The Steam Client Beta has been updated with the following changes:

Steam Input

• Fixed detecting the Steam Controller when it is charging on the puck at Steam startup

• Steam Controller: Reverted Trigger's Haptic effect targeting rumble motors.

Settings

• Layout improvements and regression fixes related to the new settings changes in the May 13th client beta

Steam Controller Firmware

• Fixed an issue with occasional stutter on the gyro polling rate

We have just shipped an updated Steam Deck Client to the Preview/Beta channel.

Steam Input

• Fixed detecting the Steam Controller when it is charging on the puck at Steam startup

• Steam Controller: Reverted Trigger's Haptic effect targeting rumble motors.

Settings

• Layout improvements and regression fixes related to the new settings changes in the May 13th client beta

Steam Controller Firmware

• Fixed an issue with occasional stutter on the gyro polling rate

We had an amazing day on May 15, as we organized SCS Fay Day Experience #4! We welcomed fans of our games from all around the world to our office in Prague, where they had the opportunity to meet our team, tour the studio, and get a behind-the-scenes look at how our games are made.

After receiving a huge number of applications for this fourth edition of our SCS Fan Day, we had to narrow the list down to a smaller group of some of our most dedicated fans, including visitors who traveled all the way to Prague from countries such as Brazil.

As always, it turned into an unforgettable experience meeting and chatting with members of our #BestCommunityEver. Once everyone arrived, they took on the challenge of driving on our 4D motion simulator before heading out on a tour of the office. Along the way, we stopped by several departments where our colleagues gave them a behind-the-scenes look at what they are currently working on and how the development process looks at SCS Software.

Later in the afternoon, we hosted a special Q&A session with our developers and CEO Pavel Šebor, where we discussed the community's thoughts on our games and answered plenty of questions from our guests. The session was accompanied by delicious snacks and coffee before we gathered for a group photo, handed out bags filled with SCS merchandise, and unfortunately had to say goodbye - at least until we hopefully meet again someday!

We would like to thank everyone who took part in this year's Fan Day. We hope it was a memorable experience for you, because it was certainly unforgettable for us as well. Your passion, support, and willingness to travel such long distances just to meet us truly means the world to everyone here at SCS Software, and it continues to motivate us every day. We also hope to meet again with everyone who applied but was not selected or was unable to attend this time around.

We hope we will be able to host another Fan Day in the future and meet even more of our amazing fans. Don't forget to give our X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and TikTok a follow, as you'll receive news from any upcoming events straight to your feed, or subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed.

Note: This update is for the Steam Deck Beta and Preview channels, and includes new features that are still being tested. You can opt into this in Settings > System > System Update Channel.

These notes contain all changes since the current stable SteamOS 3.7 release, with the new changes since the previous 3.8.4 Beta noted below

New in 3.8.5

• Fixed a bug on Steam Deck OLED where rebooting would occasionally cause a loss of speaker output until rebooted again

• Further improvements to video memory management on discrete GPU platforms

• Fixed a bug in Desktop Mode causing previously open applications to not be remembered when using the 'Return to Gaming Mode' shortcut to logout

• Fixed a regression from previous 3.8 builds causing controls to misbehave after resuming from suspend on the ASUS ROG Ally

• Even more stability and security updates

General

• Fixed a case where WiFi performance could become degraded until the device was put to sleep or manually reconnected

• Fixed excessive trackpad sensitivity on certain early Steam Deck LCD models

• Initial support for upcoming Steam Machine hardware

• Added support for waking from sleep via connected Steam Controller

• Updated Arch system base

• Updated graphics driver with performance and stability fixes

• Fixed a case where per-app performance settings would intermittently fail to apply when launching a game

• Substantially improved speed of future OS updates on high-speed connections

• Improved support for the screencasts in Game Mode (e.g. OBS/Discord)

• Fixed dropdown menus not appearing in some games

• Improved VRR frame pacing

• Fixed FSR badge remaining off in the performance overlay, even if it was actually active

• Improved support for games that attempt to open PDF files in external viewers

• Added missing graphics features needed for titles such as "Crimson Desert"

• Fixed an issue affecting certain titles (such as "SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide") where the game window could have an incorrect position

• Fixed closing certain titles (such as "STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor™") and Starfield resulting in a session crash

• Improved support for certain USB racing wheels and USB devices that boot in a non-standard mode

  • Frequently these are devices that appear as USB storage devices with a driver installer, and must be switched to their normal mode by the OS

• Steam Deck controller firmware updates now display update progress on the splash screen

• Fixes issue on specific Steam Deck revisions where firmware updates could render the left controller inoperative for that session

• Fixes for experimental nested desktop mode

• Numerous stability and security updates

Bluetooth

• Re-re-enable Bluetooth Wake for Steam Deck LCD

  • Fix for more spurious wake issues that were present in earlier attempts

Audio

• Detect HDMI channel count and expose surround configuration if available

• Add a setting to allow using Bluetooth headset mics (Bluetooth playback quality will be worse while capture is active)

• Restore internal audio device on reboot if set to "Off" in desktop mode

• Increase suspend timeout for HDMI devices so initial audio isn't cut off after a few seconds of inactivity

• Fixed a bug with switching input devices when a wired headset is plugged in

• Fixed an issue where audio underruns could be experienced after sleep/resume

Accessibility

• Added an option to force mono audio output

Desktop Mode

• KDE Plasma updated to version 6.4.3 from 6.2.5, and now uses wayland by default

  • Fixes several cases of reduced performance in Desktop Mode compared to Game Mode

  • Improved support for rotated displays

  • Better scale factor out of the box on TVs

  • Adds support for external HDR displays

  • Adds support for VRR displays

  • Adds support per-display scale factor

  • For more information, see Plasma release announcements

    • https://kde.org/announcements/plasma/6/6.3.0/

    • https://kde.org/announcements/plasma/6/6.4.0/

• Keyboard layout and language are now obeying Game Mode settings

• Improved windowing behavior for games running in Proton

System Firmware

• Includes Steam Deck LCD BIOS v133

  • Security updates

  • Added "Memory Power Down" setup option

  • Preliminary support for hibernation

• Includes Steam Deck OLED BIOS v114

  • Security updates

  • Charging LED now changes color when charge limit is reached, rather than only at 100%

Non-Deck

• Improved compatibility with recent Intel and AMD platforms

• Greatly improved video memory management on discrete GPU platforms

• Fixed a compatibility issue with the SteamOS chainloader that could cause a boot failure on some desktop systems with recent UEFI firmware

• Power button short and long presses now supported across a wide variety of devices

• Improved controller support for OneXPlayer F1 series, GPD Win 5, GPD Win Mini, Anbernic Win600, OrangePi NEO, and Lenovo Legion Go

• Added controller support for OneXPlayer X1 series and Lenovo Legion Go 2

• Added system and controller firmware update support for the Lenovo Legion Go 2

• Added preliminary charge limiting support for Legion Go, Legion Go S, and Legion Go 2 - currently only accessible in Desktop Mode

• Added controller RGB LED color settings for the Lenovo Legion Go 2

• Added controller, TDP control, and speaker audio support for the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally series

• Reduced handheld controller input latency from 5-8ms to 100-500us

• Night mode, color vibrance, and color temperature sliders in Steam now work on Z2E and later AMD APUs

• Seamless boot fixes for Z2E and later AMD APUs

• Automatically handle internally rotated display for some third-party handhelds

• Improved motion control support for handhelds with BMI260 IMUs

• SD card reliability improvements for some third-party handhelds, including ASUS ROG Xbox Ally, Legion Go 1, Legion Go S, Legion Go 2, and MSI Claw

• Fixed washed out colors for Zotac and OneXPlayer handhelds with OLED

• Fixed some GPU hangs on Phoenix APU devices (Tales of Arise, Octopath Traveler II)

• Fixed ASUS ROG Ally power consumption from fingerprint reader while shut down

• Fixed trackpad losing functionality after sleep/resume on the Legion Go

• Fixed spurious wake-ups when using a Logitech Bolt receiver

Developer

• Desktop Mode now uses Wayland by default

  • X11 support may still be selected via Steam developer settings, or via `steamosctl`

• Updated Linux kernel to 6.16

• Steam now uses steamos-manager to query available desktop sessions and trigger desktop session switching

• Added support for setting the desktop password in developer settings

• Initial support for running as a Virtual Machine guest (virtio guest drivers)

• Added support for third-party devices to trigger the SteamOS boot menu via EFI variable

• Added `custom-update` verb to `atomupd-manager` for easier testing of specific builds

• System reports now include more audio debug information

• Initial support for LAVD CPU scheduler via `steamosctl set-cpu-scheduler lavd`

SteamOS 3.7.25 has just been released for all users with the following changes:

General

• Security and stability updates

• [p]Adjusted player and grenade collision.[/p][/*]
• [p]Adjusted material blending to improve accuracy of footstep sounds.[/p][/*]
• [p]Fixed several gaps reported by players.[/p][/*]

• [p]Fixed a gap in the wall.[/p][/*]

Steam Controller launched on May 4th, with all the inputs you'd expect plus advanced features (like trackpads) that let you game however you like. The trackpads make every game on Steam playable by providing a ton of functionality to play games of all kinds:

-Need to map 20 hotkeys to a virtual menu? No problem.

-Want a giant screen shot button? Sure.

-Looking for a button that automatically delivers your favorite food? Oh, um. It can't do that. But even if you don't need additional in game functionality, the trackpads can also serve as superior cursor control or aiming experience compared to thumbsticks.

We touched on the capabilities of the trackpads briefly in a previous blog post about Steam Input Configurator, but wanted to provide a deeper dive on everything you can do. Here is how to get the most out of the trackpads on your Steam Controller.

There are two primary use cases for the trackpads:

1. To control a mouse cursor or to aim. This is done two main ways:

   • As a mouse, you can use it as everything from a simple cursor that navigates UI buttons, to precise aiming in a highly competitive fast paced shooter. Utilizing both trackpads together can provide an even more complete mouse experience.  We recommend this as a primary method.  For games that do not handle mixed input (mouse/keyboard and gamepad at the same time causing performance issue or flickering input glyphs), set the template to a mouse/keyboard template. If seeing gamepad glyphs are really important, or a mouse/keyboard template will not work we recommend "as a joystick".

   • As a joystick, it's similar to above but used more often when games struggle with mixed input (mouse/keyboard and gamepad at the same time). This makes the game believe a joystick is being used, but the actual interaction feels like a mouse. This requires a lot of fine tuning to make a good experience.

2. As a way to provide mapping for various keys, buttons, shortcuts, or system level functionality that isn't possible with a traditional controller. This can be done many ways, but the two most common are:

   • As a button/button cluster/directional pad: You can assign each trackpad as one big button or each direction on each trackpad to a separate button, which gives you access to 4 more buttons per trackpad that are easy to press.

   • As a virtual menu: If 4 buttons per trackpad aren't enough (no judgment!), you can create a radial/touch menu so touching a trackpad pulls up a customizable menu with up to 20 options.

The above is not exhaustive (see the below in this guide for all of the options) but it is what we consider to be the most common use cases. This guide will explain how to set these different scenarios up.

In the Steam Input Configurator, when selecting the Trackpad Behavior drop down, you will be presented with the following options:

Here's a breakdown of what each of these options mean:

• None - The trackpad will be turned off

• As Mouse - The trackpad will emulate a mouse. Note: If you select "As Mouse" and the game you are playing begins flashing controller glyphs and keyboard glyphs rapidly, or even crashing, please try setting the controller config to full mouse and keyboard using the layout templates. If you strongly desire controller glyphs, try "As Joystick" (see below).

• Flick Stick - Turns a left/right/down swipe into a rapid, predetermined amount of pixel rotation. Typically used for rapidly turning (90/180 degrees) in competitive games, or for making large scale adjustments when using another input for fine aiming (gyro or other trackpad)

• Mouse Region - Set the trackpad to emulate a mouse, but only in a rectangular subsection of the full screen. This can be useful if a game you are playing has a key UI HUD located in the same place the whole game. The dimensions and location of the rectangle are fully customizable.

• Joystick - The trackpad will emulate a joystick: Press on the top part of the trackpad and the output will be like a fully deflected thumbstick pressed up.

• As Joystick - The trackpad will emulate a mouse, but provide an output like a thumbstick. Works for games that do not handle mouse input and gamepad input at the same time. (Note: You may need to tweak sensitivity or deadzoning settings in the game for best responsiveness.)

• Directional Pad or Button Pad - The trackpad will emulate a 4-way directional pad or button cluster (ABXY). Press on the top, bottom, left or right of the trackpad to get a direction, or button. You can map the output of each direction like you map any other button. (Note: Directional Pad includes the capability to press "diagonals" - i.e. top right corner will press Up and Right together)

• Single Button - Make the trackpad a giant button by setting it to behave as a single button. Press down on it and get the assigned output.

• Directional Swipe - Use directional swipe gesture to provide an output, Swipe Up, Down, Right or Left. You can map the output of each swipe like any other button.

• Scroll Wheel - Rotate clockwise or counter clockwise on the trackpad. Great way to emulate the scroll wheel on a mouse to zoom in and out in a RTS game.

• Radial Menu - The trackpad will pop up an on-screen menu over the game that can be customized to include whatever output you like.

• Touch Menu - Similar to Radial Menu, except it provides selections in a grid format.

• Hot Bar - Creates a virtual hot bar: Press down on the trackpad to bring it up; press right or left to cycle through options; then press up to select the item.

Note: For more information on radial menu/touch menu/hot bar, see Getting the most out of your Steam Controller: Virtual Menus.

Many games on PC are intended to be used with a mouse: Older games, deckbuilders, point and click adventures, fast-paced FPS and many puzzle games are great examples of this. The right trackpad is commonly used as a mouse replacement for these types of games. You can build up functionality of a full mouse based on the games you want to play and how you want to play them.

Mouse control - FPS games, or games where you only need to "aim" with the trackpad

Select one of your trackpads to "As Mouse" in the configuration tool. This will make the trackpad behave as a mouse (movements of your thumb will directly move the mouse cursor).  

Clicking the gear next to "Behavior" will give you several options:

Options to adjust settings, including:

1. Sensitivity - The higher the value for sensitivity, the more mouse motion you will see for a given swipe on the trackpad. Adjust this if you think you need to swipe too much (or too little) for how the motion appears in game.

2. Vertical Sensitivity - Changes the sensitivity ratio between horizontal and vertical motion on the trackpad. In most FPS games, you can move around horizontally forever, but vertically only until looking fully up or down. Because of this, you might prefer much more sensitivity horizontally than vertically.

3. Invert X/Y output - Toggle these to invert your output. Similar to using a flight stick.

4. Trackball Mode - In trackball mode, when you swipe and let go, the swipe will have momentum (like a ball rolling) and will continue to move the mouse in that direction for a while. If you prefer the mouse to stop as soon as you release your finger, turn this off.

Adjust these to your preference.

Tips for using in FPS gaming:

• Mapping left/right mouse click to the left/right trigger makes the layout feel more like a traditional gamepad layout. Depending on the game making the left trackpad a directional pad as a short cut for various equipment, or a virtual menu to help with inventory management or quick chat events.

• Protip: Shooting, jumping, reloading, etc while aiming is important in fast paced FPS games, Mapping A, B, X, Y to R4, R5, L4, and L5 allow you to continue aiming while doing actions typically mapped to the ABXY button cluster.

Mouse + Click  - Casual point and click, deckbuilders, etc.

Adding click to mouse control gives you ease of moving a mouse and clicking and dragging. By default the left click behavior for when you set a trackpad "As Mouse" will be pushing the same trackpad in (click). However if a game requires any kind of drag and drop behavior or has small targets, it is advised to map left click to a separate input. In many templates it is set to right trigger.

We have found one of the most interesting ways to do this is to set the opposite trackpad to left and right click. On most templates the left trackpad is set to a directional pad, and we can just leverage that to turn it into a left and right click.  In the drop down make sure Directional Pad is selected:

If you just want the trackpad to be left and right click, you will need to disable the up directional and down directional input.  You can do this by clicking in the gear settings and then select remove command.

Then map the left directional to left click and the right directional to right click.

With this layout, you can comfortably play any game that requires mouse and clicking/dragging. We've played this way in a lot of deck builders and casual point and click games.

Mouse + Click + Scroll Wheel - Strategy games, RTS, games that need zooming

In many games the mouse scroll wheel is used to do several things, including scrolling through long lists of items or zooming a camera in and out. Building on the directional pad method for left/right click mentioned above, we have found mapping the up direction and down direction to "Scroll Wheel Up" and "Scroll Wheel Down" works well. Click in each box like the previous section, navigate to mouse, and assign scroll wheel up and down.

One important note: if you want it to behave as a continuous scroll, you will need to click the gear icon → Settings → Turn on "Hold to Repeat (Turbo)".  You can change the "Repeat Rate" to tune how fast the scroll command repeats

If you need middle mouse click (for rotating or panning), you can set right trackpad click to middle mouse click. Or, if you don't like pressing and dragging at the same time, you can put middle mouse click on one of the grip buttons (L4/L5/R4/R5).

While this above set-up works great for us, you may find a better one for you,  Feel free to experiment and share your configurations. That is one of the most exciting parts about how the Steam Input Configurator works - you can map it how you like!

What if I just want more buttons?

If you just want more buttons, you can always set both trackpads to directional pads, button pads, single buttons, or even button swipes. All of these give you the ability to add more easily accessible buttons to your game, up to 8 if you use two trackpads as directional pads.

While you could do this for gamepad buttons, it is also powerful when remapping keyboard keys.

Depending on how many keys you need for a game you have several options. If you only need a couple of keys then setting the trackpad to a "Button Pad" or "Directional Pad" would work as well.

Mapping keyboard keys is similar to how you map other buttons, in this example you can set the left trackpad as a "Directional Pad" and then select "Add Command".

Select Keyboard from the input options and then select the key you would like to emulate.

Many games require a ctrl or shift press for an input, to act as an modifier.   One example is in RTS control is often used to select or modify a group.   To set an input chord to be control + 1.  

Select the settings of the Control Key.

Select "Add Extra Command"

This creates a chord for Ctrl + 1.

Not enough - more buttons please!

If 8 additional buttons aren't enough (we've played MMORPGs, we know how it goes), then virtual menus are another place where the trackpads shine. You can set the trackpad to bring up a virtual menu that can give you quick access to your own custom action menu within a game. Radial menus can have up to 20(!) options built in; touch menus up to 16; and hot bars up to 16.

We have a guide 100% focused on setting these up (Getting the most out of your Steam Controller: Virtual Menus), but wanted to mention it while you're thinking about trackpads:

Radial Menu - A circular menu will pop up on screen that point or move in a direction to select:

Touch Menu - Similar to radial menus, except the outputs are arranged in a grid or list format:

Hotbar - A virtual hot bar that can be navigated and selected, similar to inventory slots in a game:

If the game you want to play already has good controller support, the trackpads can still provide additional functionality. An example is using the trackpads to system level functions, like the volume buttons or capturing a screen shot.  

Using Directional Swipes to Change Volume

We've found one intuitive way to change the volume is to use the "directional swipe" trackpad behavior option.

From the trackpad behavior dropdown select Directional Swipe:

For Swipe Up, select System → then Volume Key Up:

For Swipe Down, select System → Then volume down.

To make the swipes more responsive (move the volume more positions with one swipe):  select the gear next to the Directional Swipe drop down and in the Scroll Wheel Mode drop down select Vertical Only.

Using the Trackpad to Invoke the On-Screen Keyboard

Another usage is to bring up the on screen keyboard. This is super handy because interacting with the on screen keyboard, for a controller, can feel challenging. We've designed the trackpads to be a simple and fast way to type.

In the trackpad behavior drop down, select Single Button.

Select Click, "add command."  System → Show Keyboard.

We find this interaction is best while setting the button behavior to "Start Press". Select the gear to the right of "Show Keyboard", select Regular Press and then Select Start Press.  This will make the keyboard appear as you press down.

With the power of the two trackpads and the Steam Input Configurator, virtually anything is possible with the Steam Controller. We encourage you to explore different ways to use the trackpads for how you like to play. 

Learn more about Steam Controller on its product page, and keep an eye on the Steam Hardware Blog for future how-to guides and closer looks. We also have this video on our official YouTube channel that takes you on a quick-start tour of Steam Controller.

Virtual menus are customizable on-screen menus controlled by selected inputs on your Steam Controller. While most commonly used with the trackpads, in some cases they can also be enabled with a thumbstick, the directional pad, button pads, or gyro.

There are three types of virtual menus you can create.   

Radial Menu - A circular menu will pop up on screen showing the assigned commands. You tilt/press the assigned input in the direction of your choice to make a selection.

Touch Menu - Similar to radial menu, except the outputs are arranged in a grid or list format.

Hotbar - A virtual hot bar you can navigate through, similar to inventory slots in a game.

Radial Menus can be created for:

• Trackpads

• Thumbsticks

• Directional pad

• ABXY button cluster

Creating a radial menu can be done by selecting "Create Radial Menu" from the behavior drop down for the input you intend to use.   

After selecting Create Radial Menu, you'll need to name it. This will allow Steam to remember your menu in case you decide to use it with other inputs within that same game's configuration.

Once named you can start creating your menu options. You can add a command to the center of the menu by setting a Radial Menu Center Button (1).  This allows the center of the circle to be a menu option as well. Note: Radial Menu Center button is only available in a menu created with the thumbstick or trackpads.

To add an entry for your radial menu, click Add Virtual Menu Entry (2) and map it like you would any other button. Continue adding entries to include all the options you want within the virtual menu. The maximum amount of entries you can have is 20.

A preview of what you will see on screen will be shown on the bottom left Radial Menu Settings window.

Customizing the Appearance of Radial Menus

For each Radial Menu Button, you can select an icon by selecting the circle to the left of the entry (1).  You can give your entry a custom name by selecting the gear to the right of the entry (2), and selecting rename command.

Using the Radial Menu in a game

For the thumbsticks, directional pad (D-Pad), and button pad, the default method for choosing and activating an entry in the Radial Menu is to highlight the desired entry while pressing down, then release the control while the selection is highlighted (Touch Release). Conversely, the trackpad default method involves pressing down on the control (Click).

More specifically:

• For Thumbsticks: Tilt the stick until your choice is highlighted, then release. 

• For D-Pad and Button Pad, you need to press one of the buttons (D-Pad or ABXY) to bring up the menu. If the button you pressed is not the desired action, continue pressing as you rotate through the buttons to get to your choice, then release the button to activate. Note: Rotating through the options is a bit more intuitive for D-Pad, but you can do the same thing with ABXY and it will work.

We recommend maxing out D-Pad/ABXY radial menus at 8 options; anything higher than that and you won't have the fidelity to select some options.

• For the Trackpads, highlight the desired selection and press down on it (Click).

To change the selection behavior, select General and Radial Menu Button Type.  

There are 4 ways to customize how the entry is selected:

1. Click - The command is sent when the input is pressed

2. Release - The command is sent when an entry is highlighted and the input is released

3. Touch Release - The command is sent when an entry is highlighted and the input is no longer being touched

4. Continuous - The command is continuously sent while the highlight is selected

You can further customize the location and size of the menu in the on screen display section.

Touch menus can be created for the following inputs:

• Trackpads

• Thumbsticks

• Gyro

Creating a Touch Menu for these inputs is done by selecting "Create Touch Menu" from the behavior drop down.   

After selecting Create Touch Menu, you will need to name the Touch Menu. This will allow Steam to remember it in case you use it with other inputs within that game configuration.

After naming your Touch Menu, you will be presented an option to start creating your menu. To add an entry for your Touch Menu, select Add Command (1) for Touch Menu Button 1 and map like you would any other button. To add more buttons select Virtual Menu Entry (2).

Continue to add entries to include all the options you want for the virtual menu. The maximum amount of entries you can have is 16.

A preview of what you will see on screen will be shown on the bottom left of the Create Touch Menu Settings window.

Customizing the Appearance of Touch Menus

For each Touch Menu Button, you can choose an icon by selecting the circle to the left of the entry (1). You can give your entry a custom name by selecting the gear to the right of the entry (2), and clicking Rename Command.

Using the Touch Menu in a game

For thumbstick and trackpad, the default method for selecting an entry in a Touch Menu is to highlight a selection and pressing in (on the thumbstick or trackpad) while the item is highlighted (Click).  For Gyro, by default, the selection is done by pressing A.

To change the selection behavior, select general and select touch menu activation style.

There are 4 options for how the entry is selected:

1. Click - The command is sent when the input is pressed

2. Release - The command is sent when an entry is highlighted and the input is released

3. Touch Release - The command is sent when an entry is highlighted and the input is no longer being touched

4. Continuous - the command is continuously sent while the highlight is selected

You can further customize the location and size of the menu in the on screen display section.

Hotbars can be created for:

• Trackpads

• Thumbsticks

• Directional pad (D-Pad)

• ABXY button cluster

Creating a Hotbar with these inputs is done by selecting "Create Hotbar Menu" from the behavior drop down.

After selecting Create Hotbar Menu, you will need to name it. This will allow Steam to remember your menu in case you decide to use it with other inputs within that game configuration. After naming your Hotbar, you will be presented an option to start creating entries. To add an entry to your Hotbar, select Add Virtual Menu Entry. The maximum amount of entries you can have is 16.

As you are creating the Hotbar menu, a preview of what will be seen on the screen is shown to the left of the Create Hotbar Menu Settings window.

Customizing the Appearance of Hotbars

You can select an icon to show for your entry by selecting the circle to the left of the entry (1). You can give your entry a custom name by selecting the gear to the right of the entry (2), and selecting rename command.

Using a Hotbar in a Game

To bring up the hotbar in a game, press "down" on the input you selected (for ABXY, "A" is considered "down"). Cycle through the options of the hotbar by pressing "left"/"right" on the input (for ABXY, "B/X" are considered "left"/"right" respectively). Once the desired command is selected press "up" on the input to send the command (for ABXY, "Y" is considered up).

Like the other virtual menus you can customize its size and location in the Onscreen Display section.

Virtual menus are an extremely powerful tool that you can use along with your Steam Controller to have quick access to all the commands you need. Whether you want access to emotes in an MMORPG, or toggle between inventory slots in an extraction shooter, virtual menus give you instant access to any command, however you want to access them!

Learn more about Steam Controller on its product page, and keep an eye on the Steam Hardware Blog for more tips and tricks with how-to guides and closer looks.

Looking for a mix of nature, history, and relaxation all in one spot? Hot Springs, South Dakota, is calling your name! Located at the southern end of the beautiful Black Hills, this historic town is one of the many destinations you’ll discover in our upcoming South Dakota DLC for American Truck Simulator. Scroll on down to take a closer look at our recreation of this unique getaway destination!

We have just shipped an updated Steam Deck Client to the Preview/Beta channel.

General

• Fixed an issue where the Steam Workshop would download an older version of an item if there were multiple versions of the item that were marked valid for game beta branch the user opted into.

• Fixed Steam html surfaces failing to render in some games (e.g. motd in Team Fortress 2).

Steam Input

• Fixed FlyDigi Vader 5 Pro in enhanced mode

• Steam Controller: Triggers and Grip Sense Activators now pulse the Rumble Haptics instead of Touchpad Haptics

• Steam Controller: if Grip Sense is used with an Activator slot, or as one of the Gyro Enable Buttons, default Haptics Level to low. This is to help confirm activation in the absence of true physical response. To disable, set the Haptics setting to "Off" in Grip Sense activator settings, or if used as a Gyro Enable Button, set Haptics to "Off" in the Gyro mode settings.

• Fix: "Reset Camera To Horizon" action was inconsistent in different engines - turn commands chunked into 2 to improve consistency.

• Fix: Quick Settings Left Trackpad points to correct settings, instead of toward Gyro.

• Steam Controller: Minor improvement to gyro micro stutter (ignore clone packets)

• Gyro to Joystick Camera: Defaulted Gyro Deadzone Speed and Gyro Precision Speed to 0 to aide tuning the correct Minimum Joystick Output - these settings would swallow the micro movements needed to check the minimum response to gyro movements. Also: added Minimum Joystick Output slider on the Configurator Quick Settings list.

• Fixed not being able to use Grip Sense to activate Touch Menus.

Steam Controller Firmware

• Additional fixes for trackpad 'dead zone' issues experienced by some Steam Controllers.

• Fixed IMU failures when using extended rumble.

The Steam Client Beta has been updated with the following changes:

General

• Fixed an issue where the Steam Workshop would download an older version of an item if there were multiple versions of the item that were marked valid for game beta branch the user opted into.

• Fixed Steam html surfaces failing to render in some games (e.g. motd in Team Fortress 2).

Linux

• Fixed firmware updates failing on systems where libhidapi was not installed.

Steam Input

• Fixed FlyDigi Vader 5 Pro in enhanced mode on Linux and macOS

• Steam Controller: Triggers and Grip Sense Activators now pulse the Rumble Haptics instead of Touchpad Haptics

• Steam Controller: if Grip Sense is used with an Activator slot, or as one of the Gyro Enable Buttons, default Haptics Level to low. This is to help confirm activation in the absence of true physical response. To disable, set the Haptics setting to "Off" in Grip Sense activator settings, or if used as a Gyro Enable Button, set Haptics to "Off" in the Gyro mode settings.

• Fix: "Reset Camera To Horizon" action was inconsistent in different engines - turn commands chunked into 2 to improve consistency.

• Fix: Quick Settings Left Trackpad points to correct settings, instead of toward Gyro.

• Steam Controller: Minor improvement to gyro micro stutter (ignore clone packets)

• Gyro to Joystick Camera: Defaulted Gyro Deadzone Speed and Gyro Precision Speed to 0 to aide tuning the correct Minimum Joystick Output - these settings would swallow the micro movements needed to check the minimum response to gyro movements. Also: added Minimum Joystick Output slider on the Configurator Quick Settings list.

• Fixed not being able to use Grip Sense to activate Touch Menus.

Steam Controller Firmware

• Additional fixes for trackpad 'dead zone' issues experienced by some Steam Controllers.

• Fixed IMU failures when using extended rumble.

Remote Play

• Alt-Enter toggles windowed mode

• Added a windowed mode toggle and 1:1 resize button to the mouse/keyboard overlay menu

• Window mode, position, and size are saved between sessions

• [p]Fixed a case of post-processing glitch when switching spectator targets on maps with different post-processing volumes.[/p][/*]
• [p]Fixed a case of stuck x-ray silhouettes when switching spectator targets.[/p][/*]
• [p]Fixed spectator damage overlay effect.[/p][/*]

• [p]Added weapon_accuracy_stack_boost_limit (default value "2") to apply ladder inaccuracy to players boosted by a stack of this many or more players.[/p][/*]
• [p]Adjustments to AWP draw to idle animation transition.[/p][/*]
• [p]Improved consistency of grenade jump throws and the accuracy of the jump throw preview camera.[/p][/*]

• [p]Adjusted model for window covers to show collision / decals when shot.[/p][/*]
• [p]Adjustments to player clipping and grenade clipping around windows, window covers, and vent entrance.[/p][/*]

• [p]Added Instance.RegisterCheatCommand[/p][/*]
• [p]Added Instance.GetAllPlayerControllers[/p][/*]
• [p]Added Instance.OnBeginRoundRestart[/p][/*]
• [p]Added Instance.SetRoundRemainingTime[/p][/*]
• [p]Added CSPlayerController.AddMoneySpendableNow[/p][/*]
• [p]Added CSPlayerController.GetMoneySpendableNow[/p][/*]
• [p]Added CSPlayerController.AddMoneyEarnedForNextRound[/p][/*]
• [p]Added CSPlayerController.GetMoneyEarnedForNextRound[/p][/*]
• [p]Added CSPlayerPawn.HasHelmet[/p][/*]
• [p]Added CSPlayerPawn.SetHasHelmet[/p][/*]
• [p]Added CSPlayerPawn.IsScoped[/p][/*]
• [p]Added CSWeaponBase.IsSilencerOn[/p][/*]
• [p]Changed the activator for OnPlayerUse to always be the player[/p][/*]
• [p]Changed the caller for OnPlayerUse to always be the used entity[/p][/*]
• [p]Fixed the value of CSInputs.LOOK_AT_WEAPON[/p][/*]
• [p]Fixed a potential crash in exception handling[/p][/*]

Today we've made some changes to the set of official store tags available on Steam, adding 17 new tags, removing 28, and merging/updating a handful of others. These changes are made with the goal of helping players identify the games that best fit their interests, and helping Steam generate appropriate recommendations.

Each year, we typically add a few new tags based on community feedback, but it has been a while since we last did so (Most recently in 2024 when we added Dice, Dwarf, Boomer Shooter, and Elf tags). In the time since, we've built up a list of tags to add, remove, and update.

Tags help developers better describe their game to players, but also help Steam understand what kind of game it is and show it accordingly to players via recommendations. Tags are also the foundation upon which each of the store hubs are built, allowing players to find all of the games tagged with their favorite genre, theme, style, or other relevant context.

Tags can be applied to a game by the developer, by players with non-limited accounts, and also by Steam moderators. This means that a game's tags can shift over time as more customers play the game and contribute their perspective on what tags are most relevant for each game. Over time, the types of games that exist and the way customers look at games changes too - so today, we have a list of changes to our current set of tags. Read on for specifics.

New tags are added when there are enough games on Steam that the tag could apply to, and when we think it helps establish a connection between games that couldn't already be attained through other combinations of tags. Some of these are content-specific, such as "Wolves" and "Zoo". Others represent broader genres such as "Bullet Heaven" and "Desktop Companion". And some tags cover specific game mechanics such as "Organizing" and "Decorating".

Here is the full list of tags added today:

• Bullet Heaven - The opposite of Bullet Hell; Focus on upgrades while automatically attacking hordes of enemies

• Desktop Companion - Games that only use part of your screen and keep you company while you do other things

• Organizing - Tidy up, de-clutter, or unpack, carefully placing items in virtual spaces

• Cleaning - Satisfying removal of grime and dirt from stuff

• Decorating - Creative placement of furniture and other objects

• Wuxia - Historical fantasy adventure featuring martial arts, competing sects, and inner qi

• Xianxia - Fantasy adventure focused on cultivating supernatural powers and strength

• Falling Blocks - Arranging, rotating, and placing blocks from above

• Espionage - Spying or secretly securing valuable intel

• Samurai - Japanese warriors best known for katanas, loyalty, and self-discipline

• Zoo - Care for and display a park full of wild animals

• Wolves - Also known as Canis Lupus

• Capybaras - The largest and possibly most adorable rodent species

• Animals - Cute and furry, or large and terrifying and everything in between

• Cult - Small groups with extreme devotion to a person, thing, or belief

• Poker - Draw, bet, and bluff

• Language Learning - Learning and teaching new languages

We haven't often removed tags from Steam, so we've built up quite a list. The set that we've removed today are done so because they no longer serve a good purpose for establishing connections between games or describing unique and useful elements of content in the game. Many of these tags have alternative options on Steam that better describe the content, and already have a high degree of overlap in application.

For example, both the "NSFW" tag and the "Mature" tag have a very high degree of overlap with more descriptive tags such as "Gore", "Violent", and "Sexual Content".

Some of the other tags that we are removing today are perhaps too subjective like "Well-Written" and "Masterpiece", resulting in disagreements and inconsistent application. Some tags just don't apply to very many products, such as "Drama" and "Ambient".

And lastly, there are a number of tags that apply to specific intellectual property, an attribute that community-sourced information like tags is not well suited for. These collections of intellectual property are typically already covered by the developers and publishers setting up franchise pages to collect together officially all the content shared by that IP.

Here is the full list of tags being removed:

• 3D Vision

• Ambient

• America

• Blood

• Crowdfunded

• Cult Classic

• Documentary

• Drama

• Dungeons & Dragons

• Electronic

• Experience

• Feature Film

• Foreign

• GameMaker

• Games Workshop

• Illuminati

• Kickstarter

• LEGO

• Masterpiece

• Mature

• Movie

• Narration

• NSFW

• Roguevania

• RPGMaker

• Warhammer 40K

• Web Publishing

• Well-Written

We also have a set of tags that we've renamed or merged together to clean up some redundancy or to explain the content more clearly.

• "Clicker" has been renamed into "Incremental" to capture the broader essence of games that focus on numbers going up.

• "Conversation" has been renamed to "Dialogue Heavy" for clarity

• We've made a few tags plural to match other tags: Dogs, Foxes, Vampires, Elves, Dwarves, and Assassins

• "Pool" was humorously applied to games with a swimming pool, so we've renamed this to "Billiards", which is the overarching term for all games played with cue sticks anyway

• Merging "Jet" into "Flight", as the term "Jet" was not unique enough.

• Merging "Unforgiving" into "Difficult" since these terms mostly overlap in usage and intent

Q. What do I do with this information?

A. If any of the newly added tags are of interest to you, feel free to explore the new store hubs to explore the relevant games. If you are aware of a game that should have one of these new tags and doesn't already, you can apply it yourself to help that game get categorized properly.

Q. How are tags applied to games?

A. User tags are applied by game developers in the process of preparing for release, and can also be applied by users to help fill in the gaps where games may be missing useful metadata. To add your own tag to a game, just visit the store page for a game and click the little "+" (Plus) symbol next to the list of tags that appear near the top of the page.

Q. What if I see a game tagged with something that is wrong or inaccurate?

A. Letting customers tag games directly adds a bunch of valuable data to the store. But yes, sometimes people deliberately mis-tag a game. If you see that, feel free to report it to Valve or the game developer- it's quick and easy for a developer to remove a tag if they need to do so. To report a tag you see, just visit the store page for a game and click the little "+" (Plus) symbol next to the list of tags that appear near the top of the page. That will open a pop-up with a list of tags. Just click the little flag that appears next to the tag you wish to report.

Q. What if I had marked as 'excluded' one of the tags that got merged or updated?

A. Your excluded tag should migrate with any changes, so that you're still ignoring the thing that you wanted. (FYI for those not familiar with excluding tags: You can exclude specific tags to filter them out of most places across the Steam store. Just visit your store preferences and scroll down to "Tags To Exclude")

Q. Why isn't my favorite tag on this list?

A. We are not all-knowing, so we sometimes miss stuff. Let us know in the comments. We also don't agree with the appropriateness of every tag that the community advocates for, so we may be unable to add every tag that y'all want.

Q. What are the most common tags on Steam?

A. The "Singleplayer" tag wins by being applied to over 98,000 games (about 62% of all games on Steam). The runner up is the "Indie" tag, which is applied to more than 82,000 games (about 53% of all games on Steam). Then "Action", "Casual", and "Adventure" in that order.

Do you get seasick? No? Great! Wait, yes? Also great—because being on or under the water during Steam Ocean Fest keeps you in the safety of your gaming chair the whole time.

You'll find discounts on games from adventurous to relaxing, and everywhere in between: Ocean explorations and shark encounters; pirate adventures and maritime battles; even underwater shooters and cozy tourist towns by the sea.

Join us now for Steam Ocean Fest, on through May 25th at 10 a.m. Pacific on Steam.

0.5.1 (2026-05-17)

• Feature: [#24242] [Plugin] Add ride-breakdown hooktype.
• Feature: [#24879] [Plugin] Add methods for showing and hiding gridlines.
• Feature: [#26327] Add ‘guests entertained’ statistic to entertainers.
• Improved: [#26374] Add higher resolution app icons for Android.
• Improved: [#26386] Initial window scale and toolbar options on fresh Android installations.
• Change: [#26476] Limit creation of new station styles to prepare for more flexibility with ride stations and entrances.
• Fix: [#25581] Chart drawing issue on some platforms due to compiler optimisation.
• Fix: [#26019] Inverted and Inverted Flying Roller Coaster large half loops glitch with the train and don‘t draw in tunnels at some angles (original bug).
• Fix: [#26183] The ride stat graph placeholder text is not drawn in the expected position.
• Fix: [#26287] Game crashes upon connect/disconnect of physical keyboard.
• Fix: [#26299] Single Rail S-Bend sprites don’t fully connect to the next track piece at certain angles.
• Fix: [#26352] Large scenery items are incorrectly labelled as ‘banners’ in the tile inspector.
• Fix: [#26352] The label for path additions is using the wrong text colour in the tile inspector.
• Fix: [#26360] Inverted Lay-down Roller Coaster helices are invisible when loading old saves.
• Fix: [#26396] [Plugin] Socket interfaces were not closing properly and firing up correctly in parallel.
• Fix: [#26410] Tiles with water can draw incorrectly when there is something underwater and nothing above water.
• Fix: [#26418] Game crashes when a stack overflow occurs in plugin code.
• Fix: [#26419] Drop count & negative g’s stat requirements for Flying Roller Coaster don’t get nullified by having an inversion.
• Fix: [#26421] Wrong scenery tab highlighted when more than 64 scenery groups are selected.
• Fix: [#26425] Benches don’t reduce watching spots from 4 to 2 while other path additions do (should be reversed).
• Fix: [#26432] Guests choose to head for rides they have already ridden if they don’t have a map.
• Fix: [#26492] Drag tool shows per-tile error instead of total cost when running out of money midway through placement.
• Fix: [#26510] Displayed air time overflows after 655.35 seconds instead of the internal maximum of 1966.05 seconds.

Release created in https://github.com/OpenRCT2/OpenRCT2/actions/runs/25987971355

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Today, we’re happy to share a closer look at Stonehenge, one of Britain’s most iconic and mysterious landmarks, which will be featured in our UK Rework for Euro Truck Simulator 2. This prehistoric circular megalithic stone structure has stood watch over the rolling countryside for thousands of years, and continues to captivate visitors from around the world with its scale, history, and mystery.

How well do you know Éire? Our team is hard at work creating the Isle of Ireland for Euro Truck Simulator 2, and we’ve got some early work in progress screenshots to share with you!

We have just shipped an updated Steam Deck Client to the Preview/Beta channel.

General

• Fixed a rare case where the Steam Controller welcome dialog could appear while updating the controller's firmware.

Remote Play

• Fixed the client disconnecting after a short period of time when doing non-local streaming

Steam Input:

• Fixed several small styling regressions from the previous beta client

Steam Controller Firmware:

• Fixed an issue where continuous rumble would sometimes break Gyro input

• Another adjustment to trackpad touch settings

The Steam Client Beta has been updated with the following changes:

General

• Fixed a rare case where the Steam Controller welcome dialog could appear while updating the controller's firmware.

Remote Play

• Fixed the client disconnecting after a short period of time when doing non-local streaming

In-Game Overlay

• Fixed a case where Performance Monitor could over report frame rate if a game erroneously calls NVIDIA APIs to get new frame tokens at a much higher rate than their actual Present frame rate

• Fixed cases where the overlay may not immediately cover the entire screen when first invoked

• Fixed cases where the Big Picture mode overlay notifications may be positioned incorrectly until the overlay is first invoked

Steam Input:

• Fixed several small styling regressions from the previous beta client

Steam Controller Firmware:

• Fixed an issue where continuous rumble would sometimes break Gyro input

• Another adjustment to trackpad touch settings

• [p]Fixed various holes in map[/p][/*]
• [p]Fixed surfacetypes for various materials.[/p][/*]
• [p]Added grating to some windows to make them block bullets.[/p][/*]
• [p]Tweaks to player and grenade clipping.[/p][/*]

• [p]Fixed a case where it was possible to cancel a grenade throw after the throw was started near the end of the pin pull animation.[/p][/*]
• [p]Miscellaneous stability improvements.[/p][/*]

• [p]Fixed bug that prevented the asset in use from being selected when model browser was opened.[/p][/*]
• [p]Fixed bug with layered materials with same surface property on all layers. [/p][/*]

• [p]Added roundmvpanthem_02 for all NIGHTMODE II music kits which plays at 1:5 ratio.[/p][/*]

It's so exciting when something you've been working on for quite some time is finally done. Today is the day, as the long-awaited Illinois DLC for American Truck Simulator is ready to welcome its first truckers!

The Illinois DLC is now released and available on Steam!

We announced Illinois in February 2025, and since then, our asset and map designers have done some amazing work on bringing it to life for our #BestCommunityEver. As we brought you updates on this DLC in the past year, we have seen your amazing feedback and excitement about this map expansion. We are so happy that today, we are finally able to explore it! And believe us, there's so much to discover.

Make the most of your visit to the wonderful Prairie State and enjoy every moment as you:

• Explore 11 faithfully recreated cities, such as Chicago, Springfield, Rockford, and Peoria!
• See iconic landmarks like Chicago’s Buckingham Memorial Fountain, the Springfield State Capitol, or the Rock Valley College, and a meticulously recreated downtown in Rockford.
• Deliver cargo to brand-new industries, including a construction equipment factory and dealer, marinas on Lake Michigan and Rend Lake, and Chicago's famous international airport.
• Discover 7 scenic towns (settlements) like Macomb or Chenoa.
• Drive from the starting point of the legendary Route 66 in Chicago!
• Explore stunning natural locations including Rend Lake, the Mississippi River, Shawnee National Forest, and Lake Michigan.
• Become the vital link in Illinois’ national rail network, picking up cargo from Chicago’s Intermodal hub and delivering it by truck across the state.
• Enjoy varied driving conditions, from wide-open plains, hilly and forested areas to bustling urban streets in big cities.
• Uncover hidden gems across Illinois, from hidden roads and viewpoints to easter eggs and more!

From vibrant cities like Chicago, one of the Midwest's most iconic cities, to breathtaking landscapes shaped by the Mississippi River, winding past picturesque towns, there will be no shortage of new and beautiful locations to explore and haul some cargo. If you own some of our already released DLCs, you will also be able to travel the full length of the legendary Route 66 with the release of Illinois!

Release Live Stream

Don't forget about our special Release Live Stream, which is going to start today at 3 pm CEST. We will introduce some special guests, including the CEO of SCS Software, Pavel Šebor, who will tell you more about this new map expansion while we drive through Illinois. Towards the end of the live stream, we will officially release the Illinois DLC together, so make sure to be there!

We are eager for you to start trucking in the Prairie State. Remember to tag us in your photos and videos from this map expansion using the hashtag #CruisingIllinois on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky. If you'll enjoy your time in Illinois, we'd really appreciate it if you left a review on its DLC Steam store page. We thank you for all your support, and until next time, happy haulin'!

We have just shipped an updated Steam Deck Client to the Preview/Beta channel.

General

• Fixed a crash related to the Steam Controller.

• The 'Legacy Steam Runtime' compatibility tool is now an optional standalone download instead of being bundled with the Steam client.

Library

• Improved EULA scrolling behavior when using a controller

Settings

• Updated the layout and styles for client settings across desktop, Big Picture and controller configuration to improve readability and organization.

• Notification settings has been updated to allow changing e-mail, client, and mobile notification preferences in one place

• Directly navigating to a specific settings page (i.e by activating the network icon in the header) will now focus the first setting in that section instead of the settings navigation menu.

Friends & Chat

• Friend status will now update much more quickly after waking your device from sleep or toggling network connectivity

Steam Input

• Removed several configuration options from incompatible inputs. Digital Buttons can no longer be set Press types that require Analog input and Gyro can no longer be set to incompatible Radial Menu or Hotbar. These options will still be available for all compatible inputs.

• Fixed Gyro to Joystick Camera timing issue - should appear smoother across all controllers.

• Added an extra option to Gyro to Joystick Camera - Angle Catchup can be active while gyro ratcheting.

• Fixed micro-stutter in Steam Controller gyro

• You can now turn off "Track Pad locking" - by default each trackpad is disabled while the corresponding joystick is either deflected or the joystick's capacitive sensor has been activated. This is to avoid accidental track pad touches when using a joystick. Find the setting in: Settings->Controller->Details->Calibration & Advanced->Trackpad Lockout.

• Fixed Grip Sense sensor page Grip Range slider, and adjusted explanations.

Desktop Mode

• Fixed a case where dropdown windows and profile hover windows could get stuck on screen.

The Steam Client Beta has been updated with the following changes:

Settings

• Updated the layout and styles for client settings across desktop, Big Picture and controller configuration to improve readability and organization.

• Notification settings has been updated to allow changing e-mail, client, and mobile notification preferences in one place.

Linux

• The 'Legacy Steam Runtime' compatibility tool is now an optional standalone download instead of being bundled with the Steam client.

• Fixed a case where dropdown windows and profile hover windows could get stuck on screen.

• Fixed a crash related to the Steam Controller on Linux

SteamRT3 Beta

• Fixed a failure to start the client and proton games on systems where SDL_VIDEO_DRIVER doesn't include the x11 or windows options.

Steam Input

• Removed several configuration options from incompatible inputs. Digital Buttons can no longer be set Press types that require Analog input and Gyro can no longer be set to incompatible Radial Menu or Hotbar. These options will still be available for all compatible inputs.

• Fixed Gyro to Joystick Camera timing issue - should appear smoother across all controllers.

• Added an extra option to Gyro to Joystick Camera - Angle Catchup can be active while gyro ratcheting.

• Fixed micro-stutter in Steam Controller gyro

• You can now turn off "Track Pad locking" - by default each trackpad is disabled while the corresponding joystick is either deflected or the joystick's capacitive sensor has been activated. This is to avoid accidental track pad touches when using a joystick. Find the setting in: Settings->Controller->Details->Calibration & Advanced->Trackpad Lockout.

• Fixed Grip Sense sensor page Grip Range slider, and adjusted explanations.

Today, we’re excited to bring not one, but two new additions to American Truck Simulator! Whether you prefer the power and comfort of long-haul trucking or the cutting-edge innovation of electric mobility, this update delivers something special for every kind of driver. Introducing the all-new 2025 Volvo VNL and Volvo VNR Electric!

From refined aerodynamics and driver-focused interiors to sustainable, zero-emission technology, both vehicles showcase Volvo’s commitment to innovation and performance. Let’s take a closer look at what each of these incredible trucks has to offer.

Volvo VNL 2025

The all-new Volvo VNL arrives in American Truck Simulator as a step forward in long-haul trucking. Designed with efficiency, comfort, and modern styling in mind, this truck is built to conquer the open road.

Players will immediately notice the redesigned exterior, featuring smoother lines and improved aerodynamics. Every detail has been carefully crafted, making it a perfect companion for those long interstate journeys.

Inside the cabin, the VNL focuses on ergonomics and accessibility, with a fully digital dashboard and thoughtfully placed controls ensuring maximum comfort during extended trips.

A wide range of customization options is also available, including chassis configurations, paint jobs, accessories, and much more. This also includes a special paint job for the SCS box trailer.

Under the hood, players can select from a variety of powerful engine options paired with smooth transmissions, delivering the performance and reliability expected from a modern long-haul truck.

Volvo VNR Electric

Alongside the VNL, we’re proud to introduce the Volvo VNR Electric, bringing the first electric truck to American Truck Simulator. While the VNL is a full-size truck that you can own, customize, and expand your fleet with, the VNR Electric is available exclusively through Quick Jobs, giving players a chance to experience electric trucking in a curated way.

This truck represents a modern era of transportation, designed primarily for urban and regional distribution. Its fully electric powertrain delivers smooth, quiet operation, offering a completely different driving experience compared to traditional trucks.

Visually, the VNR Electric stands out with its modern, clean design and distinctive lighting elements. The interior reflects the same philosophy, offering a sleek and functional workspace tailored for urban operations.

We’re incredibly excited to see you hit the road with both the Volvo VNL and the Volvo VNR Electric. Whether you’re hauling across states or navigating city streets, these trucks open up new experiences in American Truck Simulator.

We look forward to your feedback, screenshots, and stories from the road!

Until then, be sure to stay connected with us on our social media channels on X/Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, YouTube, and Instagram, and by subscribing to our newsletter so you don’t miss any future updates! Stay safe and happy haulin'!

Available in beta starting today, we're releasing major updates to the Steam Community Market to improve item pages, listings, and search/filters. The Community Market enables Steam players to buy and sell in-game and Steam Community items to each other. Over the past few years, the number of games participating in the Market has grown significantly. More than 13,000 games now have Steam Community items available on the Market, and more than 700 have in-game items. These game economies have outgrown the Market’s existing browsing and discovery tools, so it's time for an upgrade. Our newly expanded tools provide the Market with a deeper understanding of item data from games - so it's easier to learn about the unique features of items listed for sale, directly on Steam.

Since Counter-Strike items are popular in the Community Market (and a game we work closely with) we’ve used them to experiment and build out this extensive item integration, but we look forward to other games leveraging these same new features.

Here are some noteworthy upgrades:

Sometimes you just need a bigger view, and now you get it! Listings can now feature more images, item descriptions, and callouts for listing specific information such as wear/float, pattern template, applied accessories, etc.

Counter-Strike players will immediately notice the new images generated specifically for that listing, rather than generic images, to showcase each item's unique features. No more having to fire up the game in order to make your purchasing decision. (Not just new listings! As part of our internal testing we generated over 27,000,000 unique images to backfill existing Counter-Strike listings.)

Once you narrow down to the desired item, you now get a larger listing view, and you can flip through all the matching results, making it easy to compare the variants of a skin in place.

The Market now leverages all these new item details for better filtering, grouping, and visibility, making it easier for you to find what you want.

With a better understanding of attached items like stickers and charms, we link directly to their Market listings. Additionally, we surface that information to show better images and current values.

Games can now feature unique item properties on their listings. For Counter-Strike skins, that means a better view of things like pattern template, wear/float, and charm template.

(This additional data from Counter-Strike goes a long way toward making listings more accurate, but it's extra useful when bubbled up into the filter options. All games using Steam’s Inventory system — which includes most games on the Market — will automatically benefit from dynamic filters based on item data, with no additional work required from developers. Read more about dynamic filters below.)

Many Market items are simply variations of the same base item, and we think it's easier to make your selection when you can easily compare them. For some Counter-Strike skins there might be 10 different versions of an item that vary based on one characteristic. When a game decides to group their items together you'll find a set of tabs that let you filter them quickly. For Counter-Strike skins you can use the tabs to get a price overview. Hover over the tab to preview that wear level, then click it to filter both the listings and the graph below.

Many of today's changes require no additional game-specific data to make the Market a better experience for all users and games. We think these updates will feel great across the board, whether you've come to window shop or you know exactly what you are looking for.

All the data mentioned above gets shown off on the updated item pages - which have a new, wider layout to accommodate a full-width grid of items for sale.

Here you can take advantage of additional category links, better graphs, and new dynamic filters. 

Scroll down to see the new listing cards with larger images, as well as asset and accessory info.

Graphs have also received an overhaul. In addition to many general usability and performance fixes, graphs now display volume data alongside price and can display multiple datasets for grouped items.

If you've used the Market lately, you've probably seen the new dynamic filters we've been beta testing. Those will now appear on both item pages and search pages alongside the new listing cards. Plus you'll see price filtering and new sorting options like popularity, price, quantity, etc.

These filters are built from existing item data, so you can filter (and sometimes search) against anything we know about. We've made searching and filtering faster - changing a filter immediately updates the displayed results (plus they automatically load more when you scroll.)

Now it's easier to switch between in-game items and Steam Community items. Buying and selling Steam Community items such as emoticons, trading cards, or profile backgrounds has been possible on the Market for years, but the relevant filters were hard to find. 

While you're browsing Trading Card Booster Packs, you might also notice we're starting to introduce cross-linking between containers and contained items.

These changes are available now, along with smaller quality of life updates such as automatic loading of listings while scrolling, broader access to advanced search from more page headers, breadcrumb navigation, and text entry support across long lists.

All of this work builds upon other features we've released over the past year including support for Trade Protected Items, game specific filters, price filtering, search autocomplete, and improving overall reliability.

Where can I find the changes?

Today we're updating the Community Market's item pages and search results. We're learning as we go and this is a great point for us to gather feedback from players and game developers.

How can I join the beta?

You don't need to! We're enabling the Market beta for everyone. If you need to opt out, there's a button at the top of the item and search pages.

Where can I give feedback?

We're excited to hear what you think in the Steam Community Market discussions.

For our Road Trip project in American Truck Simulator, we continue to expand a growing collection of legendary vehicles that feel perfectly at home cruising endless highways and scenic byways across America. Today, we’re excited to share a work-in-progress look at the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody, one of the most iconic American muscle cars of modern times.

Few vehicles represent contemporary American muscle quite like the Challenger. The Hellcat Widebody stands as a bold statement from an era when muscle cars reached new heights of power, presence, and character, while still paying homage to the unmistakable design language that defined generations before it. It is already regarded as a modern legend, a car that proudly carries the spirit of American performance into the present day.

The Dodge Challenger has always been about more than numbers on paper. It’s about attitude, confidence, and the feeling of pointing a long hood toward the horizon. The Hellcat amplifies all of that with its aggressive stance, widened bodywork, and unmistakable road presence.

In Road Trip, this vehicle is about experiencing the vastness of North America from behind the wheel of an automotive icon, cruising historic highways, rolling through small towns, and stopping to admire the diverse landscapes and landmarks that define each state. This is the kind of car meant for memorable journeys, where the drive itself is just as important as the destination.

With every new Road Trip vehicle, our team continues to raise the bar for visual fidelity, and the Dodge Challenger Hellcat Widebody is no exception. From the muscular exterior proportions to carefully crafted interior details, our vehicle artists are paying close attention to materials, lighting, and overall authenticity to ensure the car feels believable and immersive within the world of American Truck Simulator.

Whether parked at a scenic overlook or cruising under changing skies, we want this Challenger to look and feel right in every situation, making each Road Trip experience more atmospheric and visually rewarding.

We’re looking forward to sharing more updates as the Road Trip project evolves. Please remember that this car is still a work in progress, and further refinements are planned as development continues. With legendary vehicles like the Dodge Challenger Hellcat Widebody, we aim to clearly set expectations: Road Trip is about exploration, atmosphere, and celebrating American automotive culture on the open road, one unforgettable journey at a time.

Ready to hit the road in style? Be sure to add the RAM & Dodge Car Pack for American Truck Simulator to your Steam Wishlist today! To stay up to date with the latest development news for Road Trip, don’t forget to follow our blog, subscribe to our newsletter, and follow us on X/Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, and Instagram.

The Steam Client Beta has been updated with the following changes:

General

• Fixed streamable non-Steam games showing when "Ready to Play should include Streamable games" is toggled off

Steam Input

• Fixed an issue where Steam Controller grip thresholds were loaded incorrectly in the device calibration screen

• Fixed an issue preventing the Steam button chord configuration from being edited for the Steam Controller

• Fixed an issue with doubled input when the Steam Controller is charging on the puck

We have just shipped an updated Steam Deck Client to the Preview/Beta channel.

General

• Fixed streamable non-Steam games showing in Library when Remote Play is turned off

• Fixed the "View friends list" link in the Big Picture home page opening the older non-QAM version of the friends list

Steam Input

• Fixed an issue where Steam Controller grip thresholds were loaded incorrectly in the device calibration screen

• Fixed an issue preventing the Steam button chord configuration from being edited for the Steam Controller

• Fixed an issue with doubled input when the Steam Controller is charging on the puck

• Track Pad Locking - You can now turn off the Joystick vs Trackpad Locking behavior in Settings->Controller->Details->Calibration & Advanced->Trackpad Lockout. This feature is intended to avoid accidental touches on the touchpad while using a Joystick, but it can now be turned off.

SteamOS 3.7.24 has just been released for all users with the following changes:

General

• Reduce chance of audio instability on resume from suspend

• Security and stability updates

Today, we’re taking a closer look behind the scenes of Building Canada, focusing on the creation of British Columbia and what it takes to bring it into American Truck Simulator. We spoke with Patrix, our Map Technical Lead for ATS, who shared his perspective on how this ambitious new region is being brought to life and how the new road networks are being made.

"Hi, my name is Patrik (also known as Patrix). Over the past 15 exciting years at SCS Software, a mix of good fortune and personal dedication has taken me on quite a journey, from starting as a junior map designer on Euro Truck Simulator 2 just months before its release, to my current role as a Technical Lead working on American Truck Simulator."

"It's a pleasure and a big responsibility to be trusted by the company in terms of technical knowledge and pipeline correctness. In my early years, I recall breaking a lot of technical rules to achieve any sort of visual that was (or could be) considered nice. Doing that, I was many times inevitably instructed by experienced senior colleagues about how the game engine works and why I should be careful about overloading hardware with random details or items in map scenes."

"As years flew by, I became more responsible and stood rather rational about the complexity of the map and shaped a pretty exact vision of where the limits are and how the map should be done, so that it works smoothly on any computer and is also accessible to maintenance, which is critical for projects that live on for more than 10 years, just like ATS recently proved to be able to."

"Right now, my responsibility is to set and maintain a certain technical consistency in terms of how our map is being done across the entire ATS, which means syncing the attitude towards map creation across several projects and across different map teams."

"When our CEO, Pavel Šebor, approached us initially with the idea of going north to British Columbia, we immediately knew it would be a challenge. With its significance for the future of ATS, British Columbia reminds me of the times when we worked on Texas. Both were to be bigger than regular DLCs and should also carry a lot of specific new content. Logically, as we are going to another country in ATS for the very first time, we had to prepare a new set of road signage, both vertical and horizontal. Vertical signage are road-side signs, and those in Canada are very similar to the ones in the United States."

"Small things like font differences, dimensions, or rules for placement are exactly those little details we are looking for and following, so that our community of experienced drivers will immediately recognize that they are in Canada, even from unspecified random screenshots."

"Just like we did for the US, we read lots of Canadian documentation to get things right. One of the more complicated decisions was to pick the correct width of road lines. If documentation gives you a variety, what would you pick? The middle, one of the edge cases, or the most common? Also, how would we know from Prague what the most common roadline width is in Canada? When we found answers to these initial questions, even bigger issues appeared with implementation. For our Prism3D engine, different roadlines mean lots of new data that we had to create. Our in-game roads are made from templates of roads and more complex baked segments that we call prefabs. So if we wanted a slightly different yellow and a little wider/narrower lines, it meant making hundreds of road templates and prefabs to be able to bring this detail into British Columbia."

"Another part of my role as technical leader is to check all city layouts and compare their ambitions to the rest of the map, so that we stay consistent in the way we shape the game world."

"Now, British Columbia is actually pretty huge, but just like in many other cases, it is disproportionally balanced in terms of city spacing. The area around Vancouver is surrounded by a huge agglomeration of suburbs, and even cities across the water, like Victoria, were challenging in terms of where to put them on our map scale. Obviously, we had to sacrifice some bridges or interesting road pieces near Vancouver, but on the other hand, we will bring both border crossings from the US to Canada below Vancouver. The one at Interstate 5 is now relevant since we know our car-driving module, Road Trip, is on the way."

"I hope that players will truly enjoy exploring British Columbia and come to appreciate the sheer scale and ambition behind the project. While bringing a brand-new map like this to life comes with its fair share of challenges, it’s also been an incredibly fun and rewarding experience for the team, one we’re excited to share with the community."