Stream Deck owners should be extra careful upgrading to OBS Studio 28

(Image credit: Elgato)

The latest OBS Studio update is causing headaches for owners of Elgato's Stream Deck console.

OBS Studio 28, the latest version of the free broadcasting software used by streamers and content creators, introduces sweeping changes to the open source software. That includes some stellar new functionality, such as a brand new look, support for Nvidia's Background Removal tool, and 10-bit and HDR support. You can check out the full list of additional features and bug fixes over on the OBS Studio Github page, but it appears a promising overhaul of the excellent app.

The new version has also changed how OBS operates with the many plugins that deliver additional functionality or features to the software, however. Some of which have not yet been made functional with the new OBS Studio 28. You can find out the status of some popular plugins on the OBS Plugin Compatibility page.

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In the case of Elgato's Stream Deck—the popular streaming shortcut device not to be confused with Valve's handheld PC—there is a new version of the console's plugin available to download that adds compatibility with the new OBS Studio 28. However, it has not yet been automatically rolled out to users.

"OBS Studio 28 is a major update that also changed the underlying plugin framework, requiring updates to all existing OBS Studio plugins, including the Elgato Stream Deck plugin," Elgato says.

"We are working towards rolling out this update via an auto update to everyone; in the meantime, the OBS Studio 28 compatible plugin must be manually installed…"

Details on how to install the plugin manually are available on Elgato's website here.

Some users are still running into some issues post-update, however, such as popular streamer Paladin Amber, who has instead reverted their install to OBS Studio 27 while these kinks in the software get ironed out.

This one’s for all my gaymers and streamers, the new @OBSProject update will break your @elgato streamdeck. The software update says it’s not compatible unless you update the stream deck and even once you’ve done that it still breaks it lmao so don’t update it.September 8, 2022

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Over on the Elgato Support Twitter account thread for the plugin update there are reports of other users running into similar issues, though also as many others reporting everything's working as intended. Elgato recommends submitting a support ticket for further assistance if you need it.

I imagine the issue will be resolved swiftly, though sticking with an older version of OBS may be your best bet for the time being, especially if your income depends on streaming smoothly. Let someone else be the guinea pig for the release.

If you absolutely must have access to all those shiny new features then I would recommend you make sure to backup any scenes or profiles you might have on the app. That way you can restore them should you need to reinstall the application at any point. Better to be safe than sorry.

Jacob earned his first byline writing for his own tech blog. From there, he graduated to professionally breaking things as hardware writer at PCGamesN, and would go on to run the team as hardware editor. He joined PC Gamer's top staff as senior hardware editor before becoming managing editor of the hardware team, and you'll now find him reporting on the latest developments in the technology and gaming industries and testing the newest PC components.