Huge Steam Deck update lands as Steam Families gets full release

This new update brings tons of beta features into a stable release, but you still can't play on a PC and the Steam Deck without offline mode.

A massive new Steam Deck update has just hit the stable channel, meaning multiple beta features are now available to all users. This includes Steam Families and the maximum resolution setting, which is globally applied to all the games you play on your Deck, rather than needing to be done on a game-by-game basis.

We still regard the Steam Deck as the best handheld gaming PC, and a big reason for this is the efficiency and regularity with which the device is updated. Whether you’re part of the beta channel, where updates are fast and furious, or the stable channel, where the latest features only land after rigorous testing, you still get a regular stream of new features from Valve.

This new Steam Deck update is live and available to download right now. Your Deck will need to restart during the process, so be sure to leave it alone and refrain from restarting it manually during this time. This update contains 40 total items across several categories, including general, Steam input, remote play, clock and timer, desktop mode, and screenshot.

Here are the key items from the September 11 Steam Deck update:

• Steam Families is now available for all users.
• Added a dropdown to Settings/Display/Advanced to select the maximum resolution allowed to be used by games. This is the global version of the ‘Game Resolution’ dropdown already available under Game Settings/General.
• Added Sign Out option to the Steam Deck power menu.
• Fixed certain apps disappearing from Recent Games following client restart.
• Reduce CPU usage when using both Gyro and Joystick or Trackpad for mouse input.
• Fixed a bug where PlayStation controllers connected over BT could be shown as connected over USB.
• Improved the performance and reliability of the screenshots manager.

Steam Families is a great way to set up game sharing among friends and family, with owners of specific titles able to temporarily send copies of their games to others.

One fix gamers were anticipating was a way to play games on the Steam Deck and PC without having to set one of their devices to offline mode. Sadly, no changes have been made in this respect, but the offline mode workaround still works if you need to run two games simultaneously for any reason.

For the full list of patch notes, check out the update post on Steam. If you want to know what to play next on your handheld, check out the best Steam Deck games, where every entry has been played and tested for your peace of mind.