(Note: a subsequent Steam Client update was done October 7 to fix some additional issues)

General

• When Steam detects a game file has been corrupted, it will now try to reuse as much of the corrupted file as possible to save bandwidth when downloading correct data for that file
  
• Fix bug causing slow reconnect to Steam after resuming from a system suspend

Remote Play

• Automatically install the audio drivers on Windows when streaming starts if needed, pass -skipstreamingdrivers on the command line to disable them
  
• Pipewire desktop capture available on Linux, launch Steam with the -pipewire command line option to enable
  
• Fixed Linux games seeing multiple controllers when Steam controller configuration support is enabled
  
• Fixed Linux clients not getting any controller input once streaming starts
  
• Fixed using multiple PS5 controllers connected via the Steam Link app
  
• Fixed black screen with PipeWire capture under KDE plasma

Steam Cloud

• Fix infinite retry loop for failed background file downloads
  
• Increased the allowed upload time to enable transferring large save game files for users who have limited upload bandwidth
  
• Automatically sync Cloud files for installed games at startup
  
• Fix issue causing extra work on reconnect to Steam

Linux

• Reduced sizes of Vulkan pre-caching datasets by splitting and versioning them according to Proton versions and graphics driver capabilities. As a result, the datasets will start from scratch after updating.
  
• Fix checking for execute privileges when picking a Steam Library folder location

macOS

• Add OS support for macOS 12 “Monterey”
  
• Fix browser user agent causing some web sites to misidentify Steam Overlay web browser

Join us for the the Steam Digital Tabletop Fest starting October 21st at 10am Pacific! This celebration of tabletop-inspired games on Steam will feature hundreds of titles on discount through the 25th at 10am Pacific. Plus, this year’s event places a special focus on Role-Playing games, including three days of premiere streaming events hosted in partnership with Auroch Digital, October 22-24.

For the full schedule of events, visit our Digital Tabletop Fest Preview, where you can join the conversation with creators of your favorite physical and digital tabletop games all weekend long. Until then, add premiere streaming events to your own calendar, then join the live chat with speakers and contributors when the reminder fires.

Save the date! See you October 21-25 for the Steam Digital Tabletop Fest, with RPG Edition livestreaming events October 22-24.

We're happy to announce our Top Releases of August 2021



As with previous Top Release lists, we look at every game released during the month and highlight the Top 20 based on their first two weeks of revenue. We also highlight the top 5 free-to-play games, ranked by the number of unique players they acquired after launch.

The Top Releases of August 2021

Nearly half of August's Top Releases participated in a previous Steam Next Fest. For those unfamiliar, Steam Next Fest is a multi-day celebration of upcoming games, where anyone can explore and play hundreds of free game demos, watch developer livestreams, and chat with the teams about their process. Players who haven't yet experienced one should not fret, as Next Fest October is right around the corner. We're pretty sure a few future Top Releases will make their debuts, so mark your calendar and see if you can predict which games will make the cut.

Standalone releases draw much deserved attention on our monthly Top Release lists, but a new expansion or DLC release can add just as much excitement to a game from the past. So for this month, we've included a tab for the Top 5 DLC releases of August, based on revenue they generated after launch. Long-time fans of the Age of the Empires franchise were more than excited to get their hands on two brand-new DLC releases this month. It's quite a refreshing surprise when you consider that the series first launched nearly 25 years ago, receiving remasters and definitive editions along the way, and is now creating brand new content for fans of the series. 

August's list also included the successful new multiplayer release, NARAKA: BLADEPOINT. Players might remember participating in the game's official Steam Playtest earlier this year - one of the first games to take full advantage of new feature. Steam Playtest provides a number of tools that allow devs to gather feedback, test features and server load, as well as generate excitement throughout the community. As noted by the 24 Entertainment team here, the participating Steam players helped ensure that the game could be in Top Release state when it was finally ready to hit the public. We expect more developers will be taking advantage of this feature in the coming months, so for players who enjoy getting a sneak preview of upcoming blockbusters, keep your eye out for Steam Playtests. 

We'd also like to congratulate all the development teams who are releasing their first Steam game this month. Creating a Top Release is no easy task, and doing so with a first-time Steam release is icing on the cake. Welcome and congrats to these teams on their Steam debuts.

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If you're curious about previous months, here are more Top Release lists:

• February 2021
  
• March 2021
  
• April 2021
  
• May 2021
  
• June 2021
  
• July 2021