This Feature Makes Steam Deck The Ultimate PC Gaming Device

Valve's new portable console has had the internet divided for a while now. On the one hand, the company's bold claims about the Steam Deck's performance make it seem as though it's going to be the most powerful handheld gaming console ever released, but there are plenty of things to be worried about, too. Supply chain issues may affect availability, some big games won't be supported, and each of the three models that are set to be available are considerably more expensive than it's biggest competitor, the Nintendo Switch. Compounding those concerns, fans got the terrible news that the release was delayed from December to February. Now, with the new release date only weeks away, Valve has just announced a new feature that just might change the game.

A post from the Steamworks development team on the Steam Community page announced that the console will now have a feature called Dynamic Cloud Sync. Work on this new feature is still ongoing, but it promises to allow players the ability to share save data between games that they play on PC and games that they play on the Steam Deck. That means you can be battling hellspawn in "Doom" on your PC, save your game, and then pick up right where you left off on the Steam Deck.

Like all cloud based services, multiple devices connected to the same account will be able to share information. According to the Steam Community post, "This feature allows players to seamlessly move between Deck and PC instances of the game without needing to worry about exiting the game on the Steam Deck." That last bit is important because of the way Valve believes most users will interface with the Steam Deck. It is unlikely that most gamers will want to completely exit out of a given game every time they stop playing. Instead, they'll probably suspend the game while they put the device in sleep mode. "With Dynamic Cloud Sync, Steam will automatically upload all modified save game data to the cloud prior to the device entering sleep mode ... Steam will also automatically download any save game changes when users return to their Steam Deck and wake up the device." That means that with the addition of the dock, (which is sold separately), gamers will be able to seamlessly play the same game across mobile, couch and desktop without having to have separate save files for each.

This new feature may not be available for all games however. Valve has made it free to use, but according to the Steam Community post, "developers must manually enable it on their games in Steamworks and take advantage of some new APIs." So, users shouldn't expect this feature to be available in every game right away, but it will likely be seen in most newer titles.