New Steam Deck Client Update Brings Back Game Resolution Options

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A new Steam Deck Client update was pushed out yesterday, bringing in some big changes across the board. The Maximum Game Resolution options have been fully restored, giving us much more flexibility to choose the maximum resolution on our devices. Before, it was changed to only show 16:10 aspect ratio resolutions, but other resolution options have been restored, so we can choose between 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios and much more. This can be found in the "More Options" section in the Maximum Game Resolution menu under the Display settings.

We have a couple of fixes as well, including an unwanted controller pairing screen pop-up, crashing when trying to record a game, incorrect UI scale in Big Picture mode, and the Patch Notes preview box will no longer show the incorrect update channel notes. There's also an improved notification settings layout for some languages, as well as a reworked system for the Steam Workshop to better manage what subscribed items need to be updated.

We also have some new fixes for Remote Play, as well as a new 59.94 FPS framerate limit. This is an older framerate used to avoid interference issues on CRT displays once the NTSC analog broadcasting system was adopted. It prevents overlapping scan lines for these displays. So, using this new option may help if you are streaming to a CRT display.

There were also some improvements for both the Steam Machine and Steam Controller. Steam Machine Verified information will now appear on game capsules in the home and game details screen, and we have a brand new "Great on Machine" section in our libraries. We also have new Steam Controller firmware to fix some nasty bugs, including one with repeated inputs logged without us pressing the button, and there have been some changes to the Gyro Calibration Threshold to make it not activate as often.

Steam Deck Client Update 7/21/26 Update Changelog:

General

• Improved notification settings layout in some languages
• Restored the full set of options to the 'Maximum Game Resolution' dropdown. They can be found under the 'More Options' sub-menu.
• Fixed a case where the 'Patch Notes' preview box in Settings->System would incorrectly show an event for the wrong channel. E.g. showing Beta Channel notes when the client is opted in to the Stable Channel.
• Fixed a crash when manually starting a game recording.
• Fixed mouse cursor changing to resize cursor at screen edges.
• Fixed a case where the controller pairing screen could pop up during controller firmware updates.

Desktop Mode

• Fixed incorrect UI scale being used when in Big Picture Mode.

Steam Machine

• Show Steam Machine Verified information on the game capsules in home, and on the game details screen.
• Added 'Great on Machine' section to the Library

Steam Workshop

• Re-worked system that managed what subscribed items needed to be updated.

Remote Play

• Added 59.94 FPS as an available framerate limit
• Reduced frame drops when the framerate limit is set to automatic
• Fixed offline devices showing as streamable when they aren't.
• Fixed overloading the client video decoder when unlimited bandwidth is enabled
• Fixed mouse coordinates for input-only streaming
• Fixed very low refresh rate on some systems, introduced in the last beta

Steam Input

• Steam Controller: The Gyro Calibration Threshold has been set to 50% of the previous value so that it is less likely to trigger while in hand.
• Steam Controller: Gyro Calibration threshold is now available in Steam->Settings->Controller->Details->Calibration & Advanced (Open)->Gyro Calibration.
• Steam Controller: You can choose to disable hardware calibration and rely on the standard Steam Input Gyro Calibration tools instead, by using the "Enable Software Calibration for Steam Controller" toggle.
• Steam Controller: Fixed Gyro stutter due to IMU timestamp being ignored.
• Added support for both the wired and wireless versions of the PDP Afterglow Wave Controller for Nintendo Switch.
• Added support for Turtle Beach controllers for Nintendo Switch 2.

Steam Controller Firmware

• Fixed occasional repeated trackpad samples that caused issues with momentum during trackball mode.
• Fixed an issue with unintentionally waking host devices while shutting down the controller.
• Fixed an issue with occasional repeated button presses on the B Button.

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