Valve has re-enabled HDR for Remote Play on Steam Deck OLED in the Steam client Preview/Beta update announced on October 23, 2026. The update also adds an advanced client setting for choosing when HDR stays enabled during streaming.
For players streaming games to the OLED model, this restores HDR within Remote Play. The announcement concerns the Preview/Beta channel; it does not confirm stable-channel availability or establish a broader change to HDR in games running locally on the handheld.
Automatic and On treat SDR content differently
The advanced Remote Play client setting offers Automatic, On and Off. In the update notes, Valve says Automatic enables HDR when HDR content is enabled. This makes it the option for players who want HDR activation to follow the content being streamed.
On keeps HDR enabled and, according to Valve, allows increased brightness for SDR content. Its effect therefore extends beyond HDR content: choosing On can also change how bright an SDR stream appears. Off allows players to disable HDR through the same setting.
The useful distinction is whether you want HDR to follow HDR content or remain enabled while streaming SDR content too. Automatic provides the former behavior; On provides the latter. Keeping HDR enabled is therefore a choice about display behavior, rather than a setting that Valve establishes as universally preferable.
The announced SDR brightness increase comes without a quantified gain. It should not be read as a guarantee of better image quality in every game, or as evidence that On will always produce better results than Automatic.
HDR capture reaches Linux desktops and macOS
The update also expands HDR capture on the machine supplying the stream. Valve now supports HDR capture on Linux desktops with PipeWire, as well as when streaming from macOS. The Linux support specifically includes the PipeWire condition; the macOS change concerns the computer sending the stream.
On the receiving side, Valve is also enabling HDR on phones running Android 15 or later with the Steam Link beta app. The operating-system version and beta app are both part of the announced conditions. Meeting the Android requirement alone does not establish support, and the announcement does not guarantee compatibility with every individual phone.
For Steam Deck OLED owners, the immediate change is the return of Remote Play HDR in the Preview/Beta client. The new setting then offers a concrete choice: activate HDR with HDR content, keep it enabled for SDR brightness as well, or turn it off.
See also the Steam Deck HDR page.
