How to Enable Steam's Pyrowave Codec for Remote Play: Requirements, Settings and Fixes (Oct 2026)

TL;DR: Steam's October 13 Stable client update (Oct 14 in Korea) added Pyrowave, an experimental Remote Play video codec that Valve says "allows high bandwidth, low latency video streaming." It is off by default. You turn it on in Steam → Settings → Remote Play → Advanced client options. Valve recommends that both PCs be wired to the router over at least Gigabit Ethernet, because Pyrowave uses "5-10 times the amount of bandwidth of other streaming codecs."

Last checked

14 October 2026 (KST). Setup steps and specs come from Valve: the pinned post "Pyrowave video codec now in beta!" in the Steam Remote Play group, written by Valve's Sam Lantinga (slouken) and last edited Oct 6, plus the Steam Client Update: October 13th notes. Coverage from The Verge and Digital Citizen is credited where it's used.

Is Pyrowave still in beta?

It has left the beta branch, but Valve still calls it experimental.

• 21 Sep 2026: Pyrowave first shipped in the Steam Client Beta (Valve's Remote Play post; Digital Citizen).
• 1 Oct 2026: A Beta update improved automatic bitrate, raised the manual bitrate ceiling to 1 Gbit/s and fixed latency creep on slow links (Valve Beta notes; GamingOnLinux).
• 13 Oct 2026: Valve "shipped an updated Steam Client update to the Stable channel" with the line "Added an experimental video codec, Pyrowave" (Valve). The Verge covered it as part of a "huge changelog" (The Verge).

Valve's pinned post still has its original title, "now in beta." Valve has not said when Pyrowave will stop being experimental (Digital Citizen).

Requirements

Item	What Valve says
Platforms (host/client)	Windows and macOS. On Linux, only with the experimental SteamRT3 Steam Client turned on in System Settings
Mobile	Valve's post was edited and now says Pyrowave is in the Steam Link app beta for Apple (TestFlight) and Android. The first version said "coming soon to the Steam Link app for mobile devices"
Network	"at least Gigabit ethernet," computers "connected directly to your router"
Bandwidth	"5-10 times the amount of bandwidth of other streaming codecs"
Manual bitrate	Valve's post: 100–500 Mbit/s. Oct 1 Beta notes: manual bitrate "can be increased up to 1 Gbit/s (more bandwidth increases latency!)"
Encoding	Uses the GPU to encode and decode frames
HDR	"automatically selected if supported by both the host and the client"
YUV 4:4:4	Optional and off by default. It "takes slightly more bandwidth and processing time." Valve suggests it for desktop streaming or reading text on a 4K display

The October 13 notes also say Valve "Disabled HDR when streaming to the OLED Steam Deck" (Valve).

How to enable Pyrowave (official steps)

1. Update Steam. In the Steam menu, choose Check for Steam Client updates to get the October 13 Stable build (9to5Linux). Update both the host and the client.
2. Linux/SteamOS only: turn on the experimental SteamRT3 Steam Client in System Settings. Valve says Pyrowave on Linux needs it.
3. Wire both machines to the router with Gigabit Ethernet or faster.
4. On the client (the device you stream to), open Settings → Remote Play → Advanced client options and select Pyrowave as the video codec. Valve: "Pyrowave isn't enabled by default, but you can turn it on in the Steam Remote Play advanced client settings."
5. Tune quality. By default Steam tunes for visual quality and gives each frame a constant size, so "the higher your framerate, the higher the bandwidth needed." Use the quality slider to raise or lower quality, which directly changes bandwidth.
6. Optional: set a fixed bitrate. If your network has a cap, turn off automatic bitrate and enter a specific value (Valve's post gives 100–500 Mbit/s).
7. Optional: turn on YUV 4:4:4 for desktop or text-heavy streaming. HDR switches on by itself when both ends support it.
8. Measure. Turn on the performance graph in the Remote Play settings while you stream. Valve says total latency is "encode + network + decode + display."

Pyrowave vs AV1, HEVC and H.264

Valve hasn't published a head-to-head benchmark, so this table only lists claims Valve and the cited outlets have made.

	Pyrowave	AV1 / HEVC (H.265) / H.264
Design goal	Low latency. Valve calls it "high bandwidth, low latency"	Conventional compressed streaming codecs. Digital Citizen notes that, unlike H.264/H.265, Pyrowave "is not primarily designed to save bandwidth"
Bandwidth	5–10× other streaming codecs (Valve)	The baseline Valve compares against
Best network	Wired Gigabit LAN	Lower-bandwidth links, including Wi-Fi
HDR	Yes, auto when both ends support it	Remote Play already supported HDR through other formats (Digital Citizen)
YUV 4:4:4	Optional	Not covered here
Default?	No, opt-in and experimental	Yes. The Oct 13 notes add an automatic fallback "to H.264 if HEVC isn't available"
VR	Not intended for VR (Digital Citizen)	n/a

Valve's own caveat: "your particular setup may or may not benefit from the new codec." Total latency includes the network as well as the codec.

Troubleshooting

• No Pyrowave option. Make sure you're on the October 13 or later client. During the beta, Valve told users who couldn't see it to check the build and, on Linux/SteamOS, to "remember to enable the experimental SteamRT3 client in the settings" (slouken, Remote Play forum thread).
• Option is there but turns off when streaming. Users in Valve's thread reported this when the client device, such as the mobile Steam Link app, didn't support Pyrowave yet. The client device's settings decide the codec, so enable it on the device you're streaming to.
• Stutter or rising latency. Valve says you need wired Gigabit. Lower the quality slider, or turn off automatic bitrate and set a lower fixed value. The Oct 1 Beta notes fixed "gradually increasing video latency when using Pyrowave on slow network links." Valve also notes that more bandwidth increases latency.
• Audio dropouts. The Oct 1 Beta notes list "Reduced audio dropouts when using Pyrowave," so update to the latest client.
• Network can't keep up. The Oct 13 update added "a dialog to recover if your network isn't able to handle current streaming settings." Accept its suggestion, or switch back to HEVC/H.264.
• HDR missing on Steam Deck OLED. This is intentional for now: the Oct 13 notes say HDR is disabled when streaming to the OLED Steam Deck.
• Advanced users: the -pyrowavestats launch option logs Pyrowave encoding performance. The @PyrowavePSNR and @PyrowaveHeightFactor convars tune automatic bitrate (Valve Oct 13 notes).

Sources

• Valve / Steam Remote Play group: Pyrowave video codec now in beta!
• Valve: Steam Client Update: October 13th · Steam Beta Client Update: October 1st
• The Verge: Steam just got a big patch
• Digital Citizen: Valve Adds Experimental Pyrowave Codec… · Steam Remote Play Tests New Pyrowave Codec…

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