Valve has just published a significant update to the Steam Client for Windows. Despite the length of the changelog, the most significant update is the addition of a Big Picture Mode. The Steam Deck UI, which includes various alterations that are unique to Windows, has finally taken the place of the outdated user interface (UI).
A decade after the first release of the television-friendly user interface, Valve has at long last released an upgrade for Big Picture Mode for devices running Windows. To review, beginning November 2022, Valve has been conducting public beta testing of a new user interface for the Big Picture Mode. As was noted at the time, the newly introduced Big Picture Mode takes heavy inspiration from the deck deck user interface that is included in SteamOS 3.
When the console is connected to an external monitor, Big Picture Mode seems to have an identical user interface as Steam Deck when seen from the outside. By the way, the outdated Big Picture Mode may still be accessed on Windows. It is possible to activate the latter by attaching ‘-oldbigpicture,’ according to Valve; however, the firm intends to remove this capability from future builds of the Steam Client Update.
The most recent Steam Client Update also brings a few Windows-specific enhancements to Big Picture Mode, such as the addition of an option to swap the main monitor and the capability to begin in windowed mode. These changes are described in more detail below. In addition, according to Valve, the user interface scaling has been improved at higher resolutions, and the Big Picture Mode overlay should no longer be the wrong size when Windows is set to a scaling factor of anything other than 100%.