After months of waiting, the Steam Deck is almost ready to be released, with just a few more weeks to go until launch day. With Valve updating the UIs of its own games, and titles being tweaked to make them compatible with the device, this final run-up to February 25 seems to represent a last-minute cram to make sure things go smoothly when it finally hits the shelves. In the meantime, it seems that there is reason to be even more excited about the handheld PC, as a number of developers have spoken quite favorably about the device.
According to a recent report from PC Gamer, some developers who have been working with the Steam Deck have been praising the system after spending some time getting to grips with it. Speaking to a number of spokespeople for studios, the consensus is that the device has been surprisingly easy to work with. Jonathan Smårs, one of the programmers for Valheim, said that they were surprised by "how well games work" on the Deck, as well as the way it feels to play on it, adding that the studio's Viking-themed survival game ran from day one.
Dev kits for the Steam Deck were sent out last year, and within days people were already starting to praise it. In the final few weeks before it gets released, it seems that opinion has not changed much, and while the feedback has been positive, a number of developers do say that there had to be some minor adjustments when playing their own games on it. Rise to Ruins developer, Raymond Doerr, said that there were some "issues with controls" but that the game was not originally intended for a controller in the first instance.
While partners and studios have been forthcoming with their feedback, there has been one thing that no one is able to talk about just yet, and that is the specifics of the OS. For those who don't know, Steam Deck runs on a Linux-based operating system, which uses Proton that enables for Windows compatibility, though devs have agreed to an NDA saying they wouldn't discuss the ins and outs of how it works.
With more than 100 games now verified for the Deck, there's still time to get things ready for when it comes out in just over three weeks. In general, it sounds as if Valve's device is going to be interesting, and given the praise that studios have been giving it lately, there's a chance that it could usher in a new era of mobile gaming.
The Steam Deck is due out on February 25.
Source: PC Gamer