Valve Shared Several Useful Tips On Optimizing Games for Steam Deck

Valve has recently announced that its handheld gaming PC Steam Deck has finally become available for purchase without reservation. So now is probably the best time for developers to learn more about how to make their PC titles compatible with Valve's portable PC.

During last month's GI Live: London, Valve designer Alden Kroll and business development head Erik Peterson gave a talk and answered a number of developers' questions, including those regarding games optimization for Steam Deck.

According to Peterson, the process of optimizing a game for Steam Deck is not as intimidating as many can think. He noted that the company has been mostly hearing from developers that "their games actually just work on Steam Deck anyway, without any kind of additional work" adding that it was "intention for Steam Deck from the start."

"Using Proton [the compatibility layer for Microsoft Windows games to run on Linux-based operating system used by Steam Deck], it runs the Windows build of your game and it should just work across the board now," Peterson said.

He, however, shared several tips that can help game developers make the Steam Deck experience for their players even better.

First of all, he noted that getting a "Verified" status for a game can improve the game's experience on Steam Deck. Valve classes all Steam Deck games under four compatibility ratings: Verified, Playable, Unsupported, and Unknown.

Verified games are projects that are launched on the portable PC without any additional actions on the part of the user and give players access to all in-game functionality. Games that have the Playable status include titles that require little setup, like bringing up an onscreen keyboard or navigating a launcher, to access the full functionality.

The Unsupported category includes games that do not run on Steam Deck, most likely because they are incompatible with Proton or require specific hardware components, and Unknown titles are games that haven't yet passed the compatibility review.

To get the Verified status, developers can manually apply for a compatibility review. In addition, Valve itself also adds games to this category if it believes that they will be important for Steam Deck customers.

Another tip Peterson shared is that adding controller support will get developers closer to receiving the "Deck Verified" status. According to him, Steam Deck is basically a "handheld gaming PC with a controller built-in" which makes controller support "really, really important."

Peterson also advised developers to avoid using launchers. All functionality for the game should be put into the game client without requiring another program as, according to Valve's documentation, launchers often rely on platform-specific frameworks that "can turn into difficult experiences for customers on a small screen using a controller for navigation."

However, the company also noted that in case games require a native UI launcher, developers can use the SetGameLauncherMode API to automatically translate controller input to the keyboard and mouse.

You can learn other tips that can help you get a better experience on Steam Deck, like the importance of cloud saves and avoiding requiring an internet connection for single-player games, here.

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