Steam Beta Adds Game Invite Widget to Big Picture Mode
Valve's October 26, 2026 beta also speeds up Remote Play local streaming, rolls up chat notifications and fixes a Linux suspend crash.
Valve released a Steam Beta update for all supported platforms on October 26, 2026, adding a dedicated game invite widget and a set of changes to Big Picture Mode, Steam Input and Remote Play, according to gamingonlinux.com.
In Big Picture Mode, game invites from friends now appear in their own widget in the chat window, positioned above the text entry field. Invites sent in a group chat now show up in the group chat window itself, so users no longer have to switch to a one-on-one chat tab to find them.
The update also adds support for GameInput v4 to Steam Input. Remote Play now begins streaming faster when connecting to a local computer, and the Steam Controller's "..." button is now passed through to the remote side during a Remote Play session.
Chat and stability fixes
Friend chat message notifications are now rolled up rather than delivering a separate 2-second notification for each message, and the chat tab styling in Big Picture Mode was updated to better convey focus states. Per-friend voice chat levels were added to the friend context menu in Big Picture Mode.
The Steam Deck/SteamOS changelog lists a fix for a crash when resuming from suspend on Linux, along with a workaround for updates that occasionally hang at 99%.
Quick answers
What does the October 2026 Steam Beta add to Big Picture Mode?
It adds a dedicated game invite widget above the text entry in the chat window, group chat invite display, rolled-up chat notifications, updated chat tab styling and per-friend voice chat levels.
Does the update change Remote Play?
Yes. Remote Play starts streaming faster when connecting to a local computer, and the Steam Controller's "..." button is now passed through to the remote side.
Does the beta fix the Linux suspend crash?
The Steam Deck/SteamOS changelog lists a fix for a crash when resuming from suspend, plus a workaround for updates that hang at 99%.