Steam Client Beta – May 28th

Note: This beta was re-released to fix SteamVR launching unintentionally when Steam is started

General

• Fixed recent apps section of systray menu being offset when game icons are hidden
• Fixed some issues with video playback not working in client browsers
• Fixed support browser windows not closing when close button is clicked
• Fixed Steam client taking window focus when windows are open after a crash recovery

Overlay

• Significantly improved in-game overlay responsiveness and fixed cases where the UI could feel stuck or run at 1fps on Windows. This bug previously occurred mostly when running a fully GPU bound game (ie, newer game + older GPU hardware). This bug also mostly only occurred with the Windows Hardware Accelerated GPU scheduling setting enabled.

Library

• Fixed beta selection dropdown for games with very long beta names
• Fixed app activity feed to refresh more reliably
• Fixed comments sometimes getting lost on achievement unlock events in the app activity feed

Steam Families

• Made client settings visible but generally unchangeable when parental settings are applied. Child accounts can request parental access to settings to make changes.
• Added a playtime countdown timer in the desktop overlay when parental playtime limits are being applied.
• Fixed playtime limits sometimes being applied even if “set playtime limits” was not selected in the settings UI.
• Fixed chat notification sounds sometimes playing even if friends & chat was disabled in parental controls.v
• Display a copy count badge on game capsules for games that have more than one copy in a Steam Family.
• Display game ownership info in game hovers in library
• Fixed family member names sometimes not displaying while in offline mode or disconnected from Steam.
• Add “date acquired” for games owned by other family members.

Friends / Chat

• Reduced network traffic on connect and reconnect
• Fixed friends list getting stuck on an empty invite list after acting on the last invite
• Fixed “Join Chat” button not working on Steam Community Groups when viewed in the Steam Client

Steam Input

• Update the Steam/Guide button configurations for non-Deck gamepads to match the behavior on Deck, ex: Steam+X button to open the on-screen keyboard instead of Steam + Select, etc.
• Allow external gamepad controllers to load the same guide button configuration they would normally load on Desktop
• Improved Gyro To Mouse behavior when connected over bluetooth.
• Added the -nojoy command line option to prevent Steam from enumerating controllers

Remote Play

• Added a one time pairing step when streaming from a remote computer
• The Remote Play Together UI is always available in the Steam overlay for supported games
• Use ScreenCaptureKit for desktop capture on macOS 14 (Sonoma)
• Added support for hardware video encoding on macOS 14 (Sonoma)

Big Picture Mode

• Improve readability of the Steam/Guide button chord summary over games
• Fix an issue where non-Deck controllers could get the Steam/Guide button chord summary stuck showing until the next guide button press
• Fixed web browsers showing blank page entries when navigating back