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

  • Second round of Steam startup performance improvements following shipping of prior improvements in public client
  • Fixed some cases the Steam Service Error dialog was showing incorrectly if you quit/restarted Steam quickly
  • Fixed another error displaying dates for our friends in British Columbia.
  • Fixed Steam Frame native-only content showing as installable on Windows.
  • Fixed the layout of the volume slider in the voice chat context menu
  • Output volume settings for friends in voice chat will now persist between Steam sessions rather than resetting on restart

Linux

  • Fixed Vulkan games hanging after alt-tab.
  • Fixed a bug that caused some native non-steam games to fail to launch.

Steam Input

  • Fixed NCAA Football 27 not getting the game configuration applied at game startup

Steam Achievement Sets

A new way to organize, track, and complete a game's achievements. Read more details in the announcement.

  • Games can now organize and group achievements for base game and DLC content
  • DLC achievements can be added via sets without breaking game completion
  • Completed achievement sets remain completed when new sets are added
  • Achievements and sets can be archived if they are seasonal or can no longer be achieved
  • Updated Achievements page and achievement rollup displays

General

  • Notifications settings layout has been changed to be easier to work with at all window sizes.
  • Fixed multiple edge cases that could cause memory leaks in game streaming and controller code.
  • Multiple general stability improvements and fixes for rare crashes affecting small numbers of users.
  • Fixed an error displaying dates for users in British Columbia.

Library

  • Improved offline support for the activity feed and fixed cases where it could previously skip loading some events.

Linux

  • The Steam client is now a 64bit application.
  • The Steam client now runs inside a Steam Runtime container.
  • This will help the Steam client provide a more consistent experience across multiple distributions. This is the same technology used by Steam games.
  • Fixed a case where Steam updater UI would fail to show for some users.

Remote Play

  • Added a "Display Style" setting to allow stretching and zooming when the stream is a different aspect ratio than the client display.

Steam Controller Firmware

  • Fixed an issue where shutting down a controller while docked to the puck could cause it to turn back on.

Accessibility

  • In Big Picture Mode, background art will appear on the home screen when High Contrast is enabled.