{"id":1547396,"date":"2026-04-08T04:02:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T04:02:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/otCJoVNJJbQmWbD5oAktYA"},"modified":"2026-04-08T04:02:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T04:02:44","slug":"after-a-recent-patch-death-stranding-2-is-great-on-steam-deck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/after-a-recent-patch-death-stranding-2-is-great-on-steam-deck\/","title":{"rendered":"After a recent patch, Death Stranding 2 is great on Steam Deck"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When Death Stranding 2 released for PC last month I didn’t think it would work well on Steam Deck. And it didn’t: when I booted it up on my OLED, nothing I tinkered with could stop its framerate from lurching between the teens and mid-20s with long hitches in-between, which was slightly disappointing because Death Stranding: Director’s Cut is a gem on Steam Deck. <\/p>\n

Still, fair enough, I thought. It’s a big blockbuster PS5-exclusive, and the Steam Deck is getting long-ish in the tooth.<\/p>\n

But last week port magicians Nixxes rolled out patch 1.2 for the PC version of Death Stranding 2. The patch notes promised “improved performance on Steam Deck” among other performance-centric tweaks. Nixxes has worked on a heap of PS5 games that have worked surprisingly well on Steam Deck, including both modern Spider-Man games, both The Last of Us games, and Horizon Zero Dawn, among others.<\/p>\n

Emboldened, I re-downloaded all 112 GB of Death Stranding 2 and the difference is definitely night and day: using the game’s default portable settings I’m generally getting between 30 and 35 fps during moment-to-moment open world gameplay, and around 50 fps in minimal interiors. Battery drain is a bit intense\u2014you can expect around an hour and a half worth of play at best.<\/p>\n

Here’s what the portable preset for Death Stranding 2 looks like:<\/p>\n

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\"Settings<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

(Image credit: Kojima Productions)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And a few shots taken in-game on the Steam Deck:<\/p>\n

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Kojima Productions<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Kojima Productions<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Kojima Productions<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Kojima Productions<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

A lot of studios are implementing portable presets in PC games and it’s very welcome, even when the preset doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll run well on Deck. Resident Evil 9 and Crimson Desert are two notable examples: I haven’t played the latter, but Resident Evil 9 is perfectly playable on a Steam Deck OLED so long as you’re not expecting 60 fps and exorbitantly detailed texture quality. <\/p>\n

It’s the same with Death Stranding 2. It’s definitely a game that lends itself to a big screen, but I’ve played six hours worth on the OLED’s 7.4 inch display and haven’t really felt myself at a disadvantage. Overall, it’s good proof that the Steam Deck, and other handhelds with similar specs, can still sing so long as studios have the time to optimise for them.<\/p>\n

Here’s the full 1.2 patch notes for Death Stranding 2:<\/p>\n