Valve Expands Steam Deck Support Across PC Games

Platform support has been a huge issue throughout PC gaming, and it's not going anywhere. Support and performance have been big issues throughout PC gaming, and they're not fading. As players become more hesitant to spend $70 on a game that later has technical issues, developers and publishers are focusing more on optimization and handheld compatibility.

Valve's support for Steam Deck has also come to the fore, and modifications to Steam's gift card offerings signal the end of one of Steam's final physical products. One of the greatest issues for PC players over the past few years has been performance. Often new releases would come with stuttery frame rates and little variation in settings or frame rates.

Games would be preloaded, players would spend hours after installing trying to fix them and not enjoy them. Some games were difficult even on expensive graphics cards, and fixes sometimes took months. When games were settled, discounts were offered, and early buyers found they had to pay full price for incomplete products.

Steam Deck is Getting Better at Running Unreal Engine 5 Games

It began to change in 2026. Playing games with Unreal Engine 5 is a bit more convenient on Steam Deck. Some games can now be played from start to finish at low settings and 30 fps. Stutters do still occur in these open-world areas, but are less frequent than in previous Unreal Engine 5 releases. In fact, more and more games are adopting Steam optimization.

In fact, many more games are now promoting Steam optimization. Even developers are starting to promote optimization as a feature. Gears E-Day has tons of comments on its Steam page, with several sections devoted to performance and compatibility.

The game is designed to run smoothly on most systems and will scale to 4K resolution, HDR10, hardware-ray-traced lighting, and reflections/simulated shadows. Optimization for Steam Deck is emphasized, as is optional account linking for save transfers.

Early tests revealed no drops or stuttering even with the pacer running. Emphasizing Steam Deck compatibility over other handheld devices underscores the importance of Steam to publishers. We are phasing out physical Steam Gift Cards. Physical Steam Gift Cards will be discontinued at this time.

Valve No Longer Supports Steam Physical Gift Cards

Those cards were tied to birthdays, holidays, and Steam sales for many of the players. For many PC gamers, it became a yearly tradition to save their gift cards for use during sales. Scammers were the scapegoats in Valve's eyes. The company adopted several programs but ultimately decided to eliminate physical cards.

While guest checkout is still an option, printed digital cards are not the same as printed cards. Gift card scams are still prevalent in a variety of industries, and more and more of them are becoming sophisticated – so that makes it harder for the real customer to get a physical gift card.

Steam Deck developers keep working on their platform. Several developers have demoed their games on the Steam Deck at Summer Game Fest. In a few cases, developers brought their own devices and presented the projects they use every day.

When talking to development teams, the Steam Deck was often referenced.

Many studios set 90 fps as their target. Games that were already optimized for 60 fps continued to be optimized for that speed. Stable 60 fps performance was considered a good result, and some more demanding games aimed for locked 30 fps gameplay. Support for Steam Deck will continue through 2027 as well.

Despite rising hardware costs, developers are still developing for players' existing devices. Several upcoming releases will include Steam Deck support; they are scheduled for late 2026 and 2027. Several studios have also been optimizing for Steam Machine hardware, thanks to growing interest in it. 

It's looking more than ever like a community that supports Steam and Steam Deck. Improved optimization, improved handheld playability, and greater developer attention also indicate that forthcoming versions of the PC platform may offer a better overall experience than in recent years.