Cyberpunk 2077 1.52 update added a Steam Deck preset meant to make the game run the best it can on Valve’s console, but it seems like it isn’t working properly.
A very interesting video shared on YouTube by Gaming on Linux reveals how the preset isn’t working properly at all, as the game runs better with the Medium preset on Steam Deck.
Going from Medium to Steam Deck and running the benchmark, it gave a higher performance than my video.
Reloading Cyberpunk 2077, it then says it’s preset to Ultra. So I set it to Steam Deck again and run benchmark to see really low performance. Then I set it to Low, go back to the menu, then back in and set again to Steam Deck and run then benchmark again, and it’s the best performance I’ve seen yet.
Cyberpunk 2077 seems to grab onto what preset you had last for Steam Deck, and any restart when you’ve set to Steam Deck seems to jack it back up to Ultra. So, the Steam Deck preset is definitely broken which is why other videos may show a different performance or visuals.
Low: 46.31 average FPS
Swapping Low to Steam Deck: 46.26 average FPSMedium: 36.72 average FPS
Swapping Medium to Steam Deck: 36.30 average FPSHigh: 28.39 average FPS
Swapping High to Steam Deck: 28.11 average FPSGo back to even just the menu after going through the presets and setting Steam Deck, then back into the benchmark: 22.07 average FPS as it seems to default Steam Deck preset to High+Ultra. Saw the same behaviour on desktop too.
*New Update*: After some more fun investigating, the Steam Deck preset definitely doesn’t work right. By itself, it sets High+Ultra but it’s more than that.
The Cyberpunk 2077 1.52 update introduced, alongside the broken Steam Deck preset, plenty of bug fixes on all platforms. You can find the full patch notes here.
Cyberpunk 2077 is now available on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and Google Stadia worldwide.