Steam's new client update brings "Achievement Sets", and the Linux client goes 64-bit

Valve has released a new Steam client update, announced on the official Steam News channel on 11 November at 10:58 p.m. Italian time and downloaded automatically on all platforms.

The main addition is Steam Achievement Sets, a new way of organising achievements. Developers can group them into separate sets for the base game and for downloadable content: a DLC's achievements are added as a new set without "breaking" completion of the game, and sets already completed stay complete when new ones arrive. Seasonal or no longer obtainable achievements can be archived. The achievements page and summaries have been updated accordingly.

The update brings to the client, on desktop and Steam Deck, the compatibility window with the average frame rate recorded on Steam Deck, the feature Valve announced on 10 November, and extends to the desktop client the prompt asking for consent to share frame rate data anonymously.

Linux and Remote Play

On Linux the change is structural: the Steam client is now a 64-bit application and runs inside a Steam Runtime container, the same technology used by games, with the aim of offering a more consistent experience across distributions. According to GamingOnLinux, 32-bit dependencies are still required.

Remote Play gets reworked HDR support, with a three-way setting (Automatic, On, Off), a brightness slider in the overlay, HDR capture via PipeWire on desktop Linux and when streaming from macOS, the return of HDR on Steam Deck OLED and support on Android 15 and later with the Steam Link app in beta. Connections to computers on the local network start faster, and an option has been added to stretch or zoom the image when the aspect ratio does not match.

In Big Picture mode, invitations to friends' games now have a dedicated box in chat. Steam Input adds support for GameInput v4. The package is rounded out by further client startup time improvements, fixes to notifications, Steam Cloud sync and crashes, and two fixes to the Steam Controller firmware.