New Steam feature lets you copy game installs to the Steam Deck (or between PCs) without redownloading

pcgamer.com:

PC gamers with slow internet connections or bandwidth caps rejoice: Valve has just launched a feature in the latest Steam beta allowing users to transfer game installations from a PC to the Steam Deck or another PC on the same local network. Instead of downloading all 50 gigabytes of Elden Ring on your desktop and laptop, for example, you can now download the game once and copy it to your second device.

The feature is live now in the latest Steam Deck beta and the latest beta client on desktop.

This feature was first spotted in the Steam OS code back in October, so it's nice to see it come to fruition. «A common use case would be a home setup with multiple PCs or Steam Decks on the same local network,» Valve writes in a new FAQ. Once a game is installed on one PC, all other PCs or the Steam Deck can install or update that game by transferring files directly from that one PC. A modern PC can easily transfer game content with 100MB/sec, and during the transfer the Steam client sending content will generate disk and CPU load (ie, you probably wouldn't want to be doing any intensive tasks on this PC during the transfer)."

If you have an unlimited gigabit internet connection, this update likely won't benefit you much. But for everyone else—especially PC gamers stuck with restrictive bandwidth caps—it should be a real blessing, considering the mighty storage hogs of 100GB+ PC games these days.

It sounds like the feature isn't an all-or-nothing thing, and can switch between a local transfer and an internet download if your PC gets turned off, for example. The FAQ explains: «If a potential PC is found, your client will ask the Steam backend server to contact that other PC’s Steam client and start a game file transfer if local