Latest news with #Valve
Mint
6 hours ago
- Mint
This new Steam feature exposes AI frame generation in games
Valve launched a new update in Steam, making game metrics tracking even better. The minimal FPS counter has been upgraded to a more comprehensive performance monitoring tool for PC games. This upgrade brings more detailed diagnostics directly into games, providing insights that were previously only available through advanced tools like MSI Afterburner or Rivatuner. This new in-game overlay performance monitor is currently in beta, and it can detect if any game is using frame generation or not. Here is everything you need to know and how to get it on your PC right now. Expanded performance metrics: The new overlay tracks more than just FPS; it shows CPU and GPU utilisation, clock speeds, temperature, and memory usage. Graphs are also available for frame rate monitoring. Frame generation detection: The in-game overlay can detect and inform the user if the game is using frame generation tech like DLSS, FSR, or XeSS. So, gamers can know if the smooth frame rates are due to the raw performance of the system or not. Customizability: You can customise the look of the overlays easily from the settings. The overlay position, text contrast, and background opacity can be adjusted for better visibility. This is the same popular performance monitor from Steam Deck, and soon it will be available for Linux and SteamOS. First, you need to upgrade the Steam client to the beta version by selecting "Steam Beta Update" in Client Beta Participation under Interface settings. The client automatically downloads and installs the beta update, and then you can follow the steps below. Select the In-Game tab and scroll to locate the 'Overlay performance monitor'. Select the "Show performance monitor" drop-down and choose the position for the overlay. Finally, click the "Performance detail level" drop-down and select the desired option. This new in-game overlay by Valve is a nice upgrade since not everyone can go through the hassle of setting up Afterburner or Rivatuner. And Windows' Game Bar performance overlay is buggy and unreliable.
Engadget
a day ago
- Engadget
Steam adds more accessibility features
Steam has introduced a new batch of features for improved accessibility in the latest beta of the gaming client. The platform is adding a sliding scale for adjusting UI size, a high contrast mode to make text and buttons more distinct from the background, and a reduce motion setting to disable select animations and page transitions. These three features are available for devices running SteamOS and in Steam's Big Picture Mode, which displays a full-screen user interface for easier legibility. In addition, SteamOS devices are getting support for a screen reader. This feature has adjustments for the volume, rate and pitch of the audio output. The new beta also offers color filters for SteamOS devices, allowing the user to choose modes of grayscale, invert brightness or invert colors. This change to visual output with colors applies to both the Steam client and to games. For now, only the Steam Deck and the Lenovo Legion Go S run Valve's gaming-focused operating system, but the company is clearly planning to add more devices in the future. "These new settings are only the first available of the accessibility features we're working on, and we're excited to put even more tools in the hands of our players," the company said in the blog post announcing the new updates.
The Verge
a day ago
- The Verge
Steam is adding screen reader support and other accessibility tools
Valve is introducing accessibility features for players with disabilities in its latest beta for Steam Big Picture Mode and SteamOS. The features — listed in full and explained here — include options to modify the Steam UI, like a high contrast mode, as well as a built-in screen reader for SteamOS. In its post, Valve describes the features as 'just the first accessibility features we're making available.' For now players on both Big Picture Mode and SteamOS will get: SteamOS devices (at this point, the Steam Deck and Lenovo Legion Go S) can also find: A screen reader with adjustable pitch, volume, and reading rate, enabled and disabled either through settings or with a two-button shortcut A color filter that affects both the Steam UI and any games you're playing — you can choose between grayscale, inverted display brightness, or inverted display colors The features are available on a new Accessibility tab in the settings, seen below for SteamOS. Earlier this month Valve also started letting Steam users filter games by accessibility support — including some options similar to the ones above, as well as adjustable difficulty and speech-to-text or text-to-speech chat. It's encouraging players with disabilities to suggest more features in a discussion thread (a mono audio toggle is looking popular.) And for anyone who doesn't need these features, while I haven't been able to try the beta yet, it sounds like might all be getting a bare-bones universal Kurosawa mode.
The Verge
3 days ago
- The Verge
Four reasons why it's a surprisingly bad time to buy a gaming handheld
I love modern handheld gaming, and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. Just maybe not today? If you decided today was the day to finally drop hundreds of dollars on your first handheld, I might advise you to wait. Four reasons: The best handhelds are sold out The second-best handhelds just got more expensive Third-tier handhelds are riddled with compromises The entire state of gaming handhelds will improve if you wait The best handhelds are sold out If you're reading this story, I suspect you've been on the fence about handheld gaming machines — until the Nintendo Switch 2, the fastest-selling game console of all time, caught your attention. Perhaps you liked the idea of bigger Mario Kart or smoother Fortnite and Pokémon; perhaps you liked the idea of taking graphically intensive games like Cyberpunk 2077 on the go. Unfortunately, the $450 Nintendo Switch 2 is sold out everywhere as of this writing, and its alternatives may not offer the experience you'd hope. The $550 Steam Deck OLED is the best, most Switch-like handheld you can buy thanks to its pick-up-and-play SteamOS operating system, its similarly decent battery life, and an eye-popping HDR OLED screen. You might even be happier with a Deck OLED than a Switch 2 if you prefer the freedom of PC gaming to Nintendo's first-party games. But the Steam Deck OLED, too, is entirely out of stock in the US and Canada. You'd have to wait. The second-best handhelds just got more expensive If I were buying today and couldn't get a Switch 2 or Deck OLED, what would I buy instead? A few months ago, the choice seemed clear: I would personally spend a bit more money for the $800 Asus ROG Ally X, the best Windows gaming handheld yet — and arguably the best PC gaming handheld period once you replace Windows with the SteamOS-like Bazzite. If I couldn't afford that, I would have waited for the $500 Lenovo Legion Go S, the first true Steam Deck competitor authorized to use SteamOS. But both of those prices no longer apply. Ahead of the Nintendo Switch 2's launch on June 5th, Asus and Lenovo's handhelds suddenly cost $100 more than promised in the US. So does their rival the MSI Claw, with both 7- and 8-inch models $100 pricier than originally communicated. It's possible these increases are tied to China tariffs and could go down again, but neither company would tell us so. Third-tier handhelds are riddled with compromises If money were burning a hole in my pocket, the next thing I'd probably do is talk myself into buying a first-gen handheld PC. I'd (correctly!) point out that the original $650 Asus ROG Ally and original Lenovo Legion Go have the same AMD Z1 Extreme chips as the newer Ally X and Legion Go S. But I'd be tricking myself into buying dramatically shorter battery life and a less comfortable experience. Both the Ally X and the Legion Go S are better than the originals, with slightly better performance and far longer playtime from the Ally X's doubled battery pack. Asus and Lenovo have made their cooling systems quieter and more efficient, the Legion's speakers and charging are improved, and its lower-res variable-refresh-rate screen can sometimes make games run smoothly that'd be choppy on its predecessor. In some cases ignorance is bliss; some power users would be perfectly happy if they found a good deal on the original Ally or Legion Go. But for a new buyer, the totality of these changes could be profound — the difference between 'I don't know why anybody would want a PC gaming handheld' and 'where has this been all my life?' The entire state of gaming handhelds will improve if you wait But the most profound change, for many gamers, would be having a potent portable game system that just works. The original Nintendo Switch offered portability and ease of use, but it's never been a powerhouse; almost all of today's Windows handhelds are more powerful than a Switch 2 or a Steam Deck, but I can't rely on them to wake and sleep and launch games reliably. Excitingly, both Valve and Microsoft finally appear poised to fix that. Valve is finally bringing its pick-up-and-play SteamOS to other handhelds beyond the Steam Deck, including official support for the Legion Go S and unofficial support for the Legion Go and Asus ROG Ally line. (But as I'll explain, you might not want to rush out and download Valve's recovery image just yet.) Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced a stripped-down version of Windows for gaming handhelds, one that ditches the desktop in favor of an 'Xbox full-screen experience' that will come to various handhelds next year, including the existing Ally and Ally X. It promises to improve sleep, wake, performance, and battery life while making non-Steam storefronts into first-class citizens. Presumably, any major PC handheld will soon let you choose between Windows and Steam. But that's not a reason to buy them today. For one, it seems that both Microsoft and Valve are prioritizing their partners' flashiest hardware launches first. The new Xbox-ified Windows will first arrive on a pair of 'Xbox Ally' handhelds co-developed with Asus this holiday season, which could suck all the air out of the room for rival Windows machines, particularly if Microsoft decides this is the moment to compete with Valve's Steam Deck on price. And while you can indeed install Valve's big SteamOS update on rival Windows handhelds with AMD chips, it only fully supports the SteamOS version of the Lenovo Legion Go S at this point. When I tried installing it on an Asus ROG Ally or even the Windows version of the Legion Go S, it was missing necessary power modes to keep it from unnecessarily draining its own battery and had some bugs as well. Here's Valve's Lawrence Yang to The Verge on the rollout plans: Currently, the SteamOS model of Legion Go S (dark purple model) is the only officially supported non-Steam Deck device with SteamOS. We are continuing to improve compatibility with more devices, starting with other AMD powered handhelds like the ROG Ally. Features like RGB controls and power management for the Ally are in the pipe, and will be noted in patch notes as we ship updates. We're looking at support across AMD powered handhelds, including Legion Go, Legion Go S + Windows, and ROG Ally models. Even the SteamOS version of the Legion Go S didn't launch 100 percent baked: I keep seeing the tiny trackpad stop working properly (Valve tells me it's investigating), and there's no official way to control the RGB lighting. Speaking of fully baked, it seems even Nintendo launched its Switch 2 with notable issues. We've heard reports of crashes and freezes, an issue that has its own Nintendo support page, and some (including me) have found intermittent issues getting a system to stay connected to wired ethernet. Many are having trouble getting content to display properly on a TV without washing out or oversaturating. It's not clear when the biggest issues facing today's gaming handhelds will get fixed, or how evenly distributed the fixes might be. I'm not saying that's a reason to stay away for long — nobody's expecting a Steam Deck 2 or a Switch 2 OLED anytime soon, so I don't fear that particular flavor of buyer's remorse. But knowing what I know today, I wouldn't rush to buy a handheld now. I'd wait a month or three until Switch 2 and Steam Deck OLED supplies return — or at least until the future of Windows and SteamOS get a little less fuzzy.
The Verge
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Posted Jun 17, 2025 at 10:00 AM EDT
Counter-Strike's rarest skin IRL. If you don't feel like paying thousands of dollars to get your hands on the coveted AWP | Dragon Lore skin in Counter-Strike 2, now you can have it on your gaming gear for far cheaper. SteelSeries is teaming up with Valve to launch a $150 wireless gaming mouse and a $45 XXL mousepad wrapped in the ultra-rare design, which shows a knotwork dragon shooting flames from its mouth. The gaming mouse and mousepad launch on July 1st, but are available for preorder today. 1/3
