Stellar Blade developer Shift Up has promised it will “optimize” the upcoming PC port to “ensure smooth gameplay even in UMPC (Steam Deck) environments.” This comes from the Q&A featured in the developers’ latest business performance results report.
A Stellar Blade PC port has been confirmed for some time with a broad release date window of sometime in 2025, and this latest development suggests that Shift Up is also committed to ensuring the game will run on the best handheld gaming PCs such as the Steam Deck.
The decision to target handheld performance is one that makes sense given the current boom in the market with more devices available than ever before. It’s also no surprise to see the Steam Deck called out specifically given that it’s reported to have sold millions of units and gamers are always looking for new Playable or Verified games to play on the handheld.
Confirmation of handheld optimizations comes as part of a wider question about the expected results of the Stellar Blade PC port. Shift Up highlights that “PC devices have a higher market share than consoles” as the reason why it expects this port to outperform the PS5 exclusive version financially.
The developer has also “identified and analyzed both successful and underperforming cases of console exclusives” being ported over to PC, and it plans to learn from this to release the best product possible.
It’s only at the end of the response that UMPC (ultra-mobile PC) devices and the Steam Deck are specifically called out. With the handheld market starting to flood with options – such as the Asus ROG Ally X and upcoming Zotac Zone 2 – targeting good Steam Deck performance is a great place to start given its aging hardware. If Stellar Blade can earn Steam Deck verification, there is no reason why it wouldn’t then work on the vast majority of other handhelds which, for the most part, are more powerful devices.
If you want to keep up to date on the latest handheld news, check out the reveal of the Ayaneo 3, which brings a never-before-seen feature to a Windows handheld. You can also read about the current best Steam Deck games if you need some inspiration for what to play next.
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