There has long been a noticeable gap between the compatibility ratings announced by Valve and the actual performance experienced by players on the Steam Deck. Obtaining a "Verified" badge does not always guarantee a smooth gaming experience at the rate a user expects, which previously required searching through external reviews to find the truth.
Update Details and How It Works
In the latest Steam platform update, Valve added average frame rate (FPS) data to the game information panel. This update includes all games that have undergone the verification process, whether they are classified as Supported, Playable, or even Unsupported.
Valve relies on its massive user base to collect this data through an opt-in feature only. This data provides graphs showing the distribution of frame rates, allowing players to see the fluctuations between the highest and lowest frame rates during gameplay. For example, in the game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, the graph shows a significant concentration at 30 frames per second with a noticeable jump at 60 frames, providing an accurate picture of performance fluctuation.
Technically, these averages are based on the device's standard settings, which are:
- 60 frames per second for the original Steam Deck.
- 90 frames per second for the Steam Deck OLED.
The company explained that this data does not take into account manual adjustments that users may make to graphics settings within games.
Why Does This News Matter?
This step represents a shift towards enhancing consumer rights by providing technical transparency that was previously missing. With increasing competition in the handheld market from companies such as MSI via the Claw 8 EX AI+ and Acer via the Predator Atlas 8, it has become necessary for users to objectively compare the actual performance of devices.
However, a technical challenge arises in that this data is currently limited to Steam Deck devices only, leaving an information gap for users of other handheld platforms. Although Valve has hinted at the possibility of expanding in the future to include other devices, the current focus aims to address the performance decline that has begun to appear on Steam Deck devices compared to the new generation of devices that rely on more advanced chips.