How do I install Steam Beta?

Please follow the instructions below to participate in the Steam client beta:

  • With Steam running, click on "Steam" in the upper left, then choose the "Settings" menu. (Preferences on Mac)
  • On the "Account" tab under "Beta Participation" click the "Change..." button.
  • Select the "Steam Beta Update" from the drop down list and click "OK".
  • You will be prompted to restart Steam, please select the "Restart Steam" button.

If you are using Big Picture Mode:

  • Select 'Settings' then 'System'
  • Check the 'Participate in client beta' option
  • Follow the prompt to restart Steam

If you are using a Steam Deck:

  • Press the "Steam" button
  • Select "Settings" then "System"
  • Navigate to the "Beta Participation" section
  • Expand the System Update Channel pull-down and select "Beta"
  • Follow the prompt to restart your device

Instantly access to your favorite games on Steam, with thousands of games, exclusive deals, automatic game updates and other great perks. With Steam you can also join the Steam Community of PC gamers, join game groups, form clans, chat in-game and more.

Why is Steam so popular?

Steam was originally created by Half-Life developer Valve as a platform to update their games and distribute them digitally back in 2003. The service had a slow start, at the time facing competition from brick and mortar stores and physical game copies, but it didn't take long until it became the top digital distribution platform for PC gamers. Over the years Valve has successfully grown a platform that hosts games from most other publishers, studios, and game creators in general.

Is there a monthly fee for Steam?

Absolutely not. Steam is free and the platform makes money through the sale of games and other digital content.

What's New

The Steam Client Beta has been updated with the following changes:

General

  • Fixed events not showing spoiler sections when events were being shown in the library.
  • Fixed events showing blurred images in the library for games with adult content.
  • Fixed links opened from desktop chat opening in Steam browser before opening in desktop browser.

Steam Overlay

  • Fixed periodic gameplay lag and freezing in games using Vulkan rendering when running with Steam Overlay disabled.
  • Fixed timer continuing to alert after game exit if running in repeat mode.

SteamVR

  • Fixed intermittent steamwebhelper crash when exiting VR mode.

Linux

  • Improved steam client update installation speed. In some pathological cases this operation could take minutes to complete, when the expected completion time is seconds.

Big Picture

Fixed X, Y, trigger and other buttons being treated as simulated mouse input on the Steam Store

  • Fixed some parts of the in-game overlay ignoring clicks when the Game Recording timeline is visible.
  • Fixed slow startup on systems where the reverse hostname lookup for the loopback interface is not localhost.
  • Detecting and passing commands to an already running Steam client is significantly faster.
  • Added a -disable-screensaver-inhibit command line option to prevent Steam from inhibiting the screen saver when activity is detected.