Valve is testing a new Steam Remote Play video codec that puts latency ahead of bandwidth efficiency. Called Pyrowave, the experimental option is designed for fast local networks where players would rather move far more data than wait for a heavily compressed frame.
Pyrowave arrived in the Steam Client Beta on September 21. It is available on Windows and macOS, while Linux and SteamOS users need to enable the experimental SteamRT3 client in System Settings. Valve says support for the Steam Link mobile app is coming later.
What Pyrowave changes
Conventional streaming codecs work hard to shrink each frame before sending it over a network. That saves bandwidth, but the compression process can add time. Pyrowave takes the opposite approach: it uses GPU-based encoding and decoding and sends a much larger stream in pursuit of lower end-to-end latency.
According to a Valve developer’s Steam Remote Play announcement, the codec uses roughly five to ten times as much bandwidth as other streaming options. Valve recommends connecting both computers directly to the router with at least Gigabit Ethernet. That guidance makes clear that Pyrowave is aimed primarily at a well-wired home network, not an unreliable hotel connection or a typical mobile-data link.
The codec also supports HDR when both the host and client can use it. An optional YUV 4:4:4 mode preserves more color information, which may help when streaming a desktop or reading small text on a 4K display. Valve leaves that mode off by default because it requires still more bandwidth and processing time.
The bandwidth cost is substantial
Pyrowave’s bandwidth range is unusually high for game streaming. With automatic bitrate disabled, Steam lets beta users select between 100 Mbit/s and 500 Mbit/s. Higher frame rates also increase the stream’s data rate because Steam targets a consistent visual quality for each frame.
That is not just a theoretical warning. Tom’s Hardware measured about 210 Mbit/s with the default settings in one test. That single result should not be treated as a universal figure—game content, resolution, frame rate, quality settings and hardware can all change the load—but it illustrates why Valve recommends Gigabit networking.
A 100 Mbit/s Ethernet port can become the bottleneck before the codec reaches its lower manual setting. Wi-Fi may advertise much higher peak speeds, yet congestion, interference and signal changes can produce the short spikes that matter during interactive streaming. A clean Wi-Fi 6 or newer connection may work in some homes, but a wired link remains the more predictable choice.
Who may notice the difference
The most likely beneficiaries are people who keep a powerful gaming PC in one room and stream to a television, compact PC, laptop or handheld elsewhere in the same house. Competitive and rhythm games are especially sensitive to delay, although display response, controller latency and the network path still contribute to the total experience.
Pyrowave will not automatically make every Remote Play setup faster. Valve notes that total streaming latency combines encode time, network transit, decode time and display delay. If Wi-Fi jitter or a slow screen is the dominant problem, switching codecs may not fix it. The company recommends enabling Steam’s performance graph to compare results on the actual network.
How to try the beta
Pyrowave is not enabled by default. Users must opt into the Steam Client Beta, then choose it from Remote Play’s advanced client settings. Linux and SteamOS require the separate experimental SteamRT3 client setting. The quality slider adjusts bandwidth directly, while disabling automatic bitrate exposes the 100–500 Mbit/s manual range.
Valve followed the initial release with fixes for Linux and SteamOS flickering, GPU-memory use and encoding-queue contention, underscoring that this remains test software. Anyone who values stability more than experimentation should wait for a regular Steam client release.
Why this matters
Most consumer streaming development focuses on delivering acceptable quality through a smaller connection. Pyrowave explores the other end of the tradeoff: when a home network has abundant capacity, spending bandwidth can reduce the work required around each frame. That could make local PC streaming feel closer to a directly connected display without requiring a second gaming computer.
There is no separate price for Pyrowave; it is part of Steam Remote Play. For now, however, it is an experimental feature with demanding network requirements, limited platform availability and performance that will vary by setup. Valve has not announced when the codec will move to the stable Steam client or reach the mobile Steam Link app.
Featured image: Steam Remote Play promotional artwork, via GryOnline.