The reasons for picking up a Steam Deck are rapidly mounting, as Boiling Steam has shared new statistics derived from SteamDB that imply over 75% of games that Valve has tested for its handheld gaming PC are now designated as either Playable, or, better yet, Verified, promising full functionality and support for the machine’s built-in controls, display, and other hardware. According to the data, Valve has tested just over 13,300 games, at least 10,000 of which are now supported by the device that is currently available for as low as $359.10. There are some caveats in the report, though, with the author warning that “Verified” could be a bit of a stretch in some cases (see: The Last of Us Part I)—and the rate of newly Verified titles also seem to be falling despite Valve’s efforts.
The “verified” rating has always had flukes, and more recently one of them is again questionable, with The Last of Us getting a verified rating after a series of patches improving its performance and getting rid of many crashes – despite that, the performance on the Steam Deck even at the lowest details is barely enough to sustain 30 fps in specific areas – while performance is not officially one of the criteria to consider a game verified, it would make sense for it to a robust one. In any case, the framerates have definitely improved with the latest patches, as you can see in the below video:
