Steam achievement sets now separate DLC and seasonal content into their own progress tracking, and the latest update adds friend comparisons directly on the achievement page. This means you can see at a glance how your completion percentage stacks up against friends for the base game, each DLC, and seasonal events separately, rather than one combined number. The feature is rolling out as part of Steam’s ongoing achievements overhaul, and here’s everything you need to know about how it works, what changed, and how to use it.
Background: Why Steam Overhauled Achievements
Steam’s achievement system has been largely unchanged since its introduction in 2007, with a simple global percentage and a list of achievements per game. Players and developers have long asked for more granular tracking, especially for games with large DLC expansions or seasonal content like battle passes. Previously, a game with 100 base achievements and 50 DLC achievements would show a single completion percentage, making it hard to tell if you’d finished the core game. The overhaul, which began as a beta in 2023 and has been gradually rolling out to all users, aims to fix this by introducing achievement sets—subcategories that can group achievements by DLC, season, or any other logical grouping the developer chooses.
What Are Achievement Sets?
An achievement set is a developer-defined group of achievements within a single game. For example, a game like Civilization VI might have a set for the base game, a set for each expansion, and a set for each DLC pack. Seasonal games like Fortnite (if it were on Steam) could have a set per season. Each set has its own completion percentage, its own list, and now its own friend comparison. The key change is that these sets are separate from the main game’s achievement list—they don’t water down your base game completion with DLC achievements you haven’t earned, and vice versa.
How the Separation Works
When you view a game’s achievements page on Steam, you’ll now see tabs or dropdowns for each set. For example, a game might show:
- Base Game – 100 achievements, 75% complete
- DLC: Season Pass – 20 achievements, 0% complete
- Season 1 Event – 10 achievements, 40% complete
Each set has its own global rarity percentages, and your personal completion is tracked separately. This is a big improvement for players who want to 100% a base game without being penalized for not owning DLC. It also helps developers see which parts of their content players are actually completing.
Friend Comparisons: What’s New
The friend comparison feature is the latest addition. On any achievement set, you can now click a button to see a list of your friends who own the game, sorted by their completion percentage for that specific set. This works similarly to the existing global comparison but is filtered to friends and per set. For example, you can compare your base game progress with a friend, then switch to the DLC set and see who has done more there. The comparison shows each friend’s percentage, the number of achievements earned, and their last played time. This is a natural extension of the existing “compare with friends” feature that was already on the main achievements page, but now it’s granular.
How to Use the New Features
Using the new features is straightforward, but there are a few steps to get the most out of them:
- Open your Steam library and select a game that has achievement sets (not all games have them yet—developers must opt in).
- Click on the “Achievements” tab in the game’s hub. You’ll see a dropdown or tabs at the top of the achievement list, letting you pick a set.
- Select a set to see its specific achievements, your progress, and global percentages.
- Click the “Friends” button (usually a person icon) to see the friend comparison for that set. You can sort by name, percentage, or achievements earned.
- If you want to see all sets at once, there’s a “All Sets” view that shows a summary table with each set’s completion percentage.
Note that the friend comparison only shows friends who have the game in their library and have played it at least once. If a friend has the game but hasn’t launched it, they won’t appear until they do.
Common Problems and Misconceptions
One common misconception is that this update retroactively splits all existing games’ achievements. It doesn’t. Developers must manually create achievement sets for their games; otherwise, the game still shows as a single set. So, older games may not have this feature until the developer updates them. Another issue is that some games have achievements that are hidden (e.g., “Secret” achievements). In the new system, hidden achievements are still hidden within their set, and the friend comparison will show them as “?” to friends, just like before. Also, if a game has a DLC that you don’t own, you’ll still see the DLC set in the list, but you won’t be able to earn those achievements until you purchase it. The set will show as “Locked” or “Not Owned” for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my overall Steam level be affected by this change?
No. Your Steam level is based on the total number of achievements you’ve earned across all games, not on set completion percentages. The new sets are just a display and organization feature; they don’t change how many points you get per achievement.
Can I opt out of seeing DLC achievements if I don’t own the DLC?
You can’t hide them entirely, but you can ignore them. The sets are separate, so your base game completion percentage is not affected by DLC achievements you haven’t earned. If you don’t own the DLC, the set will simply show as “Not Owned” and you won’t see individual achievements unless you click on it.
Do all games have achievement sets now?
No. As of this writing, only games that have been updated by their developers to use the new system will show sets. Many popular games with DLC have already adopted it, but it’s not automatic. You can check if a game has sets by looking for the dropdown on its achievements page.
How do I compare achievements with a friend who has a different set of DLC than me?
The friend comparison is per set, so you can compare on the base game set even if you both have different DLC. For DLC sets, you can only compare if both of you own that DLC. If a friend doesn’t own a particular DLC, they won’t appear in that set’s comparison.
Will this affect my ability to earn achievements in games I’ve already played?
No. The change is purely organizational. Your existing achievements remain, and you can still earn new ones. The only difference is how they’re displayed and compared.
Is there a way to see a global leaderboard for a specific achievement set?
Not directly. The friend comparison is the only per-set comparison available. The global statistics still show the overall rarity of each individual achievement, but there’s no global leaderboard for set completion percentages.
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