Steam’s March 9, 2026 client update added an option to attach hardware specs when writing or updating a review on a game’s store page. The context can help readers interpret performance comments, but it is not a benchmark or a promise that the game will run the same way on a similar system. Valve had already announced the review option in Steam Deck Preview/Beta notes on February 12.
What the Steam review update changes
Valve’s changelog says users can attach hardware specs when writing or updating a Steam User Review on a game’s store page. The feature gives readers additional context when a review discusses performance: they can compare the reviewer’s listed setup with their own rather than weighing the comment without knowing the system behind it.
The announcement does not say that Steam benchmarks a reviewer’s PC, verifies review claims, or guarantees compatibility. Similar hardware alone cannot establish that two players will get the same results; settings and software environment can also matter, and Valve’s notes do not describe a controlled comparison method. The notes also do not specify exactly which hardware fields appear or how users select or edit them.
When Valve announced the feature
- February 12, 2026: Valve announced the option in notes for an updated Steam Deck client in the Preview/Beta channel. The same notes described optional anonymized gameplay frame-rate reporting, initially focused on SteamOS devices. Valve’s February 12 Steam Deck Preview/Beta notes.
- March 9, 2026: The Steam client update changelog repeated the review-spec option and frame-rate reporting language. Steam client update changelog.
- March 10, 2026: Linuxiac reported on the March 9 release and summarized the changes. Linuxiac’s coverage.
So March was the client update that carried the feature in its changelog, not the first public mention of it.
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How to add PC specs to a Steam review
Valve describes the option as available while writing or updating a review on a game’s store page. The published notes do not provide a more detailed UI path, name a separate setting, or explain which fields can be included.
- Open the game’s Steam store page and start a new review, or open your existing review to update it.
- Look for the option to attach hardware specs while composing or updating the review.
- Review the information shown before submitting the review or its update.
Rollout reports included anecdotal accounts of users having trouble completing the workflow. They do not establish how common those problems were, and Valve’s notes do not establish that every user saw the option immediately. If the option is not visible, the available announcements do not establish a universal availability date or a specific troubleshooting fix.
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Does Steam collect FPS data?
Valve separately described optional gameplay frame-rate reporting. In the February beta notes, it said the data would be stored without a connection to the Steam account, while still identified by the type of hardware being used; the beta was initially focused on SteamOS devices. The March changelog repeated the reporting language. These announcements do not establish whether the reporting feature has since left beta or how broadly it is available.
This reporting is distinct from attaching specs to a review: one is optional frame-rate data collection, while the other adds hardware context to a user review. The cited notes do not say that submitting a review requires opting into frame-rate reporting.
Other changes in the March 9 client update
The changelog also listed fixes and changes across several Steam features. Linuxiac’s contemporaneous summary reproduces the following items from the update:
- Achievement toast and sound notification settings, plus an icon and first-use explanation for tools in the game list.
- A fix for the downloads queue and changes to demo and recent-games list behavior.
- Corrected TPM and Secure Boot display in System Information for the 64-bit Windows client, along with VRAM reporting fixes, including selecting the adapter with the most VRAM when multiple display adapters are present.
- Game-clip export fixes for names containing invalid Windows filename characters, and a trailer player for the chat
/storecommand. - Remote Play stylus hover behavior, Steam Families layout and navigation, high-contrast fixes, and a streaming download-throttle fix.
- Linux and Proton fixes for large libraries, plus Steam Input button, selector, gyro, and latency changes.
See Linuxiac’s March 10 summary of the client changelog.
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