diff --git a/config/dot/hypr/monitors.lua b/config/dot/hypr/monitors.lua
index beff4f9..0847720 100644
--- a/config/dot/hypr/monitors.lua
+++ b/config/dot/hypr/monitors.lua
@@ -244,10 +244,20 @@ local shipped_mode = "4500x3000@60"
 local shipped_scale = 1.5
 local shipped_transform = 0
 
--- 10-bit output. 4500x3000@60 at 10bpc is ~24 Gbps, right at the edge of DP 1.4
--- HBR3, so this relies on DSC. If the display fails to light up or falls back to
--- a lower mode, drop this to 8 first.
-local shipped_bitdepth = 10
+-- 8-bit output. 4500x3000@60 at 10bpc is ~24 Gbps, right at the edge of DP 1.4
+-- HBR3 and reliant on DSC, and this panel's link is marginal: every modeset
+-- retrains it and blanks the screen. 8bpc keeps headroom on the link.
+--
+-- Related: directScanoutPolicy is 0 in Panama settings (2026-09-13). With
+-- scanout on, a fullscreen game whose buffer depth differs from the desktop
+-- (games ship both 8- and 10-bit swapchains) makes Hyprland change the output
+-- format, and on amdgpu a format change is a full modeset. Compositing always
+-- keeps the format fixed, so the link never retrains mid-game.
+--
+-- vrrPolicy is also 0 there. VRR on this panel loses sync and blacks out
+-- (seen on GNOME in July 2026 and again here); a 60Hz panel gains little
+-- from it anyway.
+local shipped_bitdepth = 8
 
 -- "auto" = sRGB at 8bpc, wide gamut at 10bpc. Not HDR; see header.
 local shipped_cm = "auto"
diff --git a/config/dot/hypr/rules.lua b/config/dot/hypr/rules.lua
index 9fcd80d..760cba3 100644
--- a/config/dot/hypr/rules.lua
+++ b/config/dot/hypr/rules.lua
@@ -125,6 +125,16 @@ hl.window_rule({
     no_dim    = true,
 })
 
+-- Steam games never get true fullscreen. Everything Hyprland does only for a
+-- real fullscreen window (direct scanout, VRR, tearing, auto HDR) makes this
+-- panel's marginal DP link retrain and blank (2026-09-13). "1 2" keeps the
+-- window maximized internally while the game believes it is fullscreen, which
+-- is what borderless windowed looks like from the game's side.
+hl.window_rule({
+    match = { class = "^steam_app_\\d+$" },
+    fullscreen_state = "1 2",
+})
+
 -- Steam itself is a normal window, but its transient popups are a mess.
 hl.window_rule({
     match = { class = "^steam$", title = "^(Friends List|Steam Settings|Special Offer.*)$" },