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[Draugoth]

Closing in nicely on the big 10K, the Steam Deck gaming handheld from Valve has hit over 7,000 games noted to be Playable or Verified. The figure was hit a few days ago.

As things stand at time of writing the numbers are:

• Verified - 2,709
• Playable - 4,409
• Unsupported - 2,469

Numbers taken from SteamDB, which also includes unlisted titles that had their store page and purchasing removed from Steam, but players will still have in their library and be able to play.

Also worth noting is that these are only what has been tested. The real number of playable games is much much higher. Valve don't limit what you can install; that's entirely up to you. Deck Verified is simply a case of "these were actually tested somehow".

While Valve's Deck Verified system isn't perfect, and I have my own gripes with it, the vast majority of games do actually have the correct rating and it's a good measure to go on.

Some of the notable games that became either Playable or Verified during December include:

• Assassin's Creed Valhalla
• CRISIS CORE –FINAL FANTASY VII– REUNION
• DARK SOULS II
• Dwarf Fortress
• High On Life
• MARVEL SNAP
• Persona 3 Portable
• Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator

Lots of really great games keep getting released on Steam, the hardest part is actually picking something to play and clearly we don't need exclusives.

source​

 

[feynoob]

Shit. Man, that system is becoming a powerhouse soon.

Hope Valve capitalize on this opportunity.

 

[01011001]

this is why Microsoft needs to make a portable Series S as a mid-gen refresh for it.
the Series S also has thousands of games playable on it, and it would give that handheld an instant game library, which could be highly desirable for many, either as a newcomer or as someone who wants it as a companion to their Series X.

Valve showed that this can be very popular. as many also use the Steam Deck that same way, basically as a companion to their desktop PC

 

[Thaedolus]

Shit. Man, that system is a powerhouse.

ftfy

 

[Fahdis]

this is why Microsoft needs to make a portable Series S as a mid-gen refresh for it.
the Series S also has thousands of games playable on it, and it would give that handheld an instant game library, which could be highly desirable for many, either as a newcomer or as someone who wants it as a companion to their Series X.

Valve showed that this can be very popular. as many also use the Steam Deck that same way, basically as a companion to their desktop PC

Why? Microsoft games are already on Steam? If you're referring to GamePass I guess it makes sense.

 

[01011001]

Why? Microsoft games are already on Steam? If you're referring to GamePass I guess it makes sense.

it's not about that. the Series S will lose its desirability as a console as time goes on, but turning it into a handheld would give it new life IMO and make it way more desirable.
it also benefits from having a massive library of SX and backwards compatible games available from the get go.

there will be a mid gen refresh for sure, but you can't really make a more powerful Series S... that would basically be a Series X at that point. so what else can you do with the Series S? well, shrink it and put a screen on it!

 

[Magic Carpet]

The only games I have trouble with are simple ones that don't support the weird resolution of the Steam Deck 1280 X 800, some older games choke and either crash or play with stuff way off screen. Work arounds are using the dock to launch the game in 1080p then hope to find a setting that works in lower resoultions.
But for the most part everything seems to run fine on the Deck.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Amazing handheld. Best one out there.

 

[chixdiggit]

Best handheld I ever owned by a wide margin. That 7,000 number is pretty low as I have played many non verified games that work perfect.
Can we also give some love to the track pads? They make the Steam Deck a Strategy game beast.

 

[Celcius]

Nice, hopefully the steam deck 2 has an oled screen and quieter fan

 

[Northeastmonk]

Whenever I hear about a game coming to PC. I wonder how it’ll play on the Steam Deck. Scary part is - if they had this device running at the same level as a high end PC with a better battery life. They’d be major competition to the console makers.

This has given me the size I’ve always wanted in a handheld screen and the flexibility to play all those games I bought during Steam sales.

 

[CrustyBritches]

That's the true purpose of the Steam Deck: To wrestle control of PC gaming from Windows by systematically creating compatibility layers that work with each game through SteamOS.

I'm a heretic, so I dual-boot SteamOS+Win10 for Game Pass. When you include Windows and emulation the real number is astronomical.

 

[Kenpachii]

That's the true purpose of the Steam Deck: To wrestle control of PC gaming from Windows by systematically creating compatibility layers that work with each game through SteamOS.

I'm a heretic, so I dual-boot SteamOS+Win10 for Game Pass. When you include Windows and emulation the real number is astronomical.

Jup its pretty smart move.

 

[Heisenberg007]

this is why Microsoft needs to make a portable Series S as a mid-gen refresh for it.

Microsoft first needs to make their games playable and verified on the Steam Deck. The support by Microsoft is horrible. Arguably the worst by a publisher.

I can't play many of their games without tweaking multiple settings. Apart from the Ori series, hardly any Xbox game just plays out of the box fine. Grounded is a particular pain in the ass.

 

[01011001]

Microsoft first needs to make their games playable and verified on the Steam Deck. The support by Microsoft is horrible. Arguably the worst by a publisher.

I can't play many of their games without tweaking multiple settings. Apart from the Ori series, hardly any Xbox game just plays out of the box fine. Grounded is a particular pain in the ass.

well it's not their problem that Valve made their own OS based on Linux to run mostly Windows based games on it...
the fact that they care at all to support it (which they tried to do) is already surprising to me.

 

[PonyStation4]

Whenever I hear about a game coming to PC. I wonder how it’ll play on the Steam Deck. Scary part is - if they had this device running at the same level as a high end PC with a better battery life. They’d be major competition to the console makers.

This has given me the size I’ve always wanted in a handheld screen and the flexibility to play all those games I bought during Steam sales.

If it ran as a high end pc with better battery life it wouldn't be a handheld anymore, it would be suitcase

 

[Heisenberg007]

well it's not their problem that Valve made their own OS based on Linux to run mostly Windows based games on it...
the fact that they care at all to support it (which they tried to do) is already surprising to me.

It is on Microsoft. Developers can verify their games and remove issues so their games run without problems on the platform. Other publishers are doing a great job and supporting Steam Deck with verified games.

PlayStation is leading the charge; almost every game they release is not just playable but developer verified.

Microsoft should do the same as almost none of their games are verified and are a pain to play.

 

[Panajev2001a]

It is on Microsoft. Developers can verify their games and remove issues so their games run without problems on the platform. Other publishers are doing a great job and supporting Steam Deck with verified games.

PlayStation is leading the charge; almost every game they release is not just playable but developer verified.

Microsoft should do the same as almost none of their games are verified and are a pain to play.

Agreed . I think if the shoe were on the other foot… something something… anti consumer… something… something… .

 

[Panajev2001a]

well it's not their problem that Valve made their own OS based on Linux to run mostly Windows based games on it...
the fact that they care at all to support it (which they tried to do) is already surprising to me.

Considering how many third parties have done great work to have the games verified on Steam Deck (even without Valve jumping through hoops for them with Proton) statements like this make me even less welcoming for MS to acquire any more large publishers (let alone Activision - Blizzard) as the effect is not just felt on where console games go but also where PC games go… we are in a time where even PS games reach PC in an enhanced fashion (with some delay and ported by an internal specialist team so that the console version is still developed around its intended HW), maybe MS can do a better job at moving GamePass and their titles out of the Windows only ecosystem (but then again helping reduce the PC monopoly they have that is helping to fund the acquisition of publishers would not suit them… see why the circle is vicious here?).

 

[Razvedka]

That's the true purpose of the Steam Deck: To wrestle control of PC gaming from Windows by systematically creating compatibility layers that work with each game through SteamOS.

I'm a heretic, so I dual-boot SteamOS+Win10 for Game Pass. When you include Windows and emulation the real number is astronomical.

This. What Valve is doing is a huge service to all gamers. And the Deck itself is amazing.

 

[Shadowstar39]

The only games I have trouble with are simple ones that don't support the weird resolution of the Steam Deck 1280 X 800, some older games choke and either crash or play with stuff way off screen. Work arounds are using the dock to launch the game in 1080p then hope to find a setting that works in lower resoultions.
But for the most part everything seems to run fine on the Deck.

You can add command line switches to game properties to set a custom resolution. I did this on a few games I changed the resolution to and couldn't get the screen to show the buttons to change it back.

 

[01011001]

Microsoft should do the same as almost none of their games are verified and are a pain to play.

isn't it Easy Anticheat that's mostly the issue?

 

[Heisenberg007]

isn't it Easy Anticheat that's mostly the issue?

No, not always. For instance, Halo MCC multiplayer doesn't work at all. Grounded online doesn't work at all. But Grounded's single-player is also a pain in the ass.

Check this out to see the numerous tweaks people to have to do to run Grounded on Steam Deck, for example: https://www.protondb.com/app/962130

I wanted to replay Grounded portably but I didn't even bother buying it because I don't have the mental energy to do all these tweaks. Replayed Ori instead.

 

[Dr.brain64]

Ms with their windows exclusives....

 

[MidGenRefresh]

Great stuff but in my experience a lot of games that are marked as unsupported are actually 100% playable. I just finished The Witcher 2 and it was almost flawless, outside of a 1 or 2 crashes in ~40 hours playthrough.

 

[Topher]

Great stuff but in my experience a lot of games that are marked as unsupported are actually 100% playable. I just finished The Witcher 2 and it was almost flawless, outside of a 1 or 2 crashes in ~40 hours playthrough.

Noticed that for Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky as well. Unsupported but runs fine. I'm sure more than a few are like that.

 

[Topher]

That's the true purpose of the Steam Deck: To wrestle control of PC gaming from Windows by systematically creating compatibility layers that work with each game through SteamOS.

I'm a heretic, so I dual-boot SteamOS+Win10 for Game Pass. When you include Windows and emulation the real number is astronomical.

I had no idea dual boot was a thing for Steam Deck.

 

[DenchDeckard]

I absolutely adore mine. Let me send it into valve and put sn oled screen into it and it will probably be my favourite piece of hardware, just trailing my PC.

Thing is incredible and I'll buy an upgraded one the second pre orders open.

 

[01011001]

No, not always. For instance, Halo MCC multiplayer doesn't work at all.

well MCC uses easy anticheat...

 

[Fredrik]

Awesome handheld. I’ve already played more on Steam Deck on it’s first year than I’ve played on Switch since launch.

 

[MrMephistoX]

Best handheld I ever owned by a wide margin. That 7,000 number is pretty low as I have played many non verified games that work perfect.
Can we also give some love to the track pads? They make the Steam Deck a Strategy game beast.

Love mine too but after going back to switch to play some games with relatives over the holidays man do they need to take some hardware design tips from Nintendo. I hope they find a way to pack the same power into a much smaller footprint on v2.

 

[CrustyBritches]

I had no idea dual boot was a thing for Steam Deck.

I've been doing it for about 7 months since they finally introduced the official audio drivers. I use Win10, it just seems to work better for me. I followed the tutorial from Deck Wizard on Youtube. There's 2 ways to do it, but I still use the old way that will automatically boot into Windows, or you can hold Vol-down + Power to enter the boot menu and select SteamOS. There's a newer, sleeker method that boots into a nice looking GUI and you can just press an icon for the OS you want. SteamOS update 3.4 broke the new method temporarily from what I saw. There was a fix, but it didn't affect me since I do the old way. Deck Wizard actually has a new video where he does quad-boot for 4 OSes.

For Windows I do all Valve-supplied driver installations. Then I manually update a bunch of Xbox associated apps in the Windows Store. Then I pin On-screen Keyboard and Xbox(GP app) to the taskbar. I use SWICD that starts with Windows for the controls to allow system-wide controller support for GP, EGS, etc. There's a version of AMD Adrenaline you can extract and use on the Deck for frame rate limiter and display tweaking. Windows is pretty good on Deck, especially if you want GP and easy EGS.

 

[Ronin_7]

Nice, hopefully the steam deck 2 has an oled screen and quieter fan

Yeah I'm waiting on that OLED + Better battery combo before I buy one.

That screen & battery are utter Trash so not even bothered.

 

[nightmare-slain]

gotta give it to valve for pushing gaming on linux and standing up against microsoft.

im not buying a Deck. i'm waiting to see if we get a next gen model with better battery. looks like it's doing well but i don't buy first gen hardware.

 

[Drew1440]

this is why Microsoft needs to make a portable Series S as a mid-gen refresh for it.
the Series S also has thousands of games playable on it, and it would give that handheld an instant game library, which could be highly desirable for many, either as a newcomer or as someone who wants it as a companion to their Series X.

Valve showed that this can be very popular. as many also use the Steam Deck that same way, basically as a companion to their desktop PC

The Surface Xbox, they should make it happen.

 

[Sybrix]

I recently got an OLED Switch and it looks so great, nice size screen & the colours are so vivid.

I hope another version of the Steam Deck comes out because at the moment, the screen size of that thing is putting me off, it also looks so chunky.

 

[Graciaus]

it's not about that. the Series S will lose its desirability as a console as time goes on

It already lost it. Putting their games on Steam was the best and worst decision they could have made. Making a handheld would be a waste of time and money for them. They couldn't compete with Nintendo or the deck.

 

[Panajev2001a]

gotta give it to valve for pushing gaming on linux and standing up against microsoft.

im not buying a Deck. i'm waiting to see if we get a next gen model with better battery. looks like it's doing well but i don't buy first gen hardware.

It is not perfect, it could be with an HDR OLED screen . Still, it is worth supporting as they did an incredible job on the HW and the software ecosystem around it either developing a custom solution (the software overlay around it, like per game performance profiles + screen refresh rate and frame limiter / performance overlay controls + custom launcher options + tons of game input controls remapping to one of many Steam Deck input options, and much more… not to talk about their work on Proton and contributions to the Wine ecosystem) or allowing third parties / users to fill in the gap. Looking forward to them growing the ecosystem before unveiling a nice HW generation upgrade for Steam Deck 2 (likely a semi custom SoC with a Ryzen 4+ and RDNA 4 mobile friendly based solution).

How easy it is to go from running an old DosBox game like Betrayal at Krondor with the best settings I have ever played it in to playing Morrowind vanilla or better with the OpenMW engine (Luxtorpeda making it trivial to install and setup… same thing for ScummVM based games) to then playing Monkey Island 1/2 SE (install, run, and close Pac-Man DX before though, apparently it fixes a DirectX setup issue ) to modern AAA titles… all with per title controller, performance, and settings profiles…. It is quite magnificent. 1200x800 resolution with this screen size works great!

 

[Panajev2001a]

I recently got an OLED Switch and it looks so great, nice size screen & the colours are so vivid.

I hope another version of the Steam Deck comes out because at the moment, the screen size of that thing is putting me off, it also looks so chunky.

I thought so too size wise, but aside from not being an OLED display (I do like my Switch OLED), it is far far better and more comfortable than what people would think by looking at it. Given the breadth of games you can run on it you do want to have all those control options to allow you the mapping you prefer.

 

[Esppiral]

Plus all games you can play under emulation, I am still waiting for a revision with a screen with proper aspect ratio (who the fuck though that 16:10 was good....)and resolution.

 

[Banjo64]

Really hope Valve make this a staple of their business. I’m not buying the V1 but I’d be all over a trimmer OLED model.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Really hope Valve make this a staple of their business. I’m not buying the V1 but I’d be all over a trimmer OLED model.

I think that would be a solid purchase, but putting some of the best a PC has to offer in the palm of your hands (and, with or without the Deck Dock, connected to your TV/Monitor as a cheap modern Linux based computer) with a great software effort and impressive control options (which helps support all the titles they have made available or allowed and supported third parties/home brew devs to help them do so) should be rewarded. You can sell it and get V2 when it comes out.

It is good enough that I feel that to help get the V2 model you desire it is worth helping V1 establish itself. I do not think you will he disappointed.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Plus all games you can play under emulation, I am still waiting for a revision with a screen with proper aspect ratio (who the fuck thought that 16:10 was good....)and resolution.

16:10 works very well, a good compromise between 16:9 and 4:3 titles which it still supports (tons of games on Steam were designed for that resolution). I think it was a smart choice. Resolution also… best not to waste performance and power chasing super high resolutions on a portable (helps with some older titles too, which target low resolutions) and let modern AA solutions do the rest. 1200x800 + very good spatial and temporal AA helps a ton.

I would stick with this resolution and update to HDR OLED panels… let faster GPU’s bring you much better quality per pixel (hey maybe even RT based illumination, reflections, shadows, and AO). Chasing the resolution game for a portable console is a waste of battery and performance.

 

[01011001]

It already lost it. Putting their games on Steam was the best and worst decision they could have made. Making a handheld would be a waste of time and money for them. They couldn't compete with Nintendo or the deck.

they could easily compete with the Steam Deck. like REALLY easily.

also the Series S sells really well, so that first sentence also doesn't make sense

 

[Esppiral]

16:10 works very well, a good compromise between 16:9 and 4:3 titles which it still supports (tons of games on Steam were designed for that resolution). I think it was a smart choice. Resolution also… best not to waste performance and power chasing super high resolutions on a portable (helps with some older titles too, which target low resolutions) and let modern AA solutions do the rest. 1200x800 + very good spatial and temporal AA helps a ton.

I would stick with this resolution and update to HDR OLED panels… let faster GPU’s bring you much better quality per pixel (hey maybe even RT based illumination, reflections, shadows, and AO). Chasing the resolution game for a portable console is a waste of battery and performance.

A 16:9 1280x720 resolution panel would have been preferable imho, what bothers me the most is the aspect ratio, not the resolution. 16:9 is a standard AR 16:10 is not, an many games will display black bars.

 

[Thaedolus]

I thought so too size wise, but aside from not being an OLED display (I do like my Switch OLED), it is far far better and more comfortable than what people would think by looking at it. Given the breadth of games you can run on it you do want to have all those control options to allow you the mapping you prefer.

Yeah, while the thing is chunky it’s actually far more comfortable for longer play sessions than a Switch. The grips on it feel like they were made for hands my size while the joycons on the Switch feel tiny and weak, and the low profile of the sticks feels bad in comparison too.

You do lose on some of the portability factor but I’ve hardly played my Switch at all since I got a Deck

 

[Panajev2001a]

A 16:9 1280x720 resolution panel would have been preferable imho, what bothers me the most is the aspect ratio, not the resolution. 16:9 is a standard AR 16:10 is not, an many games will display black bars.

Many games adapt and this is a great compromise for maximum compatibility… all games stuck with 4:3ish aspect ratio (2D games for example) will thank you. More and more recent 3D games support or can support it. It is far better to have 16:10 than 16:9 given the wide variety of content it supports… IMHO.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Yeah, while the thing is chunky it’s actually far more comfortable for longer play sessions than a Switch. The grips on it feel like they were made for hands my size while the joycons on the Switch feel tiny and weak, and the low profile of the sticks feels bad in comparison too.

You do lose on some of the portability factor but I’ve hardly played my Switch at all since I got a Deck

I thought that the DPad and the face buttons were impossible to reach when looking at the early pictures of the unit, but they are not at all. Having this kind of symmetrical sticks (both high up in the unit,.. one of the things the Wii U GamePad got right actually) is also very comfortable.

Ergonomics of this console need to be praised far louder than they are .

 

[jigglet]

Is this verification system automated? I imagine compatibility may be affected by future patches, no way this is a manual thing right.