A new Steam Deck feature could allow for game and file sharing between your PC Steam client and the handheld device, as code strings in the latest Steam update apparently point to Valve finally launching the long-awaited, bandwidth-saving local network option.
Until now, if you own a game on Steam on your PC and want to play it on Steam Deck, you need to redownload the game using your internet connection. A supposed update from Valve, however, will enable you to transfer game files to and from your PC to the Steam Deck, or any other devices within your local network, sparing your wi-fi and saving time.
Pavel Djundik, creator of Steam DB, first shared details of peer-to-peer Steam downloads back in October. Now, Djundik says that the “last Steam update” has added additional code strings related to the feature, which “allows your PC to transfer game files to and from other PCs or Steam Decks on your local network, reducing your Internet traffic while downloading or updating a game.”
Although the update does not seem to be live on active Steam clients, images shared with PCGamesN seem to show an expanded ‘settings’ menu within Steam, which includes the option to enable “game file transfer over local network.
“This feature allows your PC to transfer files to and from other PCs or Steam Decks on your local network, reducing your Internet traffic while downloading or updating a game,” the new option, which can apparently be found under the ‘downloads’ tab of Steam’s settings window, appears to read.
PCGamesN has contacted Valve for further information on the release of this supposed new Steam Deck feature and will update this story with any additional comment.
Take a look at the best Steam Deck dock to make the Valve handheld even more comfortable, or perhaps, if you’re shortly going to be sharing games from your PC, the best Steam Deck SD card. There’s also plenty of information on the Steam Deck 2, which we’ve bundled together in one handy place.
