are the games that have already added Achievement Sets:

• Against the Storm
• Age of Wonders 4
• American Truck Simulator
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
• Crusader Kings III
• DREDGE
• Euro Truck Simulator 2
• Forza Horizon 5
• Flock Around
• He is Coming
• LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Portal 2
• PowerWash Simulator
• PowerWash Simulator 2
• Team Fortress 2
• Victoria 3