Note: This update is for the Steam Deck Preview channel, and includes new features that are still being tested. You can opt into this in Settings > System > System Update Channel.

Note on Preview Releases

This is an early Preview build of SteamOS 3.10, and may contain unexpected bugs or stability issues. If you encounter problems, please consider filing a bug on the SteamOS issue tracker.

The following notes are an overview, and may not include all changes since the previous SteamOS 3.9 Stable Release.

General

• Updated Arch Linux base

• Updated Desktop Mode from Plasma 6.7.3 to Plasma 6.8.2

  • For more information, see
    https://kde.org/announcements/plasma/6/6.8.0/

• Many security and stability improvements

• Fixed an issue where the "Slow Charger" alert could erroneously appear

• Fixed Bluetooth audio disconnection when switching between desktop and game modes

• Update timezone data for Cuba, and Canada's Northwest Territories and Manitoba

Game Mode

• Added support for VK_EXT_present_timing

• Added support for ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X20 HDR and brightness adjustment

• Improved frame timing when using the framerate limiter with VRR

• Improved screen flickering when VRR is enabled while navigating the Steam UI or leaving it idle

• Improved cursor movement under VRR. It should now match the game's framerate over 30FPS, and stop spiking the panel's refresh rate up to the maximum refresh rate

• Fixed scaling causing overexposure in certain HDR titles, such as Control

• Fixed an issue with certain games, such as UBOAT and The Fruit of Grisaia, where the image would flicker and present stale frames in Game Mode

AMD Graphics

• Added support for HDMI 2.1 VRR, FRL, and ALLM

  • Known issue: display may remain blank with the Dell G3223Q

NVIDIA Graphics

• General stability and performance improvements

• Added support for Mesh Shaders on Turing and newer

• Fixes rendering corruption in Shadow of the Tomb Raider and The Surge 2

Developer

• Linux kernel rebased on Linux 7.3

This update is for the SteamOS Beta and Preview channels, and includes new features that are still being tested. You can opt into this in Settings > System > System Update Channel.

These notes contain all changes since the current stable SteamOS 3.8 release, with the changes added since the previous 3.9 preview releases noted below

General

• Security and stability updates.

• Improved frame timing when using the framerate limiter with VRR.

• Improved frame timing when using the framerate limiter without VRR. A capped game whose framerate is a multiple of the limit no longer drops below it, e.g. a 30 FPS game with a 60 FPS limit at 120 Hz running at 24 FPS.

• Reduced missed frames on fixed refresh caused by slow wakeups from deep CPU idle states.

• Fixed a black screen in RPG Maker games using Fullscreen++, such as Waste Walkers.

• Fixed games running below the refresh rate on 240 Hz and higher displays.

• Fixed Steam Remote Play showing a green screen on NVIDIA GPUs.

• Fixed left click getting stuck after a two-finger tap on the touchscreen.

• Fixed SDR content looking oversaturated on HDR10 output on displays that are not wide gamut.

• Fixed gamemode and other LD_PRELOAD libraries breaking when launched through gamescope.

• Fixed several rare crashes and memory errors on shutdown and when clients exit.

Desktop Mode

• Fixed a regression where scripts couldn't be added using "Add to Steam"

General

• Updated Arch Linux base

• Updated Desktop Mode from Plasma 6.4.3 to Plasma 6.7.3

  • For more information, see
    https://kde.org/announcements/plasma/6/6.7.0/
    https://kde.org/announcements/plasma/6/6.6.0/
    https://kde.org/announcements/plasma/6/6.5.0/

• Improved support for Steam Frame wireless adapter

• Fixed a bug causing hidden WiFi networks to fail to connect on the first attempt

• Fixed Steam Remote Play not working on Steam Machine when booting with no external display connected

• Fixed "Disable Frame Limiter" toggle not working when VRR is enabled

• Fixed the frame limiter incorrectly applying to VR titles when streaming from Steam Machine to Steam Frame

• Fixed loss of input if a launcher window is accidentally dragged around in Game Mode

• Fixed an issue causing frame limits to result in lower than intended FPS on certain external displays

• Fixed issues with suspend/resume on systems with RDNA1 or RDNA2 based dedicated GPUs

• Fixed audio issues on hotplug of certain monitors in a multi-monitor setup

• Fixed an issue causing firmware updates to occasionally fail to apply on Steam Machine

• Fixed a system crash when launching Forza Horizon 6 on Legion Go 2

• Added preliminary support for Legion Go 2 brightness control

• Fixed an issue causing certain games (incl. ELDEN RING and DARK SOULS™ III) to fail to run on recent Panther Lake Intel CPUs

• Fixed performance issues in STAR WARS: Galactic Racer on resume from suspend on Steam Machine

• Fixed an issue that could lead to GPU errors in The Crew Motorfest

• Worked around a firmware issue on some ASUS devices causing excessive fan speed upon waking from sleep

• Fixed boot screen corruption on Intel PTL+ devices

• Fixed a bug wherein changing the timezone could prevent switching to Desktop Mode until a reboot

• Improved idle power consumption on Steam Deck when no audio is playing

• Security and stability updates

Misc

• Updated the bootloader to improve compatibility with certain motherboards

• The Desktop Mode lockscreen is no longer prevented from being explicitly enabled in settings (but remains off by default)

• Fixed logging in to Desktop Mode via RDP with system users when enabled

Developer

• Switched WiFi backend to wpa_supplicant by default, improving compatibility with various WiFi networks

  • Enhanced wpa_supplicant to support fast WiFi reconnect on resume from sleep, previously only available in the iwd backend

• Linux kernel rebased on Linux 7.2

• Added preliminary support for hibernation, not yet exposed in Game Mode UI

  • Enhanced Linux kernel hibernation support to enable interrupting hibernate requests and fixed various driver issues

  • Not yet enabled on Steam Deck due to an outstanding driver bug

• Various scripts and packages have been renamed from `steamos-` to `holo-`, with aliases to the former names where appropriate

• Improved support for running SteamOS as a VM guest with accelerated graphics (virtio-gpu, venus)

• Updated included renderdoc version

• Reintroduced support for Android binder IPC

We have just shipped an updated Steam Client update to the Stable channel.

This update has been re-released with the following additional fixes:

• Fixed game art not showing in the library when logging in offline.

• Fixed a rare startup crash.

• Fixed a failure to load custom Proton versions or other compatibility tools from the /usr folder.

• Fixed a bug preventing some keys from being typed into the Steam via the SteamVR keyboard.

Steam Achievement Sets

A new way to organize, track, and complete a game's achievements. Read more details in the announcement.

• Games can now organize and group achievements for base game and DLC content

• DLC achievements can be added via sets without breaking game completion

• Completed achievement sets remain completed when new sets are added

• Achievements and sets can be archived if they are seasonal or can no longer be achieved

• Updated Achievements page and achievement summary displays

General

• The Hardware Compatibility dialog now includes the average framerate players get in games on Steam Deck. Learn more about this update here.

• Game invites from friends now have a dedicated widget in the chat tab above the text entry, instead of having to navigate to the exact message in the chat history window. Individual invites from friends in a group also show in the group chat window instead of having to navigate to the individual friend's 1-1 chat tab to accept.

• Updated the styling of the chat tab to better convey focus states.

• Improved the group chat layout and fixed areas where gamepad navigation could get stuck.

• Friend chat message notifications will now be rolled up rather than sending one 2 second notification per message.

• Plumbed the per-friend voice chat levels to the friend context menu in BPM.

• Improved Quick Access Menu responsiveness.

• Added Timezone selection entries for locations with changes to daylight savings time, e.g. British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba.

• Background art will appear on the home screen when High Contrast is enabled.

• Fixed a bug that caused per-friend notification settings to be ignored.

• Notifications settings layout has been changed to be easier to work with at all window sizes.

• Per-friend notifications now override global notification settings correctly in all cases.

• Second round of Steam startup performance improvements following shipping of prior improvements in public client.

• Output volume settings for friends in voice chat will now persist between Steam sessions rather than resetting on restart.

• The prompt to opt-in to providing anonymized framerate data is now also shown in the Steam desktop client.

• Multiple general stability improvements and fixes for rare crashes affecting small numbers of users.

• Added a workaround for updates occasionally hanging at 99%.

• Fixed some cases the Steam Service Error dialog was showing incorrectly if you quit/restarted Steam quickly.

• Fixed multiple edge cases that could cause memory leaks in game streaming and controller code.

• Fixed an error displaying dates for users in British Columbia.

• Fixed a case where Steam Cloud Sync would incorrectly show a conflict in some games, e.g. Monster Hunter World.

• Fixed the Uninstall Failure dialog not showing.

• Fixed a case where a firmware update would still show up as available for a few seconds after it was applied.

• Fixed an issue where the friends list could get stuck when failing to login at launch and required toggling offline to load the friends list.

• Fixed "friend joins a game" notifications being dropped when several friends start games within 10 seconds.

• Fixed a bug that would cause "When a friend comes online" and "When a friend joins a game" notification sounds to not respect "Show Notification Toasts" and "Play a sound when a notification toast is displayed" settings.

• Fixed Steam Frame native-only content showing as installable on Windows.

• Fixed the layout of the volume slider in the voice chat context menu.

• Fixed various cases where the steam windows could briefly flash black.

Library

• Improved offline support for the activity feed and fixed cases where it could previously skip loading some events.

Store

• Updated algorithm for search suggestions and text searches.

Remote Play

• Added a "Display Style" setting to allow stretching and zooming when the stream is a different aspect ratio than the client display.

• Big revamp of HDR support:

  • Added an advanced client setting for HDR, with options for Automatic (enabled when HDR content is enabled), On (always on, allowing increased brightness for SDR content), and Off.

  • Added a brightness slider to the streaming overlay.

  • In addition to supporting HDR in games and on Windows desktop, HDR capture is now supported when using pipewire on desktop Linux and streaming from macOS.

  • HDR is enabled again on Steam Deck OLED.

  • HDR is enabled on Android phones running Android 15 and newer, when using the beta Steam Link app (https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.valvesoftware.steamlink)

• Start streaming faster when connecting to a local computer.

• Fixed the "..." button on the Steam Controller not being passed through to the remote side.

Steam Input

• Added support for GameInput v4.

• Fixed NCAA Football 27 not getting the game configuration applied at game startup.

• Fixed "Joystick Power Curve" setting in "Gyro to Joystick Camera" and "Gyro to Joystick Deflection" modes. This setting was not being applied. If you have changed this setting in the past, you may notice a change in the response - reset this setting if necessary, before tuning further.

• Fixed a bug where the "listen for binding" mode could bind multiple things on Dpad input.

Linux

• The Steam client is now a 64bit application.

• The Steam client now runs inside a Steam Runtime container.

  • This will help the Steam client provide a more consistent experience across multiple distributions. This is the same technology used by Steam games.

• Re-styled the Steam updater UI.

• Fixed a case where Steam updater UI would fail to show for some users.

• Fixed a crash when resuming from suspend.

• Fixed a crash when creating a lobby in games that use the ISteamNetworking interface, e.g. Sons of the Forest.

Steam Controller Firmware

• Fixed an issue where shutting down a controller while docked to the puck could cause it to turn back on.

• Reduced thumbstick touch sensitivity to reduce likelihood of early detection of touch.

We have just shipped an updated Steam Client to the Preview/Beta channel.

General

• Fixed various cases where the steam windows could briefly flash black.

Steam Achievement Sets

• Completed achievement sets are now shown in the library when sorting by achievement completion.

• Fixed achievement totals not counting some unlocked achievements.

• Fixed rarity threshold on achievement page.

• Achievements button in the play bar now opens the achievements panel.

Steam Controller Firmware

• Reduced thumbstick touch sensitivity to reduce likelihood of early detection of touch.

We have just shipped an updated Steam Client to the Preview/Beta channel.

General

• Fixed "friend joins a game" notifications being dropped when several friends start games within 10 seconds

• Fixed a bug that would cause "When a friend comes online" and "When a friend joins a game" notification sounds to not respect "Show Notification Toasts" and "Play a sound when a notification toast is displayed" settings

• Per-friend notifications now override global notification settings correctly in all cases

• Improved Quick Access Menu responsiveness

• Fixed a bug that caused per-friend notification settings to be ignored

Desktop Mode

• Re-styled the Steam updater UI