Steam Achievement Hunters Deserve Better!

[Ciocolici]

EDIT: I understand that not everybody cares about achievements, and feel that my wishlist would interfere with their experience, but that is not why I wrote this. Sorry if my tone or way of writing mislead you. I have recreated this post better structured, with my thought and suggestions for the Steam Achievements System. If interested, you can check it here: LINK
Thanks!

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I still remember the effort and dedication I put into unlocking all 167 CS:GO achievements, only to have them wiped out overnight with the launch of CS2. So much progress... gone in an instant. That, for me, was the biggest slap from Valve. To take away so much hard work without warning or compensation shows just how little Valve cares about achievements and the players who truly value them. The community cried out for weeks, demanding answers, but like always, the outrage faded, forgotten, while Valve stayed silent.

When compared to PlayStation or Xbox, Steam’s achievement hunting community is suffering. We are missing so much, and it pains me to see how neglected achievements are on this platform. There is so much potential here, but Valve refuses to acknowledge it. There is a goldmine here, and it would take so little effort for Steam to improve achievements and make them as meaningful and competitive as PlayStation Trophies.

It’s 2025! Steam represents PC gaming. And PC gaming deserves a system that lets us compete with PlayStation’s trophy hunters. We deserve better.

This is my personal wishlist, but I know many others feel the same way.

1. A Point System for Achievements

Make every achievement count by assigning points. PlayStation and Xbox both have point-based progression, why is Steam the only one missing this?

2. A “Platinum” Achievement for 100% Completion

Like PlayStation’s Platinum Trophy, reward players with a special achievement when they collect all main game achievements.

3. Rewards for Achievement Hunters

Steam Points for the already existent Steam Points Shop, it is so fitting!Badges, profile rewards, trading cards, something to make our work feel rewarding. Even an Xbox-style Gamescore could work.

4. Account Progression & Recognition

A visible ranking system tied to achievements, not just a profile showcase. Let us see how we compare to others in meaningful ways.

5. Official Leaderboards, Not Just Third-Party Solutions

Steam Hunters, AStats, and Completionist exist for a reason, because Steam itself has NO leaderboards. We need a real, built-in leaderboard, one that shows the top achievement hunters directly on Steam.

6. Compare Achievements with Friends..Easily

Let us compare achievement progress directly on the game page. Show completion rates side by side, so we can challenge each other.

7. Separate Main Game Achievements from DLCs

Completionists shouldn’t lose 100% progress just because new DLC drops. Keep DLC optional, so full-game completion actually means something.

8. Fix the SAM & Achievement Spam Game Problem

SAM ruins achievement integrity. “Spam achievement games” (those designed just to unlock achievements instantly just for the sake of it) make the system worthless. Until this is addressed, Steam achievements will never be taken seriously.

I dream of the day I no longer envy the PlayStation Trophy Community. I love PC gaming. I love Steam. But every time I look at PlayStation’s Trophy system, I feel jealous, because it actually respects completionists.

Let me hear your thoughts. Show Steam that the PC community actually cares about achievements!

[Ice Scream]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Ciocolici:

I still remember the effort and dedication I put into unlocking all 167 CS:GO achievements, only to have them wiped out overnight with the launch of CS2. So much progress... gone in an instant. That, for me, was the biggest slap from Valve. To take away so much hard work without warning or compensation shows just how little Valve cares about achievements and the players who truly value them. The community cried out for weeks, demanding answers, but like always, the outrage faded, forgotten, while Valve stayed silent.

When compared to PlayStation or Xbox, Steam’s achievement hunting community is suffering. We are missing so much, and it pains me to see how neglected achievements are on this platform. There is so much potential here, but Valve refuses to acknowledge it. There is a goldmine here, and it would take so little effort for Steam to improve achievements and make them as meaningful and competitive as PlayStation Trophies.

It’s 2025! Steam represents PC gaming. And PC gaming deserves a system that lets us compete with PlayStation’s trophy hunters. We deserve better.

This is my personal wishlist, but I know many others feel the same way.

1. A Point System for Achievements

Make every achievement count by assigning points. PlayStation and Xbox both have point-based progression, why is Steam the only one missing this?

2. A “Platinum” Achievement for 100% Completion

Like PlayStation’s Platinum Trophy, reward players with a special achievement when they collect all main game achievements.

3. Rewards for Achievement Hunters

Steam Points for the already existent Steam Points Shop, it is so fitting!Badges, profile rewards, trading cards, something to make our work feel rewarding. Even an Xbox-style Gamescore could work.

4. Account Progression & Recognition

A visible ranking system tied to achievements, not just a profile showcase. Let us see how we compare to others in meaningful ways.

5. Official Leaderboards, Not Just Third-Party Solutions

Steam Hunters, AStats, and Completionist exist for a reason, because Steam itself has NO leaderboards. We need a real, built-in leaderboard, one that shows the top achievement hunters directly on Steam.

6. Compare Achievements with Friends..Easily

Let us compare achievement progress directly on the game page. Show completion rates side by side, so we can challenge each other.

7. Separate Main Game Achievements from DLCs

Completionists shouldn’t lose 100% progress just because new DLC drops. Keep DLC optional, so full-game completion actually means something.

8. Fix the SAM & Achievement Spam Game Problem

SAM ruins achievement integrity. “Spam achievement games” (those designed just to unlock achievements instantly just for the sake of it) make the system worthless. Until this is addressed, Steam achievements will never be taken seriously.

I dream of the day I no longer envy the PlayStation Trophy Community. I love PC gaming. I love Steam. But every time I look at PlayStation’s Trophy system, I feel jealous, because it actually respects completionists.

Let me hear your thoughts. Show Steam that the PC community actually cares about achievements!

Your problem for playing games JUST for achievements.
AND

No. Compared steam achievements to playstation achievements is that steam achievements on pc can be manipulated with steam achievement manager or even just by opening steam console.

[Ice Scream]

6th already exists. Go to your friends profile > pick a game > click on show achievements > compare achievements.

[Nx Machina]

If Playstation and Xbox is superior can you explain why games get abandoned on console?

[KarmaKrazi]

Steam achievements mean nothing, and will always mean nothing as long as systems like Steam Achievement Manager are able to be abused. No extra rewards should be given to people who abuse these systems. If anything should be done to the achievement system, it would first be to make it so the system can't be manipulated freely.

[JPMcMillen]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Ciocolici:

I still remember the effort and dedication I put into unlocking all 167 CS:GO achievements, only to have them wiped out overnight with the launch of CS2. So much progress... gone in an instant. That, for me, was the biggest slap from Valve. To take away so much hard work without warning or compensation shows just how little Valve cares about achievements and the players who truly value them. The community cried out for weeks, demanding answers, but like always, the outrage faded, forgotten, while Valve stayed silent.

When compared to PlayStation or Xbox, Steam’s achievement hunting community is suffering. We are missing so much, and it pains me to see how neglected achievements are on this platform. There is so much potential here, but Valve refuses to acknowledge it. There is a goldmine here, and it would take so little effort for Steam to improve achievements and make them as meaningful and competitive as PlayStation Trophies.

It’s 2025! Steam represents PC gaming. And PC gaming deserves a system that lets us compete with PlayStation’s trophy hunters. We deserve better.

This is my personal wishlist, but I know many others feel the same way.

But not nearly as many as you think. Plenty of PC gamers don't care one bit about achievements, and many like them but don't obsess over them.

1. A Point System for Achievements

Make every achievement count by assigning points. PlayStation and Xbox both have point-based progression, why is Steam the only one missing this?

Way too late, especially as plenty of games may no longer have an active developer that could decide that.

2. A “Platinum” Achievement for 100% Completion

Like PlayStation’s Platinum Trophy, reward players with a special achievement when they collect all main game achievements.

Devs can already add their own completion achievement, if they want it.

3. Rewards for Achievement Hunters

Steam Points for the already existent Steam Points Shop, it is so fitting!Badges, profile rewards, trading cards, something to make our work feel rewarding. Even an Xbox-style Gamescore could work.

Which will just encourage people to cheat even more on achievements.

4. Account Progression & Recognition

A visible ranking system tied to achievements, not just a profile showcase. Let us see how we compare to others in meaningful ways.

Another reason for people to cheat achievements.

5. Official Leaderboards, Not Just Third-Party Solutions

Steam Hunters, AStats, and Completionist exist for a reason, because Steam itself has NO leaderboards. We need a real, built-in leaderboard, one that shows the top achievement hunters directly on Steam.

And another

6. Compare Achievements with Friends..Easily

Let us compare achievement progress directly on the game page. Show completion rates side by side, so we can challenge each other.

Can already do that.

7. Separate Main Game Achievements from DLCs

Completionists shouldn’t lose 100% progress just because new DLC drops. Keep DLC optional, so full-game completion actually means something.

If you want to complete the full game, you have to buy the full game, including DLC. That's what the publishers want, is for you to spend money on their product, and what better way to do that than to make you buy even more of the game, just to keep your 100%

8. Fix the SAM & Achievement Spam Game Problem

SAM ruins achievement integrity. “Spam achievement games” (those designed just to unlock achievements instantly just for the sake of it) make the system worthless. Until this is addressed, Steam achievements will never be taken seriously.

The only way to stop SAM would be for every last game, even single player ones, to require constant online access to dev/pub servers and make all achievements server side. But since there's no guarantee that a games servers would stay up forever, which would make earning any of them impossible.
Also, that doesn't address the workaround of people sharing 100% save files since many games will check the save file vs Steam and re-push any achievements missing from the users Steam account.

I dream of the day I no longer envy the PlayStation Trophy Community. I love PC gaming. I love Steam. But every time I look at PlayStation’s Trophy system, I feel jealous, because it actually respects completionists.

Let me hear your thoughts. Show Steam that the PC community actually cares about achievements!

That day will come when you realize how pointless all those achievements really are, and stop caring so much about it. If I chose to 100% a game, it's because I chose to do it for myself and really don't care what anyone else thinks.

[Mr. Smiles]

Honey nut cheevos.

Again.

cheevos don't matter

[blunus]

1. Already done, it's called achievement showcase
2. Already done, it's called ribbon
3. Already done, see TF2 for example
4. Will not happen due to PC's openness
5. See #3
6. See #3
7. Already done, separate appid for the DLC and then add achievements in it
8. See #4, that includes mods, console commands, save files, etc etc....

Another one of many threads had been discussed to death as usual.

[Black Blade]

I will start to say achievements should be there own reward if you want more your putting too much into it and many developers will punish you for that (Such as The Stanley Parable or games that ask you to do something mad)

Regardless here are the reply to what you said:
1. I think that could be nice, just a sort of how hard you had to work for it, or as part of the joke, regardless I do feel the points should be as meaningless as they are so each game should maybe have its own points for it
I will also say you could say its there with simply how rare it is and how little amount of people got it

2. Devs can do that, but we also already have it, for one you got the complication showcase
https://i.imgur.com/3ktxRcn.png
Second, you got the VR home version:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2872014083 the silver onces with lots of glow are 100% onces

3. Some already put that into there games, its just up to the game developer to do it

4. It Sounds like a way to encourage people to cheat on it, because now you get more then just it for it, and that makes it more than what it should be
Besides, I can just see all the tops filled with low grind games like clickers and stuff, click 10 times for a billion achievements, jump to the top of the list

5. 3d Party sites are for that if you like, and they do a great job, most leaderboards anyway are fan-made, not official, you know? speed runs and all that
And that is not a bad thing, fan made leader boards are more likely to last and be maintained then a company one

4&5: You want worthless achievements? Because that is how you get worthless achievements!
You add too much value to them and it becomes a marketing tool, do you really want to push it soo far that you start getting a flood of games just doing it to get some worthless achievement points?
And this can come in many ways. I mean I can easily see where an auction for a one-of-a-kind achievement comes out in some game that likely really bounce people up to the top of the leader board, as its the rarest, and if it official you can't expect them to do exceptions, fan leaderboards how ever can dowhateverr they like

6. Can already be done

7. I honestly feel that be really nice
Also will say some developers also asked for it, hopefully Valve dose put it in at some point

8. First, achievements are not meant to be taken seriously, leaderboards have that honor
Achievements is for you, to feel you achieved it, not for everyone to grant you for it
SAM is already fixed, but only for games that run on servers, as you can block the use of SAM using server-side achievements, however this means also two things
1. This only apply to games that run with servers
2. This has an expiration date, sooner or later, all servers go down, so at some point, this will make this achievement impossible to get so careful what you wish for
Also this is really the only way to block cheating achievements on PC (Its possible consoles do the same thing) as if you run the game locally you always have that extra ability to manipulate stuff, its all runs on your system its all stuff under your control and as someone that likes PC its how I prefer it, I don't want to be locked away to what limits they want to put on you (as consoles do)

[Leonardo Da Pinchi]

SAM effectively nullifies 90% of this topic I'm sure.

Achievements are meant to be for personal pleasure, not as something to tie one's self worth to or something to farm for extensive benefits.

[Mad Scientist]

Free FPS games are to enjoy competitive or casual play, but they're meant to generate money with things like skins, items etc.

Achievement hunters are a super niche thing, and aren't a demographic for almost any Developer so much as selling a game for the people that would be interested in it, selling DLC, skins/items etc.

It's at the point where if that community wants achievements/extras/perks just for achievements, perhaps they should work together and create a game where the primary point is achievements and the game revolving around achievements. Sometimes, if there's a demand but little to no supply; you create the supply for the believed level of demand.

Seriously though, achievements really don't matter. For them to even be serious or do any leaderboard around achievements they'd have to be serverside tracked and unlocked only by verified play, without the standard steam achievements so sam couldn't be used to unlock them.

[Leonardo Da Pinchi]

Would you look at that....17 minutes total in ME3 but all the achievements..

[Nx Machina]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Leonardo Da Pinchi:

Would you look at that....17 minutes total in ME3 but all the achievements..

Surely not when one of the points is:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Ciocolici:

8. Fix the SAM & Achievement Spam Game Problem

SAM ruins achievement integrity.

Oh! Wait your correct ME3 all unlocked 31 Jan @ 1.17pm.

[Leonardo Da Pinchi]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Nx Machina:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Leonardo Da Pinchi:

Would you look at that....17 minutes total in ME3 but all the achievements..

Surely not when one of the points is:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Ciocolici:

8. Fix the SAM & Achievement Spam Game Problem

SAM ruins achievement integrity.

Oh! Wait your correct ME3 all unlocked 31 Jan @ 1.17pm.

Now, there could be a very good reason such as account linking or loading up a save file that was 100% prior to achievements existing.

I just thought it was a neat thing of note. Kermitsippingtea.jpg

[Mad Scientist]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Leonardo Da Pinchi:

Would you look at that....17 minutes total in ME3 but all the achievements..

The other achievements including a few unlocked at the same time wouldn't be possible in something like Zombie Army Trilogy due to how the game works, where the items are, how they're collected etc. Noticed other things but you get the idea.

At least OP agrees in #8, but if they were to achievement hunt, then the only completionist markings that would matter would be the ones that sam/3rd party apps couldn't affect.

[Nx Machina]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Leonardo Da Pinchi:

Now, there could be a very good reason such as account linking or loading up a save file that was 100% prior to achievements existing.

I just thought it was a neat thing of note. Kermitsippingtea.jpg

But when you talk about integrity.....