Valve has successfully deployed the long-awaited Local Network Game Transfer feature for theSteam Deck, providing an important new connectivity upgrade to its handheld gaming PC. Released as part of the device’s SteamOS 3.4.6 update, the feature should make it easier for players to move games from Windows to SteamOS, which has been somewhat problematic up until now.
Transferring files to the Steam Deckhas been a point of contention ever since the device first came out due to Valve’s decision to run a Linux-based operating system instead of Windows. Up until now, users have had to rely on third-party applications like the Warpinator, or to enable the SSH server functionality, for example. Thankfully, it should be way easier to move game files from Windows over to SteamOS in the future.
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The fact that theSteam Decknow supports Local Network Game Transfers will make many gamers' lives easier, especially if they’re stuck with slower or limited Internet. Notably, this feature of the Steam game client allows all the devices connected to a single network to share game files with one another. In effect, this means that as long as one of the devices connected to a given local network has a certain game installed, said game can be shared with any other device without spending any extra ISP bandwidth. This alone makes the feature extremely useful to those who need to abide by excessively small monthly transfer limits.
Considering all the notable quality-of-life improvements Valve has been deploying to the handheld, like the aforementioned local transfer downloads, it’s no big surprise that manySteam Deck owners prefer it over other devices. Examples include arbitrary refresh rate settings and granular TDP tweaks, just to name a few.
As handy as update 3.4.6 has been for Valve’s handheld PC/console hybrid, the upcoming release ofSteamOS 3.5 for the Steam Deckshould be an even bigger jump forward. Specifically, the previously discussed intelligent SMT toggle will allow the device to switch between two disparate modes of operation depending on the given workload, making a number of community-derived emulation optimizations entirely unnecessary.
Of course, not everything is perfect about the Steam Deck. One of its most noteworthy issues is that it simply won’t run some games, like Bungie’sDestiny 2. While there’s no fix in sight for problems such as these, gamers have set up apetition forDestiny 2on the Steam Deck, which may or may not lead to changes in the developer’s platform support pipeline.
