---
title: "Valve Shares Anonymized Frame Rate Data for Steam Deck Games"
url: https://noti.group/valve-shares-anonymized-frame-rate-data-for-steam-deck-games/
language: en
publisher: "Noti Group"
section: "Technology"
published: 2026-11-10T17:26:44.000Z
updated: 2026-11-10T21:02:32.536Z
id: f691cd0c-bf93-4de5-8606-d8bd96411fcc
source: "Ars Technica https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/11/steam-deck-performance-gets-a-reality-check-with-valves-new-fps-data/"
attribution: "Link to https://noti.group/valve-shares-anonymized-frame-rate-data-for-steam-deck-games/ and name Noti Group when you quote or summarize this story."
---

# Valve Shares Anonymized Frame Rate Data for Steam Deck Games

Valve has begun sharing anonymized frame rate data for many Steam Store pages, providing insights into how well different games perform on the standard Steam Deck and its OLED variant.

Steam Deck owners have long been aware that a game's "Verified status doesn't always guarantee smooth performance on the handheld device. In fact, players have often found that some games deemed Verified run at significantly lower frame rates than others.

Valve has now begun sharing anonymized frame rate data for many Steam Store pages, providing insights into how well different games perform on both the standard Steam Deck and its OLED variant. This data is presented as averages and histograms for each game, giving players a more detailed understanding of what to expect from their favorite titles.

The company acknowledges that some limitations apply to this new data collection effort. Players who enable VSync or frame rate limits may inadvertently skew the results, while custom in-game settings can also impact performance. However, Valve notes that despite these potential biases, the collected data tends to cluster around relatively narrow ranges.

One of the most significant takeaways from this initiative is its ability to highlight performance disparities between games with identical Verified badges. A case in point is the contrast between Cyberpunk 2077 and Skyrim: Special Edition, both of which have earned the Steam Deck Verified badge but exhibit vastly different frame rates on the hardware.

While some may argue that these results are not entirely surprising, the sheer breadth of data now available to players should provide a more nuanced understanding of what to expect from their Steam Deck experiences.

Valve's Steam Deck performance data reveals that some games labeled as Unsupported can still deliver smooth frame rates.

Games like Starfield and Silent Hill 2, despite being marked as Unsupported, have been reported to run at playable frame rates by actual Steam Deck users. This is particularly true for Assassin's Creed Syndicate, which achieves an average of nearly 60 FPS on the OLED hardware, despite its official Unsupported status.

The data also highlights the usefulness of frame rate information in evaluating single-player modes of games with multiplayer issues under SteamOS. Watch Dogs 2, officially listed as Unsupported" due to anti-cheat compatibility problems, has been found by Steam Deck players to run at averages above 40 FPS on its single-player modes.

Valve's efforts to provide developers with insights into customer experiences are also facilitated by the standard hardware configuration of the Steam Deck. This allows for easier collection and averaging of frame rate data, which can be a valuable resource for game developers looking to optimize their titles for various hardware configurations.

The concept of a Framerate Estimator tool was first hinted at in April through JSON files within the Steam client. According to those strings, the tool would allow users to select an application and a PC configuration to view a chart estimating framerates based on data from other Steam users.

This could prove particularly valuable for those looking beyond the minimum and recommended hardware requirements listed by game developers, without relying on unverified third-party websites that claim to estimate frame rates.

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Source: [Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/11/steam-deck-performance-gets-a-reality-check-with-valves-new-fps-data/)  
Published by Noti Group: https://noti.group/valve-shares-anonymized-frame-rate-data-for-steam-deck-games/