Watch your language - or have Steam do it for you, as Valve is trialling a new text and chat filtering system which allows players to control what sort of language they see on the platform.
Available now in beta through Steam Labs, the system is built on the chat filtering used by CS:GO, Destiny 2 and Dota 2, and allows players to customise their preferences across supporting games and the Steam client, web, and mobile chat. It obscures "the most offensive language shared on Steam" and replaces the words with symbols, but players can control whether profanity and slurs are displayed, and can add or remove specific words from their personal filter. Valve says it's also possible to upload lists of words or phrases, thus "empowering groups and communities to work together to define and share your own sets of language guidelines".
"A playful match can quickly turn to a heated competition full of emotion and expression, some of which crosses a line," Valve explained in a community post. "But where is that line? We've found the answer is different for everyone.