Is Steam Deck Verification Broken? Fallout 4 Case Raises Concerns

Fallout 4 on the Steam Deck is now officially verified after the next-gen update, but the performance on the new Valve handheld console is everything except satisfactory.  The graphical options have now been made inaccessible, the game crashes are more common, and frame rates are worse than playing it on a toaster.

While the Steam Deck is still one of the top picks for handheld gaming, it is also this device that has impacted the greatness of Fallout 4 and the buggy mess we have seen today.

Aside from all the frame rate drops and frequent crashes, all the players who have bought the game to play on the Deck are pretty disappointed. We all thought that Fallout 4 getting the verified rating would mean that the game could now be played on the deck, but the result has been the exact opposite.

However, for some reason, Valve has only given this game an “unsupported” rating. Many Steam Deck owners take Valve’s word as golden, trusting that its testing is comprehensive and accurate, but these latest issues endanger that trust.

The Steam Deck compatibility criteria now seem like it is just a list that holds no meaning whatsoever. Perhaps it is now time for Valve to revamp how it handles game performance and compatibility testing in the future.