Cyberpunk 2077 is Verified for Steam Deck but what does that mean? Not much

By Rami Tabari
published

Verified means that it works, but that's about it

Cyberpunk 2077
(Image credit: CD Projekt)

Cyberpunk 2077 is officially Verified for Steam Deck, but what does that mean for people planning on playing said game on said deck?

Officially? All it means is that it checks four boxes for Steam's review team. These are the categories:

  • Input: The title should have full controller support, use appropriate controller input icons, and automatically bring up the on-screen keyboard when needed.
  • Display: The game should support the default resolution of Steam Deck (1280x800 or 1280x720), have good default settings, and text should be legible.
  • Seamlessness: The title shouldn’t display any compatibility warnings, and if there’s a launcher it should be navigable with a controller.
  • System Support: If running through Proton, the game and all its middleware should be supported by Proton. This includes anti-cheat support.
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Unfortunately, I don't own a Steam Deck, but as someone who wants one and plans to purchase future iterations, this "Verified" tag is not very informative. All that Verified tells me is that the game runs and that I don't have to go out of my way to get it to run.

That's not what I care about when I play games. I, and many other gamers, care about the frame rate and smoothness of play. It's not even officially confirmed (opens in new tab) that Verified games run at 30 frames per second, but at the very least, that should be a qualification. "Performs well on Steam Deck" doesn't tell me or a consumer anything useful.

Beyond that, there should be indicators of whether or not a game can run at 60 frames per second, which is becoming the standard and optimal way to play as hardware advances.

For the record, people have benchmarked the game (opens in new tab), and we've seen a relatively consistent rate of 30 fps.

For those that are interested in playing Cyberpunk 2077 on a better console (aka PS5), it has received a 50% discount today on the PlayStation Store (you have to be logged in to see it) and will last until March 16, 2023.

Rami Tabari
Rami Tabari
Editor

Rami Tabari is an Editor for Laptop Mag. He reviews every shape and form of a laptop as well as all sorts of cool tech. You can find him sitting at his desk surrounded by a hoarder's dream of laptops, and when he navigates his way out to civilization, you can catch him watching really bad anime or playing some kind of painfully difficult game. He’s the best at every game and he just doesn’t lose. That’s why you’ll occasionally catch his byline attached to the latest Souls-like challenge.