Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 launched on PC on January 30th, after over a year of PlayStation 5 exclusivity. The game holds positive ratings on Steam and is generally welcomed on PC. However, it’s safe to say that it doesn’t run incredibly well on handheld devices like the Steam Deck. We were surprised to see it become Steam Deck Verified, and now Valve has reconsidered.

The Steam Deck Verification process is about informing owners which games run smoothly on the device. The hardware is starting to age, and some modern AAA games struggle on the Deck, but it remains a popular device. As of a few days ago, Spider-Man 2 has been downgraded from Verified to Playable.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has been downgraded from Verified to Playable

After the game was verified, SteamDeckHQ did some tests that demonstrated how poorly the game runs on the Steam Deck. The default graphics configuration did not run well at all; it could manage around 30 FPS, but it was not stable. There was also the issue of crashes, potentially because of high RAM usage.

This is now reflected in Valve’s official verdict, which now suggests “manual configuration of graphics settings to perform well on Steam Deck”. We can say that this doesn’t come as a surprise, given the performance issues. Currently, we don’t expect this to change unless Insomniac Games and/or Nixxes Software specifically work on Steam Deck optimization.

TechPowerUp’s benchmark tests for Spider-Man 2 call the game playable, but just barely. Using the ‘Very Low’ preset and ‘Performance’ mode for upscaling, you can just about manage a relatively stable 30 FPS. Of course, this level of performance isn’t for everyone, and the game certainly doesn’t look great, but it’s enough to avoid an Unsupported rating.

In addition to these changes, you can always turn to external performance fixes such as this ‘Better FSR 3.1.3’ mod, though we cannot personally comment on its effectiveness.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.