According to a database, the number of games that are now either "playable" or "verified" for the Steam Deck has risen to well over 7,000, and this figure is only likely to increase as time goes on. When released in February last year, Valve's handheld system went on to become one of the best pieces of video game hardware of 2022, alongside other tech such as the ASUS TUF RTX 4090 graphics card and the somewhat similarly named Stream Deck, which is popular among many content creators.
While the Steam Deck was being compared to the Nintendo Switch in the run-up to the former's release date, many have come to see the device as a strong contender in the mobile gaming world in its own right. Essentially acting as a mobile PC, Valve has managed to make waves in the hardware industry by offering up a portable machine that's not only capable of playing a ton of games in a user's Steam library, but is versatile enough to allow for emulation.
Given this, it's not surprising that the Steam Deck has thousands of games that are now compatible with it. According to SteamDB, a third-party website that chronicles all things related to the machine and the Steam PC storefront, there are now 4,419 playable titles for the device and another 2,709 that have been verified, totaling 7,128 games at the time of writing. A game that's "playable" on the Deck means that it will run, but there may be some caveats or minor issues, whereas a "verified" title will run as intended on the system.
There are many popular AAA games now verified for the Steam Deck, including Doom, Doom Eternal, Deathloop, and Apex Legends. As mentioned above, this number is going up all the time. In fact, a report from Gaming on Linux dated December 28, 2022, showed that the number of playable games on the Deck was 4,409, which means at least 10 additional releases are now compatible. That might not sound like a lot, but it shows how developers are constantly working to make their titles function on Valve's device.
Given the popularity of the Steam Deck, it's not surprising that there's already a bit of competition out there. Systems like the OneXPlayer 2 could give Valve a run for its money with its own take on a mobile gaming PC. Whether any other company will come along and knock the Deck from its top position remains to be seen, but it looks as though the Half-Life and Portal developer has set new heights for portable gaming.
Source: Gaming on Linux, SteamDB
