New performance and feedback tools for Steam Deck

Valve's Steam Deck remains a popular choice for playing PC games away from the desk. With ongoing tweaks from developers, games are being optimized specifically for this handheld device. That includes smart optimization both at launch and through post-release support. To help ensure verified games keep their certification, Valve has introduced new tools that let developers better assess a game's current performance on Steam Deck.

New tools for developers

In a recent blog post, Valve unveiled two new tools developers can use to analyze their games' performance on Steam Deck. The first tool collects frame rate data from all players who opt in to data collection and shows a rolling 30-day average, helping identify whether a recent patch or Proton update has affected performance. This tool is currently only available for games already certified as 'Verified', but it will soon also be available for games with the lower 'Playable' certification.

Increasing user feedback

The second tool gives users who play a game for more than 10 minutes in a single session the option to send direct feedback to a developer and Valve about a game's verified certification. Players can dispute whether a game should fall under this category and provide critical feedback on issues that should trigger a reassessment. This includes several factors, such as in-game text readability, performance, stability, and more.

Problems with verified games

Valve appears to be rolling out these tools to help developers address issues introduced by patches. That could go a long way toward fixing the many problems with the Steam Deck Verified program. There are numerous examples of games with Verified status that do not run well on Steam Deck at all, requiring major compromises in visual quality or overall performance, which makes the approval label seem less reliable.

According to Valve, more than 95% of Steam users agree with the verified ratings. However, that is challenged by the existence of sites like ProtonDB, which let users help others optimize Steam Deck performance for various verified games. These tools will likely also help prepare for the launch of Valve's Steam Machine, planned for 2026, with a very different verification process that Valve says will be used to evaluate performance on the living-room PC. The continued development of the Steam Deck and its support tools shows Valve's commitment to user experience and game performance.