Steam will show average Steam Deck frame rates before you buy

Steam is starting to show average frame rates from real Steam Deck play, so a buyer can see how a game ran for other people before paying. Other hardware is promised later.

What the early numbers leave out

For this first trial, Valve keeps only data from Decks left at the default frame limit, and it makes no attempt to account for custom in-game settings. That matters because the same hardware can perform very differently with different settings. Valve says the figures still gather around relatively narrow ranges once the unusual effects of vertical sync are accounted for.

Why Valve wants buyers to decide

Steam Deck Verified requires a certain level of performance, and games that fall short can be marked as unsupported. Some players find those games playable anyway. With no single standard for playable performance, Valve prefers to show the numbers and let buyers judge for themselves.

Why reviews were not enough

Players can already attach their hardware specifications to a review. Few players write reviews at all, and the report says even fewer include their specs, which leaves little to go on for a given game.

The new figures come only from users who opted in to share them. Valve captures performance while a game is played on a Deck and shows it to other users, anonymously.

Beyond the Steam Deck

For now, opting in means joining the Steam Client Beta. Valve says the feature will reach all users "in the future". It is not clear whether desktop data would be matched by graphics card, by a GPU and CPU pairing or by several factors at once.

Valve calls the Deck data "a stepping stone toward providing framerate data for more devices than just Steam Deck". Valve's own Steam Machine mini-desktop and Steam Frame VR headset are included, and desktop and laptop gaming PCs are expected to follow.

Source: Tom's Hardware