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id Software just released a major performance update for DOOM: The Dark Ages, making it run a whole lot better on handhelds like the Steam Deck. Thanks to the update it's also now Steam Deck Verified.

This is some really impressive upgrades, and just shows that you can squeeze out playable performance even at the lower end while keeping visuals looking good.

In the announcement they said the game will go through auto detection for handhelds, but you can still customize the settings. Plus, settings are now stored per-device too so no messing with other systems you play on.

The update includes general performance improvements specific to handhelds, advanced optimization settings specifically for handhelds, they optimized SFX and VFX specifically for handhelds and there's a new handheld benchmark mode too. From the announcement they noted the expected performance across devices:

Performance depends on selected power mode and whether the device is attached to a dedicated power source. Values detailed here assume the device is using the highest power setting in the OS and is not running from battery

  • Steam Deck : 720p @ ~30FPS
  • Z1 Devices : 720p @ ~30FPS (such as ASUS ROG Ally)
  • Z1E Devices : 1080p @ ~30FPS (such as ASUS ROG Ally X, Lenovo Legion Go)
  • Z2A Devices : 720p @ ~30FPS (such as XBOX ROG Ally)
  • Z2E Devices : 1080p @ ~60FPS (such as XBOX ROG Ally X)

On top of that they also said they added QOL input improvements when handhelds are docked to a stand and new controller detection on handhelds for wireless and wired external controllers.

There's also a whole bunch of general fixes and tweaks to the game for all platforms.

I think, realistically, we have the launch of the Xbox ROG Ally handhelds to thank for this sort of update, since Bethesda Softworks is owned by Microsoft they want more games to run smoothly on the Xbox ROG Ally X and especially the lower-end Xbox ROG Ally.

DOOM: The Dark Ages | Release Date: 15th May 2025

Official links:

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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StalePopcorn 11 hours ago
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NOICE! I just finished it recently. Probably the best Doom I've ever played… AND a semi well played out storyline!? WTF! 🤯 It's got a really solid engine… I wish it were more popular than U-Stutter Engine
Vortex_Acherontic 9 hours ago
Let me guess they disabled forced ray tracing on handhelds? emoji
Vortex_Acherontic 9 hours ago
I wish it were more popular than U-Stutter Engine
Unreal Engine does not have to stutter, most devs simply don't care.

See Satisfactory for example, one of the best running and even complex UE5 games I ever played and doesn't even stutter with tons of factories on screen.

Which makes me assume other devs simply don't care. emoji


Last edited by Vortex_Acherontic on 16 Oct 2025 at 12:24 pm UTC
Liam Dawe 6 hours ago
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It's got a really solid engine… I wish it were more popular than U-Stutter Engine
Well, Unreal Engine is free to use for all developers with the source available, the latest id tech is just their own.
R Daneel Olivaw 6 hours ago
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I also had a blast this year playing through Avowed which is a ue5 game and had absolutely zero stuttering or other performance issues. It looked and played amazingly.

edit: side note ... the steam app itself is really shitting the bed recently isn't it? The other day my next fest page was completely screwed up and nonsensical, now today clicking the link on a dev is completely broken! If you go to the store page for Outer Worlds 1 and click on Obsidian as the dev, it takes you to the completely wrong place ... It goes to Private Division instead. I thought I was going crazy for a minute forgetting who even developed Avowed. But nope, store is just broken.


Last edited by R Daneel Olivaw on 16 Oct 2025 at 3:20 pm UTC
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