Much Data, Very Frame: Valve is trying to ease the pain points of Steam Deck owners by providing a more detailed picture of a game's actual performance. Steam store pages can now show the average frame rate Deck players get in many games, which might help customers make a more informed choice when they're looking to purchase a new title.
Valve announced the addition this week, with the data calculated from previously collected, anonymized figures provided by customers who chose to opt in to frame rate sharing. The average is already available for "thousands" of Steam Deck-tested games, and the same data can be viewed in the Steam Library by users on the Steam Client Beta.
After being tested for Steam Deck compatibility, a game can be classified as Verified, Playable, or Unsupported, and the average frame rate is shown under the "Steam Deck Compatibility" section of each game's store page, no matter how well a title is expected to run on a Steam Deck.
Furthermore, Valve is providing a "framerate histogram" that breaks down the percentage of data samples at each frame rate. This additional view should inform customers about potential hiccups during gameplay, including stuttering issues. All data is anonymized, with Valve confirming that a "majority" of Steam Deck owners have already opted in and shared their frame rate data with the Steam community.
Valve said the average frame rate should improve how Steam Deck users judge compatibility with a specific game, since its ratings rely on standardized testing criteria that "may not match every customer's bar for acceptable gameplay."
An unstable game classified as Unsupported might be considered playable by some users if the frame rate is high enough, while a Verified game might run at a frame rate that's too low for those used to high-refresh displays. The company stated that "by providing average framerate data for each game, customers now have a more complete picture of how the game performs on Steam Deck and can make more informed purchase and play decisions."
The PC gaming giant also describes the feature as a stepping stone toward bringing frame rate data to more devices. Users are already being prompted to share their anonymized frame data on the Steam desktop client's beta, with the full feature expected to reach all Steam customers in the future.
Steam Deck handhelds are not exactly the most powerful gaming devices out there, but they come in a few "standard" hardware configurations that can help with stress-testing the feature before its wider adoption in the wild west of the PC hardware market. Meanwhile, Valve's handheld line is reportedly suffering a steep sales decline, estimated at around 80%, following the latest price hikes imposed by the company, while modders are trying to make their own custom Steam Deck devices with a bit of software tinkering.