Valve would have big plans to allow your PC and handheld console to talk to each other in the context of game downloads. The idea? Allow direct and local transfer of content between PC and Steam Deck.
Valve wants to prevent you from having to download the same game twice in order to play it on your PC on one side… and your Steam Deck on the other. To do this (and potentially also save Steam servers a bit), Gabe Newell’s firm is currently working on creating a local sharing system on from peer to peer allowing you to transfer a game previously downloaded and installed on PC directly to the Steam Deck, or vice versa.
In any case, this is what programmer Pavel Djundik deduces from clues discovered in the Steam code. On Twitter, the person concerned (known for his work on SteamDB) explains that Valve appears to be working on “Peer to Peer LAN Steam Downloads», and according to him, the idea would be to prevent players from making redundant downloads between their PC and their Deck.
A very simple solution… that could save time and energy
«A good example would be downloading games to the Steam Deck directly from your PC instead of using the Internet.“, explains Pavel Djundik, adding that the system envisioned by Valve could also be capable of “play the game installed on the disk» to avoid the passage «decryption of each section» content intended for transfer. The operation could then pick up speed.
Apparently Valve is working on peer-to-peer Steam downloads over LAN. pic.twitter.com/o6fXYo7gHK
— Pavel Djundik (@thexpaw) October 27, 2022
A mention added by Valve allows us to know a little more. “This feature allows your PC to transfer game files to and from other PCs or Steam Decks on your local network, reducing Internet traffic when downloading or updating a game.“It explains the signature in a file that still has nothing official, at least for now.
Clearly, local game file sharing would be both ways between a PC and a Steam Deck, and would also refer to updates to prevent untimely downloads that have already occurred on at least one of your devices. Finally, according to Pavel Djundik, Valve plans to offer various settings to users to allow them to authorize this local sharing only with their own devices, their friends, or any user connected to the same network.
We’ll have to wait a bit longer before we have more details on this feature, but it appears to be relatively complete as-is. Under these conditions, it would not be surprising if Valve told us sooner… and this time through official channels.
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