Valve doing more of a Steam Deck push with their Steam Deck Verified game pages

Heck, Steam is providing devs with free publicity and notifying them too!

After W10 expiration, this is a very smart move on behalf of our Lord and Savior Gaben.

I do still plan on getting a steam deck, I mostly play indie or older titles so I know it'll run most of what I want

Love how much developers seem to be embracing the deck eco-system

The only thing that puts me off is the small screen. My eyes aren't getting any younger.

I still wish Valve would adapt the Deck technology to a laptop form-factor. A 14" or 15" screen would be great. Economically priced like the Deck, of course.


Last edited by Caldathras on 21 Oct 2025 at 7:04 pm UTC

@Caldathras

The only thing that puts me off is the small screen. My eyes aren't getting any younger.

I'm in the same boat, unfortunately. While glasses obviously help, I've actually started using XR glasses more and more with the Deck and it's quite enjoyable and even helps avoid shoulder/neck pains from looking down as well!


Last edited by Cybolic on 23 Oct 2025 at 11:53 am UTC

The only thing that puts me off is the small screen. My eyes aren't getting any younger.

Most text in most games is around the size of text on a phone or a paperback, or bigger. The OLED screen is marginally bigger than the LCD screen.

Most text in most games is around the size of text on a phone or a paperback, or bigger. The OLED screen is marginally bigger than the LCD screen.

... and there's a Steam Deck verification category like "text hard to read".

i think its a bit too late for that, because the competition "can play everything", and its geting close price-wise (i mean the rog xbox ally normal edition, not the x version), this will help sell those games that get verified but not help put an spotlight on the deck, valve time is killing the deck/steamOS momentum.


but i still think microsoft is dumb for not puting an killer price like 100USD.

All that still doesn't necessarily make a game on Deck usable with older eyes. The basic thing about the Deck is that it makes up for the smallish screen by being closer to you than a big screen would be. But, lots of older people can't focus from close up. I myself don't have this problem big time, but I have noticed that when I'm looking at a fine print label, and I bring it closer to try to read it, I lose focus just before it gets close enough. That didn't happen when I was younger, I could focus from quite close in. Many older people have this problem worse than I do, plus not great sight in other ways; a Deck just isn't going to be that usable for them--not because anybody's done anything wrong, just because that form factor isn't going to work for them.

elmapul, I do think maybe it's getting to be time for a Steam Deck II. Maybe a couple of recent/upcoming chips and stuff make it worth while? That and Valve are going to need to strongarm the anti-cheat situation somehow.


Last edited by Purple Library Guy on 22 Oct 2025 at 4:10 pm UTC

This is good especially considering Microsoft sent their "Xbox" handheld out to every content creator with even a small following.They're undoubtedly hoping influencers will do a lot of the promotion work for them.

but i still think microsoft is dumb for not puting an killer price like 100USD.

Microsoft said ASUS set the price. After all, despite the Xbox branding, it's still an ASUS product.

Anyway, I don't think the "play everything" claim is as much of a flex as they think it is. Yes, there are some people who really want to play fortnite on a handheld, but realistically, anyone serious about online competitive gaming has an expensive mouse and keyboard, a high-refresh rate monitor, etc. Casual folks love the Steam Deck, and I don't think that's going to change for a more expensive handheld that still has Windows on it, despite the Xbox branding.

@Cybolic

I've actually started using XR glasses more and more with the Deck

Fascinating idea. Glad it works for you, but ... the price! It costs the same if not more than the Steam Deck itself!

How are these glasses for people who are prone to vertigo/motion-sickness though?

@Purple Library Guy

Many older people have this problem worse than I do, plus not great sight in other ways; a Deck just isn't going to be that usable for them--not because anybody's done anything wrong, just because that form factor isn't going to work for them.

That explains it quite nicely. It's not just the size of the text but all that fine detail in such a small image. It strains the eyes. You start to feel it more as you get older.

I have noticed that when I'm looking at a fine print label, and I bring it closer to try to read it, I lose focus just before it gets close enough. That didn't happen when I was younger

Yep, that's how it manifested for me. Eventually, that led to occasional use of reading glasses. Now, the glasses are necessary for all my reading.

My worry is that all this strain on the eyes of younger folk will cause them to need reading glasses even earlier than I did.

My worry is that all this strain on the eyes of younger folk will cause them to need reading glasses even earlier than I did.

It wouldn't be that way round. The folk wisdom is that focusing too much on close things when you're young affects the ability to focus on things far away - the short-sighted bookworm stereotype. Becoming long-sighted - unable to focus on objects that are close - happens as you get older, regardless of whether you've ever been long-sighted, short-sighted, or neither, when you were younger.

If you need your glasses to read a phone or a book then you'll also need your glasses for the Deck.

I still wish Valve would adapt the Deck technology to a laptop form-factor. A 14" or 15" screen would be great. Economically priced like the Deck, of course.

And I wish Valve would release a circular trackpad-only (no joystick) variant of the Steam Deck OLED with same pricing.
🙄

@Caldathras

How are these glasses for people who are prone to vertigo/motion-sickness though?

I would say they're usable, but with caveats. I have the XReal ones that come with their little "Beam" Android box, which enables some headtracking functionality, so the screen appears to stay in the same location in one's surroundings.
I don't actually use it much for gaming though, as there's a Decky Loader plugin called "XR Gaming Plugin" that enables much the same functionality, directly from the Steam Deck.
It's not perfect though, there's still some occasional delay in how the screen moves, so it's likely to depend on your comfort level.
That said, the most comfortable way, is still just laying flat down with the Deck on may lap and my face aimed at the ceiling, so no need for any head-tracking that way

The only thing that puts me off is the small screen. My eyes aren't getting any younger.

I feel your pain - I'm in my mid-40s and am desperately in need of glasses, because my eyes are getting so bad... I work around this by having my Steam Deck connected to to a projector - which then projects onto a wall - most of the time.

I still wish Valve would adapt the Deck technology to a laptop form-factor. A 14" or 15" screen would be great. Economically priced like the Deck, of course.

I'd rather they package it up in a "mini PC" or console-like system... Either way, it'd give them more physical room to integrate better components (e.g. a better CPU and / or CPU).

I'm in the same boat, unfortunately. While glasses obviously help, I've actually started using XR glasses more and more with the Deck and it's quite enjoyable and even helps avoid shoulder/neck pains from looking down as well!

Are you talking about those "glasses that act as a display" things like Goovis?

i think its a bit too late for that, because the competition "can play everything", and its geting close price-wise (i mean the rog xbox ally normal edition, not the x version), this will help sell those games that get verified but not help put an spotlight on the deck, valve time is killing the deck/steamOS momentum.

100% This.

The longer Valve Software hold off on a "Steam Deck 2" with a solution to the anti-cheat situation, the harder it is going to be to actually convince Everyday Gamers that the "Steam Deck 2" is the superior choice... As it is now, you can purchase a superior alternative to the Steam Deck (from a hardware perspective) for not too much more than the top-tier Steam Deck model, and it can play almost every game in the Steam catalog.

Obviously us Linux gamers are always going to keep coming back to SteamOS - but how do you sell a "Steam Deck 2" to the Everyday Gamer twelve months down the track, if your competitors have been offering an alternative that plays almost everything for not much more?

That and Valve are going to need to strongarm the anti-cheat situation somehow.

This is a non-negotiable for Everyday Gamers... A "Steam Deck 2" must have some sort of solution to the anti-cheat situation, if it is ever going to be a serious competitor to everyone else.

If Valve Software can't come up with a solution to this, then the Steam Deck will remain a niche product, outiside of Linux gamers.

Fascinating idea. Glad it works for you, but ... the price! It costs the same if not more than the Steam Deck itself!

If you mostly use your Steam Deck at home, just get a projector - you can pick them up for cheap-ish these days, and use them with other devices, too... In saying that, I would probably use my Steam Deck outside of the home if I had glasses like this.

For the first treatment of getting older and not being able to read as easy as in the old times anymore, they've got "reading helpers" (cheap glasses) in the drugstores around here, for five to ten bucks.