Steam Deck Now Supports Local Network Downloads

gamerant.com:

Valve has successfully deployed the long-awaited Local Network Game Transfer feature for the Steam Deck, providing an important new connectivity upgrade to its handheld gaming PC. Released as part of the device's SteamOS 3.4.6 update, the feature should make it easier for players to move games from Windows to SteamOS, which has been somewhat problematic up until now.

Transferring files to the Steam Deck has been a point of contention ever since the device first came out due to Valve's decision to run a Linux-based operating system instead of Windows. Up until now, users have had to rely on third-party applications like the Warpinator, or to enable the SSH server functionality, for example. Thankfully, it should be way easier to move game files from Windows over to SteamOS in the future.

Valve Clarifies Whether a New Steam Deck Is on the Way

The fact that the Steam Deck now supports Local Network Game Transfers will make many gamers' lives easier, especially if they're stuck with slower or limited Internet. Notably, this feature of the Steam game client allows all the devices connected to a single network to share game files with one another. In effect, this means that as long as one of the devices connected to a given local network has a certain game installed, said game can be shared with any other device without spending any extra ISP bandwidth. This alone makes the feature extremely useful to those who need to abide by excessively small monthly transfer limits.

Considering all the notable quality-of-life improvements Valve has been deploying to the handheld, like the aforementioned local transfer downloads, it's no big surprise that many Steam Deck owners prefer it over other devices. Examples include arbitrary refresh