Steam Achievement Sets are a new Steam feature that lets developers split a game's achievements into groups, such as the base game and each DLC. They've been in beta since October 15, 2026. Every set gets its own progress bar and a "set complete" trophy. DLC achievements stop counting against you until you own the DLC, and achievements nobody can earn anymore can be archived. Steam also now refuses to unlock a DLC set's achievements for anyone who doesn't own that DLC, which matters if you use achievement tools.
What are Steam Achievement Sets?
Achievement Sets are developer-defined groups of a game's achievements, each tracked separately. Valve announced the beta on October 15, 2026, pitching it as a fix for long-running games: achievements added with new content "can accidentally break the completion status of players who have already finished the game."
Developers decide how many sets a game has and what each one means. Valve's own examples are a game split into single-player and multiplayer sets, or into eight class-based sets. According to the Steamworks documentation, sets are configured entirely in Steamworks and need no changes to the game's code. A game can have up to 40 sets, counting the base game set.
You still unlock achievements by playing as normal. What changes is how Steam groups, counts and shows them.
Base game sets vs DLC sets
There are two kinds of set, and the difference decides what counts toward your completion.
| Base game sets | DLC sets | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can earn it | Everyone who plays the game | Only owners of that DLC |
| Counts toward completion | Yes | Only once you own the DLC |
| Color on Steam's achievements page | Blue | Purple |
| Visible to non-owners | Yes | Yes, but can't be earned |
A game can have several of each. Euro Truck Simulator 2, for example, splits its 114 achievements into 14 sets: 3 base game sets (its main base game set plus "Driving Academy" and "Multi-Expansion" sets) and 11 DLC sets, one per map or cargo expansion.
The main base game set holds every achievement that isn't assigned to another set. Developers can't rename, delete or reorder it. DLC sets stay hidden until the DLC releases, and Steam prefixes their names with "DLC".
The practical effect: if a game's developer moves its DLC achievements into DLC sets, you can finish the base game without buying every expansion. As one creator put it in a video response, mixing DLC achievements in with base game ones was "literally paywalling completionists." Developers aren't required to split DLC out, though, so games that don't adopt sets keep working the old way.
Archived and seasonal achievements
Developers can now archive individual achievements or whole sets. Valve's guidance is that "anytime an achievement can no longer be unlocked by users, it should be archived."
An archived achievement stays visible on the profiles of players who already unlocked it. For everyone else it disappears and no longer counts against completing the set or the game. That fixes a long-standing frustration: achievements tied to shut-down online features, or other achievements that became impossible, have blocked perfect games for years.
Valve also suggests archiving for time-limited content such as season or holiday achievements. That part is more divisive. Some achievement hunters argue that achievements only a few people could ever earn will crowd out genuinely hard ones in rare-achievement showcases.
What changes on your profile and achievements page
Steam rebuilt the achievements page to show progress per set. You can reach it from your Games List on the web, or from a game in your Steam Library. Valve lists these changes:
- A summary of overall progress, progress per set, and details per achievement.
- Global Stats (each achievement's unlock rate) as a toggle on the same page instead of a separate one.
- Search filters for specific sets and for locked or unlocked achievements.
- Comparing progress with up to three friends, including rare achievements, completed sets and DLC progress.
- A total achievement count based on the achievements each player can actually earn. It can differ between friends depending on the DLC they own and which achievements are archived.
- The Perfect Games tab is now called Completed and includes games with completed sets.
- Games with a completed set can go in the Completionist Showcase.
- Store and Library pages show whether a game has achievement sets.
A completed set stays completed. If a developer later adds achievements to it, your completion is preserved until you choose to go back for the new ones.
Early beta testers have noticed some rough edges too. Mortismal Gaming pointed out that the profile showcase no longer shows your average completion rate, and that its completed counter now mixes completed games with completed sets. Valve has said it will keep making changes during the beta.
How to try Achievement Sets now
Achievement Sets are only in the Steam Client Beta for now. To join it, follow Steam Support's instructions:
On a desktop
With Steam running, click Steam in the top-left corner, then Settings. On the Interface tab, open the Client Beta Participation dropdown, choose Steam Beta Update, and click Restart Now.
On Steam Deck
Press the Steam button, go to Settings → System, open Beta Participation, set System Update Channel to Beta, and restart when prompted.
In Big Picture Mode
Go to Settings → System → Beta Participation, set Steam Client Update Channel to Steam Beta Update, and restart when prompted.
Which games support Achievement Sets?
Seventeen games had added sets when the beta launched:
- Against the Storm
- Age of Wonders 4
- American Truck Simulator
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
- Crusader Kings III
- DREDGE
- Euro Truck Simulator 2
- Flock Around
- Forza Horizon 5
- He is Coming
- LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight
- Left 4 Dead 2
- Portal 2
- PowerWash Simulator
- PowerWash Simulator 2
- Team Fortress 2
- Victoria 3
More will appear as developers adopt the feature. A game's store and library pages now show whether it has sets.
What Achievement Sets mean for achievement tools
The biggest change for anyone using an achievement manager is that Steam now enforces DLC ownership for DLC sets on its own servers. Valve's Steamworks documentation says Steam "will not unlock an achievement in a DLC set for a player who can't play that DLC, or an achievement in an archived set."
Users of Steam Achievement Manager have already reported it "not working" on games in the sets beta. The explanation offered in that thread is this ownership check: unlocking a DLC achievement now requires owning the DLC, whichever tool sends the request.
We saw the same thing while adding set support to Steam Game Idler: on Euro Truck Simulator 2, Steam rejected an unlock for an achievement in a DLC set the account didn't own. So this isn't a bug in any particular tool. It's Steam's rule, and the fix is to own the DLC.
Archived achievements are the other edge case. Steam won't unlock achievements in an archived set, and Valve tells developers to stop awarding archived achievements in their games. Treat an archived achievement as finished for good if you didn't earn it in time.
What this means for Steam Game Idler
Steam Game Idler already supports Achievement Sets, with both Steam Sign-in and Legacy Sign-in:
- Achievement Manager: the left panel lists All achievements, the Base game set and any DLC or other sets, so you can work on one set at a time. Achievements from DLC you don't own are still listed, but SGI won't try to unlock them, and they don't count toward the game's progress or Unlock all.
- Achievement Unlocker: achievements from DLC you don't own are skipped automatically. In a custom unlock order they sit in their own From DLC you don't own section, outside the unlock sequence, so a run never stalls on an unlock Steam would reject.
- Games with no sets work exactly as before.
One limitation is worth knowing because three launch games are affected. Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and Portal 2 keep their stats on Valve's Game Coordinator, which Steam Sign-in can't reach. On Windows, use Legacy Sign-in for those games. The achievement unlocker docs cover the details.
If you'd like to manage achievements by set, download Steam Game Idler. It's free, and it shows a game's sets as soon as the developer adds them.
FAQ
Do I need the Steam Client Beta to see Achievement Sets?
Yes, for now. Achievement Sets are a Steam Client beta feature, and the game also has to be one whose developer has added sets. Valve hasn't announced a date for the stable client.
Do DLC achievements count toward 100% completion?
Only if the developer has put them in a DLC set and you own that DLC. DLC sets don't count toward completing the base game or any other set. Games that haven't adopted sets still count every achievement together, as before.
What happens to an achievement I already unlocked if it gets archived?
You keep it. Archived achievements stay visible on the profiles of players who unlocked them. They're only hidden from players who never earned them, and for those players they stop counting against completion.
Will my Perfect Games still show?
Yes. The Perfect Games tab has been renamed Completed, and it now also includes games where you've completed at least one set.
Why can't I unlock some achievements with an achievement manager anymore?
If the game uses DLC sets, Steam refuses to unlock a DLC set's achievements for accounts that don't own the DLC, and it refuses achievements in archived sets. That check happens on Steam's servers, so no tool can get around it. Owning the DLC is the only way.
Can a completed set become incomplete again?
No. Steam keeps a set marked as completed even if the developer adds more achievements to it later. The new achievements show up for you to go after, but the trophy stays.
Sources
- Valve, Steam Achievement Sets Now in Beta, October 15, 2026.
- Steamworks Documentation, Step by Step: Achievements, accessed October 20, 2026.
- Steam Support, Steam Client Beta, accessed October 20, 2026.
- Steam Achievement Manager, issue #651: Steam Achievement Sets, October 18, 2026.
- Mortismal Gaming, Steam Is Overhauling The Achievement System, October 18, 2026.
- Bigman, Valve Is Ruining Rare Steam Achievements, October 17, 2026.
- Achievements
- Steam Beta
Creator and maintainer of Steam Game Idler.
