An update has been released for the Steam Client and will be automatically downloaded.

SteamVR

• Added new Desktop Game Theater support, run any of your normal desktop games and have them appear on a giant virtual screen in your headset. Any game that supports Steam Broadcast should work with this feature, some tuning of the games graphical settings may be required for the best experience.
  
• Added new Desktop overlay button, access it via the system dashboard. Use the grip on the motion controller to bring up a keyboard, and the touchpad for mouse wheel movement.
  
• Added a VR area to the Big Picture library and removed filtering for VR titles in the Browse section
  
• Added icon in the Library view in the Steam Dashboard to show which games support motion controllers
  
• Added SteamVR to the jump list options
  
• Automatically launch SteamVR after it finishes updating
  
• Added the SteamVR tool in the SteamVR section in the Library view
  
• Added SteamVR Workshop for background images. These can be selected via Settings->In-Headset->Image.
  
• Improved scrolling when using the touchpads in the Steam interface while in your HMD
  
• Changed Play button in Big Picture to be an Exit button if you have launched the game
  
• Fixed Steam not quitting correctly when shutting down SteamVR at the same time
  
• Fixed keyboard dismissing unexpectedly when using the web browser in Big Picture
  
• Fixed cursor not appearing when using the Desktop overlay
  

Steam Controller

• Users can now add additional action sets with their own sets of bindings. Action sets can be added/deleted/named as appropriate and selected via a binding. Note that unlike mode-shifts, action sets completely replace all currently active bindings, and can have their own mode shifts and so forth.
  
• Added New Controller Action binding types which will expand in the future with bindings that are not specific to the game, but rather higher level.
  
• Added Change Action Set Binding - sets the action set to the next or a specified action set when used.
  
• Added Show Keyboard Binding - shows the on-screen keyboard
  
• Added Take Screenshot Binding - takes a screenshot
  
• Added Joystick Click and A/B/X/Y as mode shift buttons
  
• Action set Display and Beep are now options to show what action set has been switched to
  
• Added a pop-up menu to the Big Picture overlay showing Action Set activation
  
• Added user definable action sets for legacy games.
  
• Removed hard coded desktop keyboard shortcut (stick click) and replaced it with controller action binding in the default desktop configuration.
  
• Fixed Mode Shifts getting cleared when adding a mode shift to multiple action sets
  
• Fixed action sets showing native actions rather than M/KB/Gamepad bindings in some conditions when using legacy action set
  
• Fixed a crash when going into/out of an overlay while using the Steam Controller
  
• Fixed some cases of non-steam games not applying controller settings. Ensure that "Allow Launchers" option is off for this to take effect.
  
• Fixed controllers not turning off on Suspend power mode in Desktop mode which could cause zombie controllers to be seen over wireless
  
• Fixed Horizontal Invert setting not working on Mouse Joystick
  

Big Picture

• Fixed crash when using TrailerTV for your screensaver
  
• Emoticons show up now in Big Picture Friends chat
  

Mac OS X

• Fix Steam Controller input not being sent to games if the active configuration does not include gamepad inputs
  
• Fixed a rare crash on login
  

In-Home Streaming

• Added advanced streaming settings to the desktop-mode Settings dialog
  
• Fixed a crash when streaming to or from a Steam client running a different version of Steam
  

An update has been released for the Steam Client and will be automatically downloaded.

March 21 Update: a small 800kb patch was released for Windows only to fix multiple issues with Steam Controller gamepad support.

General

• Added Steam Overlay support for games using the Vulkan graphics API
  
• Improved performance when you are a member of a large number of groups
  
• Fixed a bug preventing invites to Steam Groups from showing in the friends UI
  
• Fixed a bug which caused non-Steam games to remain in the app list after deletion
  
• Fixed a bug which caused "Hidden" status of non-Steam games to reset on every client restart
  
• Improved handling and display of certain Unicode characters in profile names
  
• Fixed an issue with some Steamworks-enabled games which caused them to crash on shutdown
  
• Added an option to display download speeds as bits per second (Mbps) instead of MB/sec, for easier comparison with the way network and internet connection speeds are traditionally reported

Windows

• Removed an error message when selecting a shortcut file through the "Add a game..." file browser
  
• Added Steam Overlay support for DirectX 12 (requires the latest Windows 10 updates)
  
• Reduced CPU usage and improved frame rates for some D3D9 and OpenGL games launched through Steam
  
• Fixed several game-specific crashes, or cases where games refused to launch through Steam

Linux

• Fixed an issue where toggling the overlay in fullscreen games could sometimes result in a loss of keyboard and mouse input
  Updated ALSA libraries in the Steam Runtime to prevent compatibility issues with newer distributions
  
• Fixed text corruption in the UI with some non-Western languages

Big Picture

• Added drag scrolling. Hold the mouse down on a scrollable panel and drag it up and down to scroll.
  
• Restyled mouse scroll thumbs to indicate whether content is available in the given direction
  
• Added Store Page link to game library entries in the "Manage Game" section
  
• Fixed Web Browser context menu not positioned correctly on certain screen sizes
  
• Fixed an issue where the overlay would become unresponsive if restarting a game directly after exiting it through the overlay

In-Home Streaming

• Added dynamic MTU discovery to compute the optimal packet size for your local network
  
• Added streaming server support for a network performance test from the Steam Link
  
• Improved frame rate for AMD hardware-accelerated video capture of GPU-intensive games
  
• Added support for hardware accelerated encoding using NVIDIA cards (NVENC) on SteamOS/Linux
  
• Fixed black screen when streaming certain D3D 11.1 applications, such as Kodi

SteamVR

• Enabled scrolling in the Steam dashboard with either the Vive controller touch pad or the mouse pointer
  
• Updated the friends UI to indicate a different online status while you are in VR
  
• Added a help dialog in case Steam detects a HTC Vive that is present but not installed properly
  
• Added an "Exit Game" alternate state for the "Play Game" button when viewing a library page in VR
  
• Fixed the incorrect button footer being displayed in Steam UI when using a traditional game controller
  
• Improved touchpad feedback on the VR controller when using large swipes in the Steam dashboard
  
• Improved the library view to show all installed OpenVR applications, even non-Steam applications
  
• Disabled the Big Picture startup sound when entering SteamVR
  
• Added a warning message if the current controller or play area does not match the game requirements

Steam Controller

• Added option to use Desktop Configuration for shortcuts to improve compatibility with intermediate launcher apps
  
• Added a menu item to edit controller configuration from the desktop-mode library context menu
  
• Added an option for Big Picture overlay when launching controller-based games from the desktop library view
  
• Games launched via the desktop client with an active Steam Controller can optionally use the Big Picture overlay.
  
• Improved reliability and performance of editing and publishing controller configurations
  
• Added the ability to save controller configurations to local disk files
  
• Added new auto-power-off options for 5 and 10 minutes
  
• Improved XInput compatibility for some games (Final Fantasy 14)
  
• Fixed Joystick Camera not sending Pad Click if you started pressing at the edge of the pad
  
• Fixed mouse horizontal inversion not respecting rotation properly
  
• Improved controller behavior when entering and exiting Standby or Suspend. Zombie controllers should no longer be shown in the controller list and controllers should be properly recognized upon return
  
• Improved handling of pure Mouse/Keyboard and mixed XInput configurations
  
• Added the ability to use other controllers alongside Steam Controllers. Games with XInput support will use whichever controller is active, other games will prefer alternate controllers when present.
  
• Fixed action set selection UI with native games with large number of action sets
  
• Fixed an issue where configuration changes would not stick with non-Steam shortcuts
  
• Added support for the on-screen keyboard without entering Big Picture mode
  
• Improved stability and window placement of desktop on-screen keyboard
  
• Reduced size of desktop on-screen keyboard
  
• Fixed haptics intensity being stuck to High if anti-deadzone was in use
  
• Setting any anti-deadzone on the joystick will now disable all joystick hardware deadzoning. Note that this can cause drift if the anti-deadzone is too large or if not using a proper anti-deadzone buffer. (Requires Firmware Update)
  
• Experimental Rumble Emulation is now available as an Application Setting. This feature tries to emulate a feel similar to rumble despite haptic actuators being a very different technology than rumble motors. (Requires Firmware Update)
  
• Fixed occasional doubled input in Big Picture when initially powering on the controller
  Added the ability to disable the X or Y axis for Joystick Move modes. This can be useful when using the Gyro to emulate a steering wheel
  
• Fixed description text for the joystick output fields of the Joystick Move and Joystick Camera modes

An update has been released for the Steam Client and will be automatically downloaded.

NOTE: An additional minor update for Windows users was released on March 1 with the following change:

• Fixed crash on game launch for some older 2D games, including Plants vs. Zombies

General

• Restrict chat from users who do not share a friends, game server, or multiuser chat relationship with you
  
• Fixed a case where having Steam Cloud sync disabled (either globally or for an App) could cause that App to be told there were no local files found
  
• Reduced memory usage of games which integrate Steamworks cloud storage features
  
• Improved stability of games which make Steamworks API calls from multiple threads simultaneously
  

Big Picture

• When Steam is first launched only show up to 4 notifications for friends that are in a game, otherwise just show a single summary notification
  
• Improved performance when displaying a large list of scrollable items
  

Steam Controller

• Added per-account Controller Personalization.
  
• Added support for Configuration Travelling, Click here for details
  
• Added Trigger Mouse Dampening options for soft pull/soft+full pull. Defaults to previous Soft Pull only mode.
  
• Added mouse region snapping support for non-mode-shifted mouse regions. Mouse regions can now snap or not-snap to previous position when they're not in use.
  
• Overlay Disabled message is now shown in Big Picture game screen when the overlay is disabled.
  
• Added New Export Save System. Unifies and simplifies exporting configurations. You can now more easily browse and save Private and Public configurations, including replacing/editing existing configurations.
  
• Added Exporting new Configuration Templates for often used configuration defaults.
  
• Added Browsing/Importing of all games configurations from any game. Useful for when you made the perfect setup in a sequel or similar game and want to use the same config as a base or verbatim.
  
• Publishing a new community configuration now requires you to have played with the configuration for at least an hour.
  
• Added additional Touch Menu selection settings to allow selection on Release Click and on Release Touch.
  
• Added Trigger Hip Fire Exclusive mode - this mode is a dual stage trigger mode that allows either soft or full pull, but once either is engaged, the other will not engage until the trigger has been released.
  
• When exiting Steam, Controller now returns to its default “lizardmode” Mouse/Keyboard state
  
• If Steam loses its ability to send input due to UAC/Control-Alt-Del prompts, controller will now attempt to drop into its default state to allow interaction with these dialogs and resume normal configuration once workable state is re-established. The controller will beep when entering/exiting this mode.
  
• Fixed bug with joystick not always sending fast taps to the left.
  
• Anti-Deadzone now obeys deadzone shape setting. For gyro applications such as Steering Wheel in Racing games, using the cross shaped deadzone will provide expected anti-deadzone behavior.
  
• Added better support for non-Steam games and applications that cannot use the Steam Overlay such as browsers, command line tools, emulators, etc.. While these applications won’t currently support some functions such as touchmenus, xinput, and controller HUD functionality, these applications will now be better detected and use their Non-Steam Game configuration when in focus.
  
• Shortcuts/Non-Steam games will also attempt to use their designated configuration when launched outside of Steam, provided Steam is running in the background, with the same limitations mentioned above.
  
• Fixed legacy bindings on configurations with native controller support not displaying/working outside of the first action set.
  
• Fixed a dead zone issue when a trackpad was used in Mouse mode
  

In-Home Streaming

• Added support for streaming 5.1 audio from Windows host machines to other Steam Clients and the Steam Link. Click here for more info
  
• Fixed a issue causing framerate on the streaming client to be much lower than on the host for GPU-intensive games
  
• Added NVIDIA NVFBC encoder as a separate option under Advanced Host Settings in Big Picture mode
  
• Added logic to retry any previously-failed encoding methods whenever a new game is launched
  
• Added logic to fall back to software encoding when hardware encoding is being unreasonably slow
  
• Fixed one-pixel color misalignment in Direct3D 9 games such as Rocket League
  
• Significantly improved performance of Intel QuickSync encoding - please note that Intel has released new drivers for most of its GPUs, which are recommended for performance and stability ( http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/graphics-drivers.html )
  
• Improved compatibility with Dragon's Lair, Space Age, and other older 2D games
  
• Improved stream quality and bitrate usage for games running below 60 fps
  
• Improved compatibility with Stronghold Crusader HD and other old DirectDraw titles
  
• Adjusted settings for Intel hardware encoding to improve compatibility with 4th and 5th gen Intel CPUs
  

VR Mode

• Steam notifications now display in-headset using the work-in-progress SteamVR notification system.
  
• Improved support for VR keyboard. Keyboard now positions itself better and selection bugs fixed.
  
• Fixed several places where taking an action in the desktop client would cause the VR UI to respond when in VR mode.
  

Linux

• Fixed validating local content with some filesystems
  
• Fixed a hang when starting "CrossCode" and other Chrome-based applications from Steam
  

SteamOS

• Added UI for pairing Bluetooth devices
  

An update has been released for the Steam Client and will be automatically downloaded.

General

• The Steam Subscriber Agreement has been updated for the new year. Click here to read about these changes.
  

It's been a busy month since the Steam controller officially launched, and with the help of the community, it's already grown so much. Along with new features in today's update, we thought we'd highlight some of the other big features added in the past month and what the community has been doing with those new features.

Read More Here

(Additional note: this client was re-released on Monday, Dec 14 with additional crash fixes.)

An update has been released for the Steam Client and will be automatically downloaded.

General

• Updated the web browser component to Chromium version 47.0.2526.49
  
• Improved error messages for some unusual login failure cases
  
• Fixed a crash when launching games for the first time while Steam is offline
  

Big Picture

• Improved UI navigation when using the mouse in several areas
  
• Changed the default ambient music volume to off, this setting can be configured under the Audio Settings page
  
• Expanded the Resume and Explore part of Library, adding more rows based on friend activity and recent game updates
  
• Added a new option to control how the left Steam Controller touchpad scrolls Web pages (see "Web Browser" settings)
  
• Added a new option to the system menu, "Minimize Big Picture"
  
• Improved zooming in web browser
  
• Fixed going back to the main menu when selecting some pages inside of settings
  
• Fixed Steam Community landing page not loading in Italian
  
• Fixed being unable to navigate to the right column of Friends settings
  
• Fixed some Steam/XInput controller buttons showing up as "UNKNOWN" when binding shortcuts (ie., taking a screenshot)
  
• Fixed Exit menu popping up when just tapping the Guide button on a controller, not only on a long hold
  
• Fixed watching DOTA 2 broadcasts
  
• Fixed several crashes
  

Linux

• Fixed failing to send some special characters to games through the Big Picture overlay keyboard
  
• Fixed The Beginner's Guide crashing on startup
  
• Improved multi-monitor support for the Steam Link
  

Mac OS X

• Fixed Steam Controller failing to work after exiting and relaunching Big Picture mode without restarting Steam
  
• Fixed web pages displaying at 1/4 of their correct size under Big Picture
  

Broadcasting

• Fixed an unexpected 60fps framerate cap when broadcasting is enabled
  

VR Mode

• Switched the Steam UI to use the VR dashboard on Windows for Oculus devices.
  

In-Home Streaming

• Added game controller mouse emulation for game launchers, use right trigger to click
  
• Added new advanced host and advanced client options. Some settings, such as hardware encoder choice, are only accessible from Big Picture mode
  
• Updated game capture modes for improved consistency and reliability
  
• Reduced frame-rate impact of running Big Picture mode while streaming
  
• Improved interactions with third-party overlays such as Uplay
  
• Improved video stream quality when AMD hardware encoding is enabled
  
• Fixed some known causes of black screen flashes
  
• Fixed issues when switching games or when transitioning from launcher to game
  
• Fixed many framerate issues with capture on NVIDIA SLI systems
  

Steam Controller

The list of changes here are too numerous to call out, so we have made an overview of the changes.

Big Picture

• Added store setting to view featured games from all platforms when running on OS X or SteamOS
  
• Fixed an error that could prevent you from adding items to the Store shopping cart
  

In-Home Streaming

• Improved stability and reduced Steam CPU usage under many hardware configurations
  
• Improved streaming gamepad compatibility with The Beginner's Guide and other games
  
• Added mouse cursor constraints for Windows hosts so the cursor cannot be lost off-screen
  

Steam Controller

• Fixed detection of controllers in the Settings panels when streaming from a Steam Link device
  
• Fixed an issue where firmware updates would not apply while In-Home Streaming is active
  
• Fixed an issue where some developer-approved configurations were not being displayed
  
• Fixed game action set legacy bindings not working beyond the first preset slot
  
• Fixed an issue where mode-shifted analog sticks could lose input
  

General

• Improved startup times for users with a large number of games
  
• Added a "Update News" option to the view menu so you can go back to past offers and view their details
  
• Changed controller Steam/Xbox button behavior to fix a collision with the hold-down-for-4-seconds method of turning off the controller:
  
  • Old behavior: Hold down 3 seconds to launch Big Picture (or single press if you were in desktop Steam).
    
  • New behavior: Pressing once will change focus to Steam if it doesn't have focus. If it has focus, pressing once will launch Big Picture.
    
• Fixed the friends dialog sometimes dismissing if your network connection dropped and reconnected
  
• Fixed play button for non-Steam games showing "Preload" in some cases
  
• Fixed a possible crash when running a badly-formed steam:// URL
  

Big Picture

• Improved hover behavior when using the mouse to navigate
  
• Significantly improved performance in the Library area for users with a large number of games
  
• Updated status bar look at the top of the main menu
  
• Reorganized the Settings section and fixed several issues with individual pages
  
• Web browser shows hand cursor when hovering over web link
  
• Added support for multiple game library folders
  
• Added support for picking your default install library for Games
  
• Improved performance when rendering large amounts of text
  
• Fixed Steam overlay flickering when using multiple NVIDIA GPUs in SLI configuration
  
• Fixed bad on-screen positioning of Big Picture mode after running games that change display settings
  
• Fixed unexpected switch out of Big Picture mode when displaying content validation messages
  
• Fixed getting stuck in the Library screenshot viewer if you used the guide button
  
• Fixed web pages being partially transparent when moving
  
• Fixed rare crash when navigating through large lists
  
• Fixed crash when using daisy wheel in the Web browser
  
• Fixed mouse wheel not working when hovering the right grid in the Library
  
• Fixed "New For You" items not activating when selected
  
• Fixed in-game crash when using the Daisy Wheel keyboard
  
• Fixed buttons mis-firing on the Steam Controller right after leaving a game
  
• Fixed view CD key button in the overlay being styled incorrectly
  
• Fixed getting stuck in the overlay if you backed out of certain panels before they fully loaded
  
• Fixed focus going to the wrong place if you deleted the last game from the Disk Management page under settings
  

Steam Controller

• Added a new trackpad mode, Mouse Joystick. This is an alternate way of emulating mouse-style controls for games that disable mouse input when using a gamepad. For best results, we recommend increasing the gamepad camera sensitivity/speed in the game settings.
  
• Added a new trackpad mode, Touch Menu. This mode is useful to bind many infrequently-used hotkeys to a single trackpad. The Big Picture in-game overlay has to be enabled for this feature to work.
  
• Added support for custom controller configurations for Desktop mode
  
• Added option to turn off steam controller when leaving Big Picture mode.
  
• Additional work to prevent noise and drift for the gyro when in a steady state. Calibration will refine when left idle for five seconds if current configuration uses Gyro. If drift is severe, leave idle for 15 seconds for repeated refinements. Note that "always on" is not required for auto-calibration, it happens regardless of button activation.
  
• Made trigger soft and full pull mode-shift and gyro-enable capable buttons
  
• Added the ability to mode shift triggers
  
• Mouse Rotation horizon line visualization is now shown/hidden when adjusted
  
• Added Trigger Mouse Dampening. Squeezing the trigger can now engage a dampening factor to the mouse mode.
  
• Added Joystick Camera option to Gyro.
  
• Added Invert Horizontal and Invert Vertical to mouse/joystick modes.
  
• Added options to configure the suggestion modes of the dualtouch keyboard
  
• Added Legacy configuration option for games with In Game Actions, allowing users to access advanced settings.
  
• Mouse Rotation now visualized as a horizon line when changing the slider.
  
• Gyro Enable Button is now visible in the gyro preferences.
  
• Added support for keyboard/mouse emulation on Mac
  
• Fixed a client crash when running a game with an invalid official controller configuration
  
• Fixed some "gyro enable button" options not applying properly
  
• Fixed bugs preventing controllers from showing up under settings when using a Steam Link
  
• Fixed properly showing binding descriptions for games that have an official configuration
  
• Fixed an issue with emulated analog stick sometimes moving in the wrong direction when fully deflected
  
• Fixed Trigger modes getting stuck on Hip Fire Aggressive
  
• Fixed Rotation visualization for Mouse Joystick
  
• Fixed Mode Shifts not showing up properly on main controller overview.
  
• Fixed Mode Shifts not being disabled by setting the shift button to none.
  
• Fixed loss of input in Portal 2 after losing focus or activating the overlay
  

In-Home Streaming

• Reduced CPU usage of the streaming client software
  
• Enabled hardware encoding by default, please report issues on the bug forum
  
• Added workarounds for some multi-monitor issues with NVFBC capture mode
  
• Updated AMD hardware encoding SDK for improved Win8+ performance
  
• Improved performance and fixed garbled picture with AMD hardware encoding
  
• Improved performance of some video capture methods for windowed games
  
• Disabled some incompatible capture methods if AMD Crossfire is detected
  
• Improved support for rotated (portrait-mode) monitors
  
• Changed desktop mode to capture one monitor at a time and follow the mouse across monitors
  
• Fixed incorrect display cropping on Linux clients when hardware accelerated decoding is enabled
  
• Fixed a potential cause of black screens when hosting games on a computer with multiple GPUs
  
• Fixed low resolution due to Windows display-scaling settings in NVFBC capture mode
  
• Fixed bugs with streaming multiple-monitor desktops on Windows 8 and higher
  
• Fixed incorrect mouse coordinates in some situations with Windows 8.1 and Windows 10
  
• Fixed a crash if the user exits Steam while a streaming session is still active
  
• Fixed some causes of audio stutter when streaming at high bitrate
  
• Fixed always-black video on some multi-GPU, multi-monitor systems
  
• Fixed issues with Toki Tori 2 and several other games which rely on VSync for animation timing
  
• Fixed crashes on systems with certain AMD video drivers
  
• Fixed low capture resolution when running games on a high-DPI monitor
  
• Fixed mouse cursor position when text scaling is enabled on the host computer
  
• Fixed mouse clipping issue with fullscreen games
  

SteamOS + Linux

• Added support for Captured Portal (i.e Hotel Wifi) network configurations
  
• Improved compatibility with XCB games
  
• Fixed being unable to type shifted characters from the virtual keyboard
  

Mac OS X

• Fixed focus issues when displaying 2 modal dialogs at the same time
  
• Fixed slow shutdown when you had a Steam Controller connected
  

Windows

• Added a warning and link to troubleshooting steps when Steam detects that Windows Compatibility Mode is interfering with internal functionality
  
• Improved compatibility of the Steam overlay with other third-party overlay software
  

An update has been released for the Steam Client and will be automatically downloaded.

General

• Fixed the client hanging on startup when in offline mode
  
• Fixed a client crash when launching Steam through some installers
  

Big Picture

• Initial phase of store redesign to match updated Big Picture interface
  
• Overlay now closes after accepting friends invite to a game
  
• General improvements to the invites section of the friends page
  
• Fixed the truncation of some labels when the UI language was not English
  
• Fixed the display settings menu not having a header
  
• Fixed footer bar to hide in case there was no gamepad input for some time
  
• Fixed Free-to-Play games showing a “Purchase” button in library
  
• Fix to prevent guides panel from always sliding in when bringing up the in-game overlay
  

In-Home Streaming

• Improved streaming performance on wireless networks
  
• Fixed desktop capture mode when Windows UI scaling is enabled
  

Virtual Reality Mode

• Turned off the Big Picture screensaver in the VR dashboard.
  
• Changed desktop and VR mode launches of VR applications to show that the old application is quitting first. The old application was already quitting, this just smooths out the UI.
  

Linux

• Fixed a crash on exit for some X11 users
  

Steam Controller

• Fixed mode-switch bindings not functioning properly
  

An update has been released for the Steam Client and will be automatically downloaded.

Steam Controller

• Fixed an issue where modifying controller bindings would cause loss of input. Bindings that have been edited since yesterday will need to be re-authored.