Valve Releases Steam Big Picture Mode with SteamOS Design as Beta Version – Games – News

Valve has released an updated Steam Big Picture mode as an open beta. It has the interface designed for Steam Deck as well. The existing design of the Big Picture mode is already ten years old.

says the valve that there are still some “sharp edges” in the interface, but it has reached the point where it wants to release the interface to users and ask for feedback. The new interface, still called Big Picture, completely replaces the previous one.

In addition to the cosmetic changes, there is a novelty home screen, which shows recently played games and new game updates from your library. The search function also offers the possibility to search not only in the bookstore, but at the same time in the shop and in the friends list. In addition, the interface for customizing controller layouts has been changed and the style change will also appear in the file overlap in the game from Steam.

Although Valve says it intends to commercialize the interface and welcomes the feedback, the interface has not yet been widely introduced. Not only do players need to activate the beta in the Steam options menu, they also need to add the “-gamepadui” parameter to a shortcut for Steam. Only then will the interface show itself, without the option to return to the desktop interface, which has the old Big Picture mode.

These interface modes are examples of 10 foot user interfaces. They are optimized for small screens, such as those of the Steam Deck, but also for large screens where the user is further away, i.e. televisions. Another feature of such interfaces is the optimization for use with remote controls or controllers.

Valve is working to bring the latest version of SteamOS to PC, where that operating system is currently only available for the Steam Deck handheld. This interface provides a preview of what it would look like. There is no release date for SteamOS for PC yet, but early signs that a the image is coming, have appeared recently. Recently released tweaker an interview with Valve from Steam Deck on SteamOS.