Valve Says Its New Steam Overlay Can Help PC Gamers Understand the Causes of Bad Performance

Valve Says Its New Steam Overlay Can Help PC Gamers Understand the Causes of Bad Performance

Steam has released a new in-game monitor to help players understand the causes of bad PC game performance, marking an exciting development for gamers looking to optimize their gaming experience.

In a blog post, developer Valve explained that the new performance overlay will show users framerate values, similar to the old FPS counter, but with added depth. It can display generated frames from DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) or FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution) vs actual game framerate, providing valuable insights into how different rendering technologies affect performance.

Valve continued that this new overlay will not only provide users with min/max single frame values and a graph of framerate over time but also CPU performance information, GPU performance information, and system memory usage information. These pieces of data can be instrumental in understanding the causes of bad game performance, whether it's a slow CPU, GPU, or too high graphics settings that are over-subscribing video or system RAM.

To enable the new overlay or adjust its size or position, head to Settings->In Game and find the new Performance Overlay section. Valve said this is "a first step" towards helping Steam users more easily understand their game and system performance, and we can expect additional pieces of data to be added to the overlay going forward.

Steam, the most popular digital game distributor for PC players, has once again broken its own concurrent user record. In March 2025, it breached the 40 million-player mark for the first time, only to do so again in May with a staggering 41,239,880 simultaneous players. This new record not only includes idle players but also marks a significant increase in active users, jumping to 13.2 million players.

Valve recently dismissed reports of a "major" data hack on its Steam platform, confirming there was "NOT a breach" of Steam systems. Given the rise in data breaches and the fact that over 89 million of us have a Steam account, users had good reason to be worried about a possible security compromise.

About the Author

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.