Valve have been cooking on this one! A new Steam Beta update for September 9th brings some big additions for Desktop and SteamOS systems like Steam Deck and Steam Machine.
For Big Picture Mode you can now enable a Big Art Mode, which does look pretty sweet. Good for showing off a bit or if you just prefer that style. I know a few people were using Decky Loader just for something similar, nice to have one less plugin.
For Linux / SteamOS systems, they've reworked the "Select compatibility tool" drop-down box to now always show - it also now hides really old versions of Proton, with an option to unhide them. Valve also now show aliases for Proton like Proton Stable, allowing you to have games automatically move to each new main stable numbered version of Proton which is very useful.
SteamOS systems also now have a checkbox to default to Desktop Mode - no more special edits or guides needed, it's just right there as a built-in option.
And lots more! All the notes from the Desktop Beta changelog below:
Key Changes - Desktop
Homescreen - Big Picture Mode
- Added a new 'Big Art Mode' option for the home screen. This can be enabled in Settings > Home.
- Added Personal Calendar to the Recommended tab on the home screen..
Screensaver - Big Picture Mode
- Added a new screensaver feature, accessible in Settings > Customization. There are two screensavers available:
- The default is a game art slideshow that can be configured to show artwork from recently played games and your recent in-game screenshots.
- A retro inspired bouncing logo screensaver.
General
- Improved Steam Client startup performance .
- Fixed a case where after server maintenance some users might fail to auto-reconnect to Steam.
- Fixed bug where being prompted to refresh credentials more than once could trigger an immediate restart.
- On Windows, using the systray menu to exit while the Steam window is minimized will no longer flash the window visible briefly.
- Dialogs that appear for serious error conditions now stay above the main window.
Game Recording
- Fixed some cases where playback would jump to an unexpected point in the timeline when reaching the end of a play session or clip.
- Decreased performance impact of game recording for some D3D12 games on Windows.
In-Game Overlay
- Fixed frame rate hitches in D3D11 and D3D12 games when taking screenshots on Windows.
- Fixed rendering the overlay and using other overlay related features (screenshots, game recording, etc.) in Vulkan games that create multiple windows.
Big Picture Mode
- Added explicit warning text to power menu confirmation dialogs when proceeding will shut down an active game.
- Updated default artwork when an app does not have library or hero artwork.
- Reorganized the idle timer settings when on battery and AC power.
Steam Input
- Improved CPU performance at runtime and in configuration loading.
- Added information about which configurations are compatible in the configurator browser when using a game that requires Steam Input API.
- Fixed the controller support widget showing "This game doesn't support controllers" for unreleased games that don't have controller support information yet.
- Fixed controllers not using the desktop configuration on the desktop UI login window.
- Added the missing settings for adjusting emulated joystick adaptive centering on trackpad.
Linux
- Improved download speeds on high latency connections.
- The "Select compatibility tool" dropdown is now always visible.
- The recommended compatibility tool, or steam runtime for native games, now shows at the top of the list as the "Default" option.
- Compatibility tool aliases, e.g. "Proton Stable", can now be selected from this dropdown.
- The SteamOS compatibility dialogs will now show in desktopUI when installing games not verified for that HW.
- On Desktop Linux we will now show the SteamOS unsupported dialog when installing games that are known to not work with Proton.
- Improve distro information collection for hardware survey, preferring data from /etc/os-release.
SteamRT3 Experimental Beta
- Fixed "Add a Non-Steam Game" showing an invalid list of applications.
- Fixed the "Run Steam when my computer starts" toggle.
Remote Play
- A PIN is no longer required to download an app to a remote device. A PIN is still required to Install and Stream from a remote device.
- Adding Download Complete notification for a remote download if you initiated the download on your current device.
And for the SteamOS / Steam Deck Beta update changelog - these are the specific changes that are not listed in the Desktop changelog:
Key changes - SteamOS
-
Added notification about the current user when waking from sleep, if there have been multiple recent users. The notification can be activated to switch users and dismisses immediately on any other input. This notification can be toggled from the Notification Settings.
-
Added confirmation step to "exit VR" and "switch to desktop mode" power menu actions, and removed it from "sleep".
-
Added confirmation dialog/user switching ability when waking from sleep would require kicking an active session elsewhere.
-
The 'System Report' dialog is now more responsive when displaying and uploading the gathered system report.
-
Added "Default to Desktop Mode" toggle to System settings.
-
Fixed a case where Windows games would show as 'Not Compatible' in the library view until a manual Proton version was selected for this app.
- Fixed the Performance Overlay slider (SteamRT3 Experimental Beta).
Overall it all sounds fantastic.
Valve just keep on making Steam / SteamOS as a whole better based on feedback. This is why they continue to get my money, constant improvements and actually putting in features people really want.
🌐 External Sources: steamcommunity.com, store.steampowered.com
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
About the author - Liam Squires-Hand
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly.
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10 comments
Nice! I am excited about the Desktop default mode. Currently I use my Steam Deck/Machine to check news and social media on start before I start gaming.
0 Likes
Compatibility tool aliases .......... YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS now I can stop checking this on my two friends systems. Just set it to stable or whatever and leave it forever.
5 Likes 👍 (4)❤️ (1) See more...
CookieShinx 10 Sep 2026
The proton changes are neat
also the default to desktop one on Deck
One thing i'd like is a "force proton for native Linux games" setting.
Like yes, its really nice not to depend on proton etc
But a lot of the older ports have issues, are not updated, cloud saves dont work between linux/windows etc etc
also the default to desktop one on Deck
One thing i'd like is a "force proton for native Linux games" setting.
Like yes, its really nice not to depend on proton etc
But a lot of the older ports have issues, are not updated, cloud saves dont work between linux/windows etc etc
0 Likes
Caldathras 11 Sep 2026
Quoting: CookieShinxThe proton changes are neatIsn't that already available? It is on my desktop Linux version of Steam. I haven't checked since May or June but I don't think they removed it.
also the default to desktop one on Deck
One thing i'd like is a "force proton for native Linux games" setting.
Like yes, its really nice not to depend on proton etc
But a lot of the older ports have issues, are not updated, cloud saves dont work between linux/windows etc etc
Last edited by Caldathras on 11 Sep 2026 at 7:55 pm UTC
0 Likes
CookieShinx 12 Sep 2026
Quoting: CaldathrasThere is a setting -> compatibility -> compatibility tools -> default compatibility toolQuoting: CookieShinxThe proton changes are neatIsn't that already available? It is on my desktop Linux version of Steam. I haven't checked since May or June but I don't think they removed it.
also the default to desktop one on Deck
One thing i'd like is a "force proton for native Linux games" setting.
Like yes, its really nice not to depend on proton etc
But a lot of the older ports have issues, are not updated, cloud saves dont work between linux/windows etc etc
But that is for Windows games, yknow which proton version all of them should use.
as far as i can tell linux native games still run with the steam linux runtimes by default (version dependent on the game)
and this setting doesnt affect them
0 Likes
Caldathras 12 Sep 2026
Quoting: CookieShinxSo, there is a global default setting that tells the Steam Client what version of Proton to use if it isn't preset by Valve for a particular game. Usually, the default is Proton Experimental.Quoting: CaldathrasThere is a setting -> compatibility -> compatibility tools -> default compatibility toolQuoting: CookieShinxThe proton changes are neatIsn't that already available? It is on my desktop Linux version of Steam. I haven't checked since May or June but I don't think they removed it.
also the default to desktop one on Deck
One thing i'd like is a "force proton for native Linux games" setting.
Like yes, its really nice not to depend on proton etc
But a lot of the older ports have issues, are not updated, cloud saves dont work between linux/windows etc etc
But that is for Windows games, yknow which proton version all of them should use.
as far as i can tell linux native games still run with the steam linux runtimes by default (version dependent on the game)
and this setting doesnt affect them
They don't have something like that for setting a default Steam Linux Runtime. Usually, that is preset by the developer or Valve much like they do for games that need a specific version of Proton. A global setting wouldn't work as well in this case, as a Steam Linux Runtime sets up an alternative environment of libraries needed for the Linux game to run (oversimplified, but you could think of it as emulating a different version of Debian Linux that has all the libraries the game needs to run).
It almost sounds like you want a toggle to tell the Steam Client not to install Native Linux versions by default. I doubt that will ever be implemented. There are already existing options to handle that choice on a case-by-case basis.
In case you are not aware, you can manually select any installed version of the Steam Linux Runtime by choosing the Properties of the game and manually selecting the runtime you wish to use under Install Compatibility Tool.
From that same tab, you can also choose a version of Proton instead of a linux runtime. Choosing a Proton runner will tell the Steam Client to install the Proton (i.e., Windows) version of the game. I have done this in the past and it works.
0 Likes
Draconicrose 13 Sep 2026
This is cool but I really wish they'd just fix the mouse focus bug :(
0 Likes
CookieShinx 13 Sep 2026
Quoting: Caldathras"It almost sounds like you want a toggle to tell the Steam Client not to install Native Linux versions by default."Quoting: CookieShinxSo, there is a global default setting that tells the Steam Client what version of Proton to use if it isn't preset by Valve for a particular game. Usually, the default is Proton Experimental.Quoting: CaldathrasThere is a setting -> compatibility -> compatibility tools -> default compatibility toolQuoting: CookieShinxThe proton changes are neatIsn't that already available? It is on my desktop Linux version of Steam. I haven't checked since May or June but I don't think they removed it.
also the default to desktop one on Deck
One thing i'd like is a "force proton for native Linux games" setting.
Like yes, its really nice not to depend on proton etc
But a lot of the older ports have issues, are not updated, cloud saves dont work between linux/windows etc etc
But that is for Windows games, yknow which proton version all of them should use.
as far as i can tell linux native games still run with the steam linux runtimes by default (version dependent on the game)
and this setting doesnt affect them
They don't have something like that for setting a default Steam Linux Runtime. Usually, that is preset by the developer or Valve much like they do for games that need a specific version of Proton. A global setting wouldn't work as well in this case, as a Steam Linux Runtime sets up an alternative environment of libraries needed for the Linux game to run (oversimplified, but you could think of it as emulating a different version of Debian Linux that has all the libraries the game needs to run).
It almost sounds like you want a toggle to tell the Steam Client not to install Native Linux versions by default. I doubt that will ever be implemented. There are already existing options to handle that choice on a case-by-case basis.
In case you are not aware, you can manually select any installed version of the Steam Linux Runtime by choosing the Properties of the game and manually selecting the runtime you wish to use under Install Compatibility Tool.
From that same tab, you can also choose a version of Proton instead of a linux runtime. Choosing a Proton runner will tell the Steam Client to install the Proton (i.e., Windows) version of the game. I have done this in the past and it works.
Yes exactly what I want
Because
"In case you are not aware, you can manually select any installed version of the Steam Linux Runtime by choosing the Properties of the game and manually selecting the runtime you wish to use under Install Compatibility Tool.
From that same tab, you can also choose a version of Proton [...]"
I know this works, but I want the exact thing mentioned in the quote before this one, so I can just set it and don't have to keep doing this for every game on every device.
It's not a huge hassle, since y'know I'm not bulk installing all what 40 native Linux games i own on steam at once, but it would be a little more convenient
1 Likes 👍 (1) See more...
I recently started using Big Picture Mode on my laptop to use it as more of a game console hooked up to my living room TV. I usually set it to suspend so I can wake it up with an Xbox controller.
Glad to see more stuff coming!
Glad to see more stuff coming!
0 Likes
CookieShinx 14 Sep 2026
Quoting: CookieShinxIt's not a huge hassle, since y'know I'm not bulk installing all what 40 native Linux games i own on steam at once, but it would be a little more convenientCorrection
actually 188 out of my 914 games have native linux versions
1 Likes 😮 (1) See more...
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