Open Gaming & Graphics

Steam Client stable update adds Achievement Sets, Deck framerate averages, and HDR revamp

Key Takeaway

Valve's November Steam Client stable release introduces organized achievement tracking, Steam Deck hardware compatibility framerate data, and a major overhaul of Remote Play HDR streaming support.

Summary

Valve has shipped a new Steam Client update to the Stable channel with several user-facing features and infrastructure improvements. The headline addition is Steam Achievement Sets, which lets games group base game and DLC achievements separately without breaking completion status, and allows archiving of seasonal or unobtainable achievements. For Steam Deck users, the Hardware Compatibility dialog now displays average framerates that other players achieve on the handheld, based on anonymized data collection that now prompts in the desktop client as well.

The update also revamps Remote Play with a new Display Style setting for aspect ratio mismatches and a significant overhaul of HDR streaming support. Big Picture Mode gains per-friend voice chat level controls and improved Quick Access Menu responsiveness. Under the hood, Valve delivered a second round of startup performance improvements, fixed memory leaks in game streaming and controller code, resolved Steam Cloud Sync conflicts for titles like Monster Hunter World, and added a workaround for updates hanging at 99 percent completion.

Steam Deck, Remote Play, and client infrastructure changes

  • Steam Achievement Sets: Games can now organize achievements into sets for base game and DLC content, with completed sets remaining finished when new sets are added, and seasonal or unobtainable achievements eligible for archiving.
  • Steam Deck framerate telemetry: The Hardware Compatibility dialog surfaces average framerates from aggregated player data on Steam Deck, with the opt-in prompt for anonymized framerate data now appearing in the desktop client in addition to SteamOS.
  • Remote Play HDR overhaul: The streaming subsystem received a major HDR support revamp alongside a new Display Style setting that enables stretching and zooming when stream and client display aspect ratios differ.
  • Voice chat persistence: Output volume settings for individual friends in voice chat now persist across Steam sessions rather than resetting on client restart, with per-friend levels also exposed in Big Picture Mode's friend context menu.
  • Client stability and performance: Second-round startup performance improvements, fixes for memory leaks in game streaming and controller subsystems, a 99-percent update hang workaround, and corrected per-friend notification override behavior.

Why it matters

The Steam Deck framerate averages give Linux handheld gamers concrete performance expectations before purchase or download, reducing reliance on third-party compatibility databases. The Remote Play HDR improvements and aspect ratio controls benefit SteamOS and Linux desktop users who stream from more powerful hosts, while the achievement infrastructure changes set a new baseline for how games with live service or DLC models present progress on Linux and across all Steam platforms.

Original reference: store.steampowered.com →