19 Facts About Steam Deck

Steam Deck is a handheld gaming computer developed by Valve Corporation.

The lack of Linux game availability during the lifetime of Steam Deck Machines led Valve to invest development into Proton, a Linux-based compatibility layer to allow most Windows–based applications and games to be run on Linux without modification.

The Steam Deck Controller was developed by Valve as part of the Steam Deck Machine line.

Further, their experience with trying to convince other manufacturers to produce Steam Deck Machines led Valve to realize that it was better to develop all their hardware internally.

The Steam Deck, existing in three different models based on internal storage options, was shipped starting in February 2022 in North America and Europe, with other regions to follow throughout the year.

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Valve's CEO, Gabe Newell, said of the Steam Deck's approach, "As a gamer, this is a product I've always wanted.

Newell continued that he believed this was a new product category of personal computer hardware that Valve and other computer manufacturers would continue to participate in if the Steam Deck proved successful, and thus it was necessary to keep the unit's price point reasonable to demonstrate viability.

Pre-orders were limited to those with Steam Deck accounts opened before June 2021 to prevent resellers from controlling access to the device.

Steam Deck includes a custom accelerated processing unit built by AMD based on their Zen 2 and RDNA 2 architectures, named Aerith, after the Final Fantasy VII character Aerith Gainsborough.

An application programming interface specific for the Steam Deck is available to game developers, allowing a game to specify certain settings if it is being run on a Steam Deck compared to a normal computer.

Games that are confirmed to be compatible with the Steam Deck, including those with Proton and any middleware DRM solutions, that by default meet minimum performance specifications, are marked as "Verified".

These ratings are to change over time as both the Steam Deck software improves as well as updates made by developers to games to improve compatibility with the Steam Deck software.

Unlike Steam's Big Picture mode which was designed for use on television screens, which was treated as a separate software branch within Valve, the Deck version of the Steam client stays consistent with the desktop version, adding functions and interface elements to make navigating through Steam easier with controller input, and indicators typical for portable systems such as battery life and wireless connectivity.

Remote Play allows the Steam Deck to be used as a controller for a game running on a computer, providing additional control options beyond traditional keyboard and mouse or common controller systems.

The game is designed to demonstrate the various features of the Steam Deck, though is still playable with a controller for other systems.

Valve stated that they did not really consider the Switch in designing the Deck, as they "tried to make all the decisions really in Steam Deck that targeted that audience and that served the customers that were already having a good time interacting with the games that are on that platform, on our platform", and that by happenstance, came out with a device that was similar in function to the Switch.

The Verge stated that generally, the Steam Deck was a more powerful machine compared to the Switch, but that power came with a tradeoff in battery life which was greater with the Switch.

One of the main criticisms of the Steam Deck highlighted by multiple reviewers has been its battery life.

Matt Hanson writing for TechRadar stated, "Less welcome is the fact that the battery life of the Steam Deck is pretty poor, with it just about managing one and a half hours while playing God of War" and that "Unfortunately during our time with the Steam Deck, battery life is an issue.