How to Turn On Steam's Big Art Mode and Add Custom Screensavers (Oct 2026 Update)

Steam's Oct 13, 2026 Stable update added Big Art Mode and Big Picture screensavers. Exact menu paths, the config\uioverrides\screensavers folder on Windows, Linux and Steam Deck, and fixes.

T Terapep · Oct 20, 2026

TL;DR: Steam's October 13, 2026 Stable client update (posted Oct 14 morning in Korea) added two Big Picture features. Big Art Mode is a home-screen layout you turn on in Big Picture → Settings → Home. Screensavers live in Settings → Customization, with two built-in options: a game-art slideshow (the default) and a retro bouncing Steam logo. To add your own, put it in a folder inside config\uioverrides\screensavers in your Steam install directory (for example C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam on Windows or ~/.steam/root on Linux and Steam Deck). Copy Valve's bouncing-logo screensaver from steamui\screensavers and use it as your template. You don't need the beta. (Valve, Steam Deck news; GamingOnLinux)

Last checked

20 October 2026 (KST). Menu paths and folder paths come from Valve's "Steam Client Update: October 13th" notes on steamdeck.com/en/news and the desktop version of the notes, which GamingOnLinux and PC Guide reproduce in full (the official Steam News post is here). Each section links to the coverage it uses, including The Verge, 9to5Linux, PC Gamer and Reddit.

What shipped on October 13

On October 13, Valve "shipped an updated Steam Client update to the Stable channel." Its first two sections are about the home screen and screensavers (Valve):

Big Art Mode: "Added a new 'Big Art Mode' option for the home screen. This can be enabled in Settings > Home."
Personal Calendar: added to the Recommended tab on the home screen.
Screensavers: "Added a new screensaver feature, accessible in Settings > Customization." Two are included: "a game art slideshow that can be configured to show artwork from recently played games and your recent in-game screenshots" (the default) and "a retro inspired bouncing logo screensaver."
Custom screensavers: "Big Picture mode can also load custom screensavers. Similar to startup movies, they can be placed in the config\uioverrides\screensavers directory in your Steam install directory (e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam or ~/.steam/root)" (desktop notes via GamingOnLinux).

Both features first appeared in the Steam Client Beta of September 9, 2026 (Comss; The Verge, Sep 10). Now they are in the regular client, which "will be automatically downloaded" (MIXED). The Verge described the release as having "a huge changelog" (The Verge).

At a glance

Feature	Where to turn it on	What it does	Source
Big Art Mode	Big Picture → Settings → Home	Home-screen option that puts more weight on game art	Valve
Game art slideshow (default screensaver)	Big Picture → Settings → Customization	Artwork from recently played games, plus recent in-game screenshots if you allow them	Valve
Bouncing logo screensaver	Big Picture → Settings → Customization	Retro bouncing Steam logo	Valve
Custom screensavers	`config\uioverrides\screensavers` in the Steam install directory	Loads screensavers you make or download	Valve desktop notes
Screensaver while in game	Big Picture settings ("a setting to disable the screensaver when in game")	Stops the screensaver from starting during games	Valve

Step 1: Update Steam

On desktop, open the Steam menu and choose Check for Steam Client updates. Click Download on the notification, then Apply and Restart (9to5Linux).
You can stay on the Stable channel. Both features are in the October 13 Stable build, so the beta isn't needed (theclick.gg; Valve).

Step 2: Turn on Big Art Mode

Big Art Mode is a Big Picture Mode setting. You won't find it in the normal desktop Library window. A GamingOnLinux reader who couldn't find it on desktop was told: "This is just for the Steam Big Picture mode. You can use Big Picture on a regular desktop Linux computer… Steam menu -> Settings -> Home -> Big Art Mode" (GamingOnLinux comments).

On Windows or Linux desktop:

Open Big Picture Mode with the controller-shaped button in the Steam client (theclick.gg).
Open the Steam menu, go to Settings, and choose Home (GamingOnLinux comments).
Turn on Big Art Mode (Valve).

On Steam Deck or Steam Machine (Game Mode):

Press the Steam button and open Settings.
Choose Home and turn on Big Art Mode. Valve's Steam Deck notes give the same path: "Settings > Home" (Valve; handheld.guru).

What changes: with Big Art Mode on, the selected game's artwork takes up the whole screen and the row of covers moves down. When you move to another game, the background changes with it (Comss). Digital Foundry says the layout "dedicates much of the viewport to the art for a selected game, with additional games appearing in a smaller size towards the bottom of the screen." It also notes that a similar feature already existed in the third-party Decky Loader tool (Digital Foundry). Big Art Mode is an option and not the new default (MIXED).

Step 3: Pick a built-in screensaver

In Big Picture (or Game Mode on Deck), go to Settings → Customization (Valve).
Find the screensaver section. It sits just below the startup movie list on the same page (gaming-st.com).
Choose a screensaver from the dropdown (PC Gamer):
- Game art slideshow (default). It can show artwork from recently played games and, optionally, your recent in-game screenshots (Valve). In the beta build, Comss saw a separate toggle for screenshots, with a choice between all screenshots or only those from games suitable for all ages (Comss).
- Bouncing logo. The Steam logo bounces around a black screen and changes color each time it hits an edge (PC Gamer).
Use Preview to start the selected screensaver right away, without waiting for the idle timer (Comss; gaming-st.com).
Set the idle delay. The same section has a timeout link that takes you to the power settings (gaming-st.com). In this update Valve "reorganized the idle timer settings when on battery and AC power," so handhelds may show separate values for each (Valve).
If you don't want the screensaver while playing, turn on the new setting that disables it in game (Valve).

Step 4: Add a custom screensaver

Valve gives the folder and a template but no format specification. Here is what the sources say:

The folder is config\uioverrides\screensavers inside your Steam install directory. Valve's examples are C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam and ~/.steam/root (Valve desktop notes via GamingOnLinux).
Valve's Steam Deck notes say custom screensavers "can be placed in directories at ~/.steam/root/config/uioverrides/screensavers/," which means one folder per screensaver (Valve).
The template is the bouncing logo screensaver in steamui\screensavers (Valve).
Fragster reports that this template is made of HTML, CSS and JavaScript files (Fragster). A Reddit commenter on r/SteamDeck says the same: "Screensavers are made with HTML, CSS & JS" (Reddit r/SteamDeck). Valve itself hasn't published a required file format (MIXED).

Diagram: the folder chain Steam reads custom screensavers from, based on Valve's notes. Made by Terapep.

Windows

Close Big Picture Mode.
Open File Explorer and go to your Steam install directory. Valve's example is C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam (GamingOnLinux).
Open config. Open uioverrides inside it, or create it if it isn't there. Then create screensavers inside that (gaming-st.com). The full path is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\config\uioverrides\screensavers
To start from Valve's example, copy the bouncing logo folder from C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamui\screensavers into the new screensavers folder. Rename your copy, then edit it (Valve).
Open Big Picture, go to Settings → Customization, and select your screensaver (gaming-st.com).

Linux desktop

Quit Big Picture.
Create the folder: mkdir -p ~/.steam/root/config/uioverrides/screensavers (the path is from Valve).
Copy Valve's example from ~/.steam/root/steamui/screensavers/ into it under a new folder name, then edit your copy (Valve).
Open Big Picture → Settings → Customization and select it.

Steam Deck / SteamOS

Switch to Desktop Mode from the power menu. The October 13 update added a confirmation step to "switch to desktop mode" (Valve).
Open a terminal or the file manager. Create ~/.steam/root/config/uioverrides/screensavers/, the exact path in Valve's Steam Deck notes (Valve).
Put each screensaver in its own folder there. You can start from a copy of the bouncing logo in ~/.steam/root/steamui/screensavers/ (Valve).
Return to Game Mode, then go to Settings → Customization and choose it.

Tip: the path has three nested folders: config, then uioverrides, then screensavers. Japanese site gaming-st.com warns that reposts sometimes drop the backslashes, which makes the path look like one long folder name (gaming-st.com).

Safety: custom screensavers are code that Steam runs, so only use files you trust (theclick.gg).

Troubleshooting

I can't find Big Art Mode. Check that you're in Big Picture Mode and not the desktop Library. The setting is in Big Picture's Settings → Home (GamingOnLinux comments). If it still isn't there, restart Steam so the client can update (theclick.gg).

My custom screensaver doesn't show up.

Check the nesting: it must be config → uioverrides → screensavers, not a single folder with a long name (gaming-st.com).
Check that it's inside the Steam install directory you actually use, such as C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam or ~/.steam/root (Valve desktop notes).
Put it in its own subfolder under screensavers, laid out like Valve's bouncing logo example in steamui\screensavers (Valve).
Dropping a single photo into the folder doesn't work. A Reddit user found that "it's apparently way more complicated than that" (Reddit r/SteamDeck). Use the HTML/CSS/JS template instead (Fragster).

The screensaver starts during videos or non-Steam apps. The update makes Big Picture delay dimming and the screensaver "when the Steam Store, web browsers or other apps request to disable monitor sleep and screensavers while playing video" (Valve). Some apps still trigger it. A GamingOnLinux reader says it "still activates when I'm watching stuff on kodi" (GamingOnLinux comments). An open SteamOS GitHub issue reports that non-Steam apps in Game Mode don't stop the idle timer, so the screensaver flashes up when you change the volume (ValveSoftware/SteamOS #2808). Until that's fixed, lengthen the timeout or switch the screensaver off.

The screensaver interrupts my games. Turn on the new option that disables the screensaver in game (Valve).

Screenshots I don't want are showing up in the slideshow. In the slideshow settings, turn off the in-game screenshots source, or switch to the bouncing logo (Valve; Comss).

What's still unconfirmed

Required file format. Valve hasn't published one. HTML, CSS and JavaScript comes from Fragster's look at the template and from Reddit users (MIXED; Fragster).
Desktop-window Big Art Mode. No source shows Big Art Mode outside Big Picture (GamingOnLinux comments).
macOS paths. Valve's notes give Windows and Linux examples only (Valve desktop notes).

Sources

#steam#big-picture#big-art-mode#screensaver#steam-deck#2026

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