Smart move as Valve’s new Steam Deck tools aim to boost handheld performance with developer tuning and user‑submitted framerate data

Valve's Steam Deck Verified Games initiative has been a massive success in the gaming handheld world. Now, Valve has added new beta Steamworks tools for game developers that gather data directly from Steam Deck users.

If a game has made the cut and is Steam Deck Verified, developers can now track average framerates over the past 30 days, as well as receive user survey results based on whether or not a game lives up to its Verified promises.

For those who are worried about Steam harvesting user data without permission, fret not. These two new metrics are based on opt-in user participation.

Valve says it plans to add variance data for each date listed in its 30-day tally at some point in the future, and it also plans to bring this new compatibility chart to Steam Deck games listed as Playable rather than Verified.

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The user survey results metric works a bit differently. Again, it's opt-in only, and the survey will only appear after a user has played at least 10 minutes of a game.

Users will be prompted about whether or not they agree with a specific game's Steam Deck Verified status. Should they disagree, they'll be asked to provide reasons why based on Input, Legibility, Performance, Stability, and Other.

These user survey results are meant to accompany the new average frame rate charts and to provide developers with a clearer look at whether or not their tweaks are actually improving the experience for gamers.

How does the Steam Deck Verified program work?

Valve uses a system with four main tenets to judge Steam Deck verification. Controller input focuses on support, appropriate icons, and on-screen keyboard automation. Display focuses on default resolution settings and text legibility.

Seamlessness is more about avoiding compatibility warnings and proper controller navigation. System support relies on Proton compatibility and anti-cheat support.

Games are then given one of four different Steam Deck Verified ratings.

Verified means a game has passed all checks. Playable means it runs with some caveats (maybe text isn't always legible). Unsupported is just what it suggests; this often has to do with anti-cheat not running on Linux. And Unknown means it hasn't been processed.

These ratings are all readily visible in the Steam store, largely taking the guesswork out of the buying process.

Windows Central's take

These new metrics should prove to be invaluable for developers who want to make their game run optimally on Steam Deck.

Although the new charts are only for developers at this point, I don't see why Valve couldn't one day make the data publicly visible, giving customers a better gauge of how a game will run. Perhaps it will arrive once a bank of data has been built.

Valve has been hard at work adding new hardware monitoring, no doubt as it preps for its release of the Steam Machine ... if that ever happens.

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