Valve has announced a fix for non-Steam apps disappearing after a network reconnection in the Steam client’s Preview/Beta channel. Published on October 22, 2026, the update notes also announce a correction for misplaced Steam Input virtual menus in the overlay.
For anyone encountering either issue, the release channel matters: these are Preview/Beta patch notes. The announcement does not establish availability in the stable client or give a date for those changes to reach it. Check which channel your client uses before expecting the announced fixes to apply.
Non-Steam apps disappearing after reconnection
In Valve's notes, Valve lists the non-Steam app fix under General. The reported trigger is a network reconnection, followed by the apps disappearing. That makes the circumstances useful when comparing the announcement with a problem you have encountered: the fix addresses disappearance associated with reconnection, rather than establishing a remedy for every missing-app issue.
The Steam Input change addresses a separate regression: the positioning of virtual menus in the overlay. For users encountering misplaced menus, this is the relevant correction in the release notes. Its scope is the menus’ placement; it should not be read as a general fix for unrelated overlay problems. Both corrections are announced by Valve, with their effectiveness in use still unverified.
Store suggestions, text searches and certificates also change
The Store section announces an update to the algorithm used for store suggestions and text searches. The change therefore covers both suggestions and searches entered as text. Valve does not quantify an improvement in relevance or speed, so there is no basis for promising faster searches or more useful suggestions from this announcement alone.
Under General, the client also receives updated certificate revocation lists. This is a separate maintenance change alongside the disappearing-app fix, rather than part of the store algorithm update. Valve gives no quantified security impact for the revision.
The practical distinction is between targeted corrections and broader maintenance: the app and menu fixes address named problems, while the store and certificate changes update other parts of the client. If your issue matches either reported bug, the Preview/Beta release is the relevant announcement to follow; stable-channel availability remains unconfirmed.
See also the Steam Deck profile, our article on Steam: the October 15 beta preserves sets of and our article on Steam: the October 13 beta fixes Remote audio.
