Long Awaited LAN Transfers have Finally Landed on the Steam Deck with March 15th Stable Client Update
Loads of fixes and added DualSense Edge support, but the real standout is Local Peer Game Transfers finally being widely available.
Despite trying to fit the past weeks worth of updates in one news roundup, I still missed including one of the biggest updates this week. While not beating out Emulation Station DE’s 2.0 changelog word count, the Steam Deck Stable Client Update for March 15th is a long one. DuelSense Edge players will be happy to see support for their $200 controller now has official support which includes remappable back paddles. Streamable games are now included in the Ready to Play section however they will still default to installing locally. Better HDR options are included in the Developer Settings, and there’s at least 28 fixes listed in this update which includes a fix for soundtrack information not showing up in the Additional Content section of apps.
The biggest addition is the headlining feature Local Network Game Transfers, allowing players to download games to one computer from another without needing to download from Steam’s Servers. Anyone who’s had modern games take over 24 hours to download or run the risk of hitting their data cap will surely treasure this new feature. The full Local Network Game Transfer section of the changelog are as follows:
Local Network Game Transfers
- Added new feature that allows Steam users to copy existing Steam game installation and update files from one PC to another over a local area network, without having to download and install from a Steam content server on the internet. This helps you stay below your ISP monthly transfer limits and can speed up installs or updates.
- Steam users have control over who files can be sent to: self only, friends only, or everyone. The default setting is self only.
- More info about this new feature can be found here: https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/46BD-6BA8-B012-CE43
There’s some additional benefits I went over when this feature was first introduced back in the beta update along with covering Steam’s Year in Review for 2022. Gardiner did a full hands-on with the feature back when LAN transfers were in the beta update so if you want to learn how it works give that a quick read.
Gardiner Bryant
What I want to quickly draw attention to is a specific line under the LAN Transfer section. “Steam Users have control over who files can be sent to: self only, friends only, or everyone.” Now the last part reminds me in a way of Download Play on the original Nintendo DS and Game Sharing on the PSP. Maybe you can make a local network and transfer games between Steam Decks. I can imagine some use cases I’d love to see with this feature, but I’ll save that for a future article.
My two other favorites are the ability to stop Steam from prompting you to redeem rewards. Thank you from all us 512GB RMA customers! The other feature being the addition of a UI for account selection at startup. Anything that helps my dedicated Steam device, whether that be my Steam Deck or a DIY Steam Machine, allow for a seamless multi-user experience is what will help Valve reach parity with other console manufacturers. Steam already has a robust Family Sharing feature that I take generous advantage of to help save money when my partner wants to play the occasional indie game and I want to avoid the Switch Tax. For the full changelog you can see it here:
So have you been waiting with baited breath for LAN Transfers to hit the stable release channel? Are you going to pick up a DuelSense Edge now that there’s official Steam support? Do any fixes stand out to you? Do you share your Deck or gaming PC with others in your household? Let us know in the comments down below!
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