By A new Steam Beta Client update just landed, and it’s a genuinely meaty one for both Steam Deck and Steam Machine owners. I went through everything that changed, from homescreen visuals to how Proton versions get picked, and here’s what’s actually new.
Big Art Mode and the New Screensaver
The headline addition is Big Art Mode, a new display option tucked into Settings > Home that blows up game artwork on the homescreen. This used to be something you needed a third-party plugin like Decky Loader for, so having it built in natively is a nice quality-of-life win. Valve also slipped a personal calendar into the Recommended tab on the homescreen, which is a small touch but a welcome one.
There’s also a proper screensaver system now, accessible from Settings > Customization. You get two built-in options: a Game Art Slideshow that cycles through artwork and screenshots from your recently played titles, and a Retro Bouncing Logo for anyone who wants that classic feel. If you want to go further, custom screensavers are supported too, the same way startup movies work: just drop your files in ~/.steam/root/config/uioverrides/screensavers/ (the bouncing logo screensaver in the steamui/screensavers directory is there as a working example to build from).
Proton and Compatibility Changes
The “Select compatibility tool” dropdown is getting a real overhaul: it’s now always visible, with the recommended tool (or the Steam Runtime for native games) pinned to the top as the “Default” option instead of buried in a long list. Valve has also added compatibility tool aliases, like “Proton Stable,” which you can select straight from that dropdown so you’re not hunting down a specific version number every time a new stable release ships. On the compatibility side, SteamOS will now show its compatibility warning dialogs in desktop mode too when you try to install a game that isn’t verified for your hardware, and there’s a fix for Windows games that were incorrectly showing as “Not Compatible” in your library until you manually picked a Proton version.
Desktop Mode Toggle and Other Fixes
For anyone who lives in Desktop Mode, there’s now a straightforward “Default to Desktop Mode” toggle in System settings. No more manual configuration tricks or following a guide just to skip the console-style interface on boot. Valve also added a few safety nets around the power menu: exiting VR or switching to desktop mode now asks for confirmation first, and the power menu dialogs carry clearer warning text about what’s about to happen. There’s also a new notification when you wake from sleep if multiple users have recently been active, so you can quickly switch accounts if a session got left open.
Beyond that, this update brings decreased performance impact for game recording on some D3D12 titles, a fix for overlay rendering (screenshots, recording, and the like) in Vulkan games that create multiple windows, and improved download speeds on high-latency connections, all of which matter more than they sound on paper if you’ve run into any of those issues.
Altogether this is one of the more feature-packed beta updates I’ve seen in a while, and it’s clear Valve is still actively building out both the Steam Deck and Steam Machine experience in parallel. If you’re on the beta channel, go grab it and try out Big Art Mode and the new screensaver options for yourself.