If you’re a fan of Valve – the creators of Steam and several loved gaming franchises such as Half-Life and Portal, then you probably know that it’s a pretty secretive company. And kind of game or hardware leaks can be big news, but a recent development tells us that it’s going to be a little harder to get your hands on those leaks early.

Likewise, if you’re a fan of games like Counter-Strike 2 and are always on the search for early news and leaks on its upcoming updates, this change from Valve could be putting a stop to it. Whether it’s a sign of something big to come, we don’t know.

Developer pre-release branch made private for Counter-Strike and SteamVR

As per reports from Gabe Follower and Brad Lynch on X, Valve has made the developer pre-release branch private; this reportedly affects certain games and apps such as Counter-Strike 2 and SteamVR. In fact, this change should apply to every password-protected branch on Steam – these are called ‘private branches’ and are described as follows:

“Starting in November 2024, Steam implemented changes to its password-protected branches, converting them into fully private branches. This new system makes these branches completely invisible in the appinfo data, preventing third-party services like SteamDB from detecting or tracking changes to these branches – or even knowing they exist at all.

These private branches now operate on a need-to-know basis: when a Steam client has the correct branch password, it can directly request that specific branch’s appinfo data from Steam’s servers.”

SteamDB

Considering sites such as SteamDB are often vital for finding credible leaks on Steam games and apps, this change from Valve has understandably upset some fans. Some are starting to speculate that it could be related to Valve’s upcoming ‘Deckard’ – a previously leaked VR headset. We think that 2025 could be a big year for Valve hardware, as last year we saw a bunch of leaks relating to Deckard, its VR controllers, and even the Steam Controller 2.

Valve has already made some big announcements this year related to its Steam Deck handheld. Namely, the first third-party SteamOS handheld will be coming to the market this May in the form of the Lenovo Legion Go, so we’re excited to see what else is on the roadmap moving forward.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.