Linux Gaming

The Steam Deck has massively more games than Nintendo Switch

Markus

Jan 10, 2024 — 2 min read

If you are a proud owner of a Steam Deck, you have access to over 15,000+ games that are either playable or verified by Valve.

This means that you can enjoy a vast variety of titles on your handheld device, from indie gems to AAA blockbusters. And the best part is, this number is constantly growing as more games are added to the Steam Deck certification process.

But what does this mean for the Nintendo Switch, the Steam Deck’s main competitor in the handheld market? Well, it means that the Steam Deck has officially overtaken the Switch in terms of game library size, despite being released five years later. The Switch currently has just under 11,000 games available, and while some of them are exclusive to the platform, many of them are also available on the Steam Deck.

But wait - there's even more more games!

What's even better about the Steam Deck: there are games in the "Unplayable" status (such as Rocksmith 2014, if you have it on Steam) that are actually very well possible to play - more games! For Linux gamers, it means they can rely on either the Steam Deck verified rating or the ProtonDB rating (which is a bit more accurate, and has user guides to get games running)

In addition - you can use emulation to play all PS2/Xbox games, as well as most Nintendo Switch games. Assuming you acquired the game ROM's legally.

How did the Steam Deck achieve this feat? By leveraging the power of the PC gaming ecosystem, which has been around for decades and has accumulated a huge amount of games from different genres, eras, and developers. Valve has also been diligent in ensuring that older PC games are compatible with the Steam Deck, as well as new releases that are optimized for the device. The Steam Deck rating system lets you know how well a game will run on the handheld, whether it’s playable, verified, or unsupported (yet many unsupported games will run just fine with just a few tweaks).

In other news

The Switch is also rumored to get a new version this year, which could boost its performance and features. However, the Steam Deck has clearly established itself as a formidable contender in the handheld market, offering a massive game library that can satisfy any gamer’s taste. What more? The Steam Deck is a PC - you have the freedom to do whatever you want on it, including playing cheaper games and emulating Switch games, while Nintendo Switch is a closed platform.

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