Valve has shipped a substantial update to the Steam client. The new version, which downloads automatically, covers everything from visual refreshes to performance improvements and a long list of bug fixes.

1

A screensaver and Big Art mode come to Big Picture

The headline feature of the update is a screensaver for Big Picture mode, the controller-friendly interface designed for playing on a TV. Users can choose between a slideshow made up of artwork from recently played games and their own screenshots, or a retro-style bouncing logo animation. As with startup videos, it is also possible to add custom screensavers to the system.

On the main screen, Valve has introduced a new Big Art view that puts the focus on large game banners. The Recommendations tab also gains personal calendar support. In addition, the screen will no longer dim or trigger the screensaver during video playback, and there is now an option to disable the screensaver entirely while a game is running.

2

Performance improvements and bug fixes

The new release also improves the client's startup performance. Valve fixed an issue where Steam would forcibly grab focus during launch while another window was active, and the layout of achievement notification text has been refreshed.

On the platform side, a Windows-specific problem where windows briefly appeared when exiting via the system tray has been eliminated. Crashes during downloads on systems with older processors have also been fixed. The rest of the update consists largely of fixes of this kind.