Valve announced this morning that they have rolled out a limited access beta for the new Steam Community features, that will be given to the first  50,000 gamers that have unlocked the ‘Pillar of the Steam Community’ badge.  Additionally, more betas will be dished out little by little until the public version is available.

The new features include:

Game Hubs – Every game on Steam now has a Game Hub, which provides a quick way for users to browse the best of a variety of content as rated by the community at large. Each Game Hub also includes a game-specific discussion area where players can talk about their favorite Steam games.

Group Updates – Player-created groups have been redesigned so it’s now easier to see what a group is all about and who is participating in it. Groups now also include public and private discussion areas where they can remain in touch with their own communities.

My Content Updates – The content you’ve created now lives in one central place with new viewing options including an “image wall” layout that showcases your top-rated content. Also new is the ability to mark screenshots, videos, and workshop items as Favorites to save or share with friends.

Friend Activity – The new feed makes it easy to view, rate, and comment on the content and activities of your friends in a visually-rich and interactive presentation. Players can also broadcast game-specific status updates to start a conversation with their friends, directly in the activity feed.