Valve re-enables HDR Remote Play on Steam Deck OLED in Beta update

Valve released a new Steam Deck Beta Client update that overhauls HDR support for Remote Play streaming and published update notes on Steam Oct. 23, 2026. Valve re-enables HDR on the Steam Deck OLED as part of the overhaul. Players install it through System Settings on the Steam Deck by choosing the Beta or Preview channel, and Valve tests those channels with beta users before rolling updates to Stable.

The overhaul brings HDR to games and the Windows desktop during Remote Play, which streams games from a PC to another device, and it adds HDR capture for desktop Linux systems using Pipewire and for macOS streams. The beta Steam Link app supports HDR on Android phones running Android 15 or newer.

A new advanced HDR client setting offers three choices: Automatic, On and Off. Automatic enables HDR only when it detects HDR content, while On keeps HDR always on to allow increased brightness for SDR content. Off disables the feature.

Valve disabled HDR for Remote Play streaming on the Steam Deck OLED in early October 2026 during its Big Art Mode update. The company gave no reason for disabling the feature, but users reported bugs and problems with HDR on the Steam Deck OLED. TechPowerUp suggests Valve was overhauling the feature rather than issuing a fix. Steam Deck HQ said, “A new Steam Deck Beta Client update was released with one gigantic change for Remote Play.”

An earlier Steam Beta update limited to the OLED model introduced HDR support to the handheld for the first time in August 2026, enabling HDR settings for games streamed from a PC. That update also included experimental AV1 video streaming, intended to provide better image quality with less bandwidth, along with smaller fixes for Remote Play, Local Network Game Transfers and video color range.

The Steam Deck handheld gaming system officially released in 2022. HDR improves the range of colors in games and adds greater depth to a game’s lighting elements. Games with ultra-realistic artstyles, including Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, benefit especially from HDR. At the August 2026 launch of the OLED-exclusive HDR beta, GameRant said HDR capabilities were likely limited to Remote Play, with no confirmation that standalone support would arrive later.

A July 2026 Steam Deck Client Preview/Beta update added a 59.94 FPS frame rate limit for Remote Play and fixed video decoder overloads caused by unlimited bandwidth. The same July update fixed incorrect UI scaling in Big Picture Mode when used in Desktop Mode, corrected a Patch Notes preview bug, added Steam Input compatibility for wired and wireless PDP Afterglow Wave Controller for Nintendo Switch and Turtle Beach controllers for Nintendo Switch 2, and fixed a Steam Controller firmware issue that could cause occasional repeated B Button presses.