A new Steam Client Beta was released on November 25th. This beta changes the Steam client from 32-bit to 64-bit on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Those of you who are still, for some reason, running 32-bit versions of Windows will continue to receive updates to your Steam client until January 1, 2026.
It really isn't clear what advantages this 64-bit client will hold over the 32-bit client. The usual benefit includes better performance, so maybe Steam will now load a fraction of a second faster than it did previously. Perhaps there will be more benefits coming in the future with other updates built off of this 64-bit client.
You can currently opt-in to the Steam Client Beta by going to your Steam settings, selecting the Interface tab, choosing "Steam Beta Update" from the "Client Beta Participation" dropdown, and then restarting Steam. Otherwise, you can hold off on this beta and continue using Steam as normal until the update is pushed to the main build for everyone.
There are a few additional changes in this beta. The full changelog can be found below.
General
Game Recording
Steam Input
- The Steam client is now 64-bit on Windows 11 and Windows 10 64-bit.
- Systems running 32-bit versions of Windows will continue receiving updates to the 32-bit Steam client until January 1, 2026.
Game Recording
- Fixed errors copying to clipboard or exporting H265 videos on systems with a NVIDIA 50xx series gpu.
Steam Input
- Fixed regression detecting controller hotplug in Unity games
- Added support for Nintendo Switch 2 controllers connected over USB on Windows
- Added support for GameCube adapters in Wii-U mode with rumble on Windows
- Promoted the newer gyro modes from beta to the default gyro modes loaded. Older configuration that are using the older modes will still see the option and you can also enable Steam Input dev mode under Settings->Developer to keep them visible all the time.
- Fix a case where the desktop version of the configurator could unexpectedly close when trying to preview a configuration for another game on the Search tab
