Steam starting with window instead of minimised to System Tray

[JeroenB]

Since a recent Steam update, whenever I start a Steam game from the Windows Start Menu (with the Steam client not yet running), the Steam client does not start and run minimised to the System Tray as it did before the update (the desired behaviour), but instead opens the Steam client in a desktop window, and with it the Steam advertising window. Each window has to be closed individually.

(The release channel client also opened a 'friends' window. Support suggested switching to the beta channel client, which resolved this friends window appearing, but did not affect the underlying issue. Support then redirected me to this forum. Ticket: HT-9JTB-VKDR-J2JM.)

To be clear, I do not use the 'Start Steam with Windows' option. Steam only starts when I explicitly start the Steam client from the Windows Start Menu (I expect and receive the Steam desktop window) or when I start a Steam game from the Windows Start Menu (I expect Steam minimised to the System Tray but receive the Steam desktop window).

OS: Windows 10 22H2
Steam clients where issue observed: Release: 1686880776; Beta: 1687386907.

[duck nuckem]

Did you ever get any further information, or solutions? I also dislike this change.