Valve Is Enhancing Data on How Well Games Will Run on Steam Deck

Steam Steam Deck Valve

© Valve

Steam has refreshed its store page for Steam Deck owners, letting players see the average framerate a game will run at on the handheld based on the performance data shared by other players.

While games are often marked as verified to work on Steam Deck, that label does not always mean they run well. To show players exactly how a game will perform on Valve’s portable PC, those who have opted in to share their data contribute to a consensus on likely framerates.

Under the additional info for Steam Deck compatibility on the game page, a new note now displays the average framerate. The data can also be expanded further by viewing the histogram, which turns the average into a graph that shows not only how common a given framerate is, but also how often the game hitches or stutters for players.

According to Valve, although the current information relies on standardized test criteria, the ratings “may not match every customer’s bar for acceptable gameplay.” The company is also planning to expand the feature beyond Steam Deck to provide framerate information for more devices. It is already live for games with enough data points to produce an average. For example, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth currently shows that Steam Deck OLED players run the game at an average of 37 frames per second, while those playing Hades II are seeing 88 FPS on the same hardware.

With portable PC devices like Steam Deck, ROG Ally and even the Ayn Thor becoming more standard for players who don’t need the most expensive hardware, seeing how a game will perform with more specificity is only a good thing. It doesn’t hurt that Steam is planning to expand the Steam Deck lineup in the future, and having such features available only makes the hardware more accessible for those less accustomed to PC gaming.

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