Valve has been attempting to shift PC games away from a desk and monitor for years. The Steam Deck handheld is just the latest take on that idea, but it’s going to have a major impact on one of Valve’s oldest experiments: Big Picture mode.
When developing the Steam Deck, Valve created a new user interface to suit the device and it has been well-received by those viewing footage of the UI in action. The inevitable question then got asked on the Steam Forums by a user named SparklyVapor: “Is the Steam Deck OS like the next step for Big Picture?”
A Valve employee going by the name austinp_valve responded, confirmed, “Yes, we are replacing Big Picture with the new UI from Deck. We don’t have an ETA to share yet though.” Although there’s no date set, it seems likely switching out the user interface for Big Picture users will occur after the Steam Deck launches in October.
The response to news of Big Picture being replaced has been very positive, with users pointing out Big Picture was long overdue a “major overhaul.” Using the same user interface across multiple devices also makes a lot of sense for both usability and maintenance.
Valve launched Big Picture mode in late 2012 as a way of optimizing the Steam experience on HD TVs while allowing control via a gamepad or keyboard and mouse. At the time, Gabe Newell saw it as a first step towards a dedicated Steam hardware unit, and Valve has certainly continued down that path. Big Picture was followed by the launch of SteamOS, Steam Machines, the Steam Controller, Steam Link hardware, and now the Steam Deck.
