Steam has added a feature in its client beta that allows games to be transferred locally to other devices. This makes it possible, for example, to play a game on multiple PCs or the Steam Deck without having to install the game multiple times.
With this function it is possible to download the game and update files from one PC , to another PC or Steam Deck over a local network. As a result, users do not have to install the same game more than once from the Steam servers and the game is therefore faster to play on the second device. According to Steam this can generally be done at a speed of around 100MB/s.
The PC transferring the files does the heavy lifting, so Steam recommends that you do not perform intensive tasks on this computer during the transfer period. If the connection is lost during local download, the rest will be automatically pulled from the Steam servers. The feature is enabled by default so that it only works with Steam clients logged into the same account, but it is also possible to enable games to be transferred locally to other Steam users.
Yes there are some limitations to the feature. This only concerns the ‘original’ game files. So save files, or installed mods from Steam Workshop, will not be transferred. Also, games that are not yet publicly available are not supported. In addition, it is not possible to transfer files from a Steam Deck to a PC or another Steam Deck; the handheld can therefore only receive game files. It is not known when the function will be available to everyone.
