Steam Deck Client Update: A very nice set of bug fixes
Update: this was re-released on 6/29 with two additional bug fixes.
Fixed an issue where clicking in-game links when offline would get Steam Deck into a bad state
Fixed navigation issues in the game EULA dialog
Fixed crashing issue when deleting a screenshot
Fixed the controller configurator failing to load when Steam Cloud is disabled
Fixed configurator failing to load when encountering corrupted controller layout files
Fixed controller virtual menus being limited to 4 active menus
Fixed a bug causing the touchscreen to occasionally be stuck in mouse-emulation mode when accessing the configurator in-game
Fixed issue where the Steam menu would interfere with the on-screen keyboard being invoked via Steam button chord
Fixed bug that causes install scripts to run at installation instead of when a game is first run, causing game dependencies that show interactive UI to open in the background and block future downloads
Improved performance for the Home screen Recent Games carousel
Fixed boot glitching and crashes experienced by some customers
Fixed Quick Access volume sliders not working after suspend/resume
Fixed an issue in the controller reorder screen where moving to a controller slot higher than the current number of connected controllers would show as '!' until the Quick Access Menu screen is re-opened
Steam Deck Client Update: External displays, controllers, and perf updates
Added Game Resolution setting to App Properties, allowing players to override the max display resolution for games, on a a per-game basis
Added mouse cursor (using right trackpad) for built-in web browser interactions when connected to an external display
Improved default aspect ratio behavior for external monitors - games will now default to 1280x800 for 16:10 external displays and 1280x720 for all other external displays
Improved UI performance in game carousels
Improved UI performance when connected to an external display
Improved controller order when using external gamepads to assign the controller slots by the order of input. This should help with compatibility in games which locked onto the Steam Deck controller.
Fixed 'Enable updated fan control' toggle not remembering its state across reboots
Fixed Bluetooth controllers not working on the lockscreen
Fixed some formatting issues on the Steam Deck Chord Summary page
Fixed issue preventing deletion of some controller layouts
Temporarily disabled adaptive brightness toggle, as it was causing performance and stability issues. Big thanks to the community for catching this weird bug - we're working on a fix for it now.
It’s been a few months since we launched Steam Deck, and we’re floored by the excitement we’ve seen as more and more customers receive their Steam Decks and share impressions. The team has loved seeing pictures and videos of where you’re using it, how you’re using it, how you’ve customized it, and what you’re playing. Keep it coming!
In the meantime, we've continued working through our own list of bugs to fix and features to add. We’ve also been paying attention to our customers, and a good number of the updates in the last couple months are directly due to customer feedback. Please keep that coming as well! Here's a quick overview of what we've shipped since our last video update, including the big update we shipped last week.
Lock Screen Adding a lockscreen was a pretty hotly requested feature, from both outside and inside the company. Now players can set their PIN using the touchscreen or controls, and there are settings to have it show up on wake, boot, login, and/or when switching to Desktop mode. We think this will give folks a little more peace of mind, especially around grabby kids or siblings.
Keyboards The onscreen keyboard for Steam Deck continues to get better. We’ve recently added more localized keyboards and now have a total of 26 languages and layouts supported. Players can enable multiple keyboards and toggle through them with the new globe key on the keyboard. Chinese / Japanese / Korean keyboards are currently being worked on, so watch out for those soon.
Achievements The Achievements page has gotten a refresh for Steam Deck, making it faster to load and easier to navigate. Players can toggle between their stats and global stats or use the new drop down to compare their achievements with any friend who also plays.
Multiple Window Support Steam Deck now supports games and applications that have multiple windows. Just push the Steam button while in-game, and the in-game overlay has new options to switch between active windows. This is especially useful for games and apps that might have multiple windows, like web browsers or games with launchers.
External Display Work continues on making more external USB-C docks compatible with Steam Deck, as well as making our Steam Deck interface play nice with monitors of various sizes. We just shipped an update that makes the interface now scaled to a virtual 1280x800 resolution when shown on an external display, and we’re continuing to do work to improve external display support.
Per app performance profiles Steam Deck comes with a ton of built in functionality to tweak settings like framerate (and soon refresh-rate), TDP, and more – for players who enjoy customizing their experience. We’ve recently added the ability to save settings per-game or app, so players don’t have to manually switch settings around between games. This works for both Steam games, as well as non-Steam games that have been added as shortcuts.
Offline mode Offline mode has received some love in recent updates – it’s much quicker to switch in and out of Offline mode, it's easier to access, and a host of bugs that pop up only in Offline mode have been stomped.
Remote play Remote Play on Steam Deck has also received some much needed updates, like making the system buttons on Deck work as expected, providing an in-UI option to stop streaming, and adding streamed games to the Recently Played list on the homescreen.
Remote Play Together Remote Play Together (join someone else's game as if you're sitting next to them on the couch, but virtually) is now completely functional on Steam Deck. This includes both hosting and joining Remote Play Together sessions.
Updated Fan Behavior Steam Deck now has a new OS-controlled fan curve, which means that it’s smarter, more responsive, and much quieter in low usage scenarios. And for those of you who prefer the old fan behavior, you can always switch back to it in Settings > System. We're continuing to work on improvements, so let us know what you think.
Adjustable Refresh Rate The in-game screen refresh rate can now be adjusted on the fly anywhere between 40-60Hz. This feature is a game changer for finding that perfect balance between framerate, game quality, and battery life. And of course, you can set and save this on a per-game basis.
More OS updates There are a bunch of other updates we've made on an OS level, including a higher max speaker volume, more internal screen resolution options for games to choose from, quick formats for microSD cards, and more.
SD Card Support The team has done a bunch of work on SD card functionality as well, like making them usable as boot devices, improving formatting times, and adding a check to detect potentially counterfeit SD cards before formatting.
Windows support A few important updates have shipped in the last couple months, making Windows a better experience on Steam Deck for those who want to go that route. We’ve shipped an update that added fTPM support, enabling Windows 11 installation. We’ve also just shipped audio drivers for both Win10 and 11 – you can find all that information here.
And more There are a plethora of other changes and fixes that came to Steam Deck, like adding the Steam hardware survey, making life better for customers with gigantic Steam libraries, adding pinned notifications for certain notification types, a bunch of updates to the controller configurator, and a host of other quality of life fixes. All of these changes and more you can read all about in the detailed patch note posts here.
Deck Verified Last up, a quick update on the Deck Verified program: We recently crossed 3,000 Playable and Verified titles on Steam Deck.
We're continuing to test new releases and older titles at a steady clip, while also working on the underlying technology. The team recently shipped Proton-7.0-2, adding and improving support for a bunch of titles, and is already hard at work on 7.0-3.
Speaking of game support, it's important to emphasize that compatibility across titles is improving not due just to our work here, but also thanks to the incredible efforts developers are putting in. Ordered by user playtime on Deck, the top ten titles of the last month* are all Verified, but that's only because of work taking place across the industry: four of these ten titles used to be either Unsupported or Playable, and still would be without devs doing the work to improve the experience for Deck customers. While we're highlighting these titles here, this same work is happening all over the giant Steam back-catalog.
That’s all she wrote That’s it for today’s update, but as always there’s more on the way!
* Aperture Desk Job, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Elden Ring, Hades, No Man's Sky, Rogue Legacy 2, Slay the Spire, Stardew Valley, Vampire Survivors, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. We hope the breadth of games in this list is as exciting for you as it is for us.
