Steam players can now track DLC achievements separately and keep recognition for sets they have already completed when a game adds more challenges. Valve released Steam Achievement Sets to all users on November 11, following a beta that began on October 15.
The change does not automatically reorganize every game's achievement list. Developers choose whether to implement sets and how to group them, so the benefits depend on support in each game.
In its rollout announcement, Valve says newly added achievements will not break previously completed sets or take away game completion. Each set has its own progress bar and awards a profile trophy when finished. Developers can use that structure to separate a campaign from multiplayer challenges or organize achievements around expansions.
DLC ownership changes what counts toward completion
Valve's full explanation of the system makes an important distinction: DLC achievements do not enter a player's overall game progress until they have access to that content. You can still browse the available achievements before acquiring an expansion.
Base-game sets display blue progress bars and trophies, while DLC sets use purple. Completing a set preserves that accomplishment even if the developer later adds achievements to it.
That ownership rule also affects comparisons with friends. Steam now lets you compare achievement progress with up to three friends, but their totals can differ from yours. The count reflects achievements each person can actually earn, accounting for access to add-on content and achievements that have been archived.
Unobtainable achievements can be retired
Developers can now archive individual achievements or entire sets when they are no longer available. Players who earned them retain them on their profiles; those who missed them will not have those achievements blocking completion. This requires action from the developer, not simply the passage of a seasonal event's deadline.
The redesigned achievements page brings overall progress, individual sets and achievement details together, with filters for sets and locked or unlocked achievements. Global completion rates are available through a toggle on the same page.
Steam has also renamed the Perfect Games tab to Completed. It now includes games with completed achievement sets as well as completed games, and the Completionist Showcase can display games with finished sets too.