Following updates released just after the game entered early access, Path of Exile 2 is now classed as Playable on the Steam Deck, just like developer Grinding Gear Games assured it would be. In fact, the only reason PoE2 falls short of the green Verified tick is due to text size issues, which are yet to have a workaround.
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It was a bizarre situation at launch, as the Path of Exile 2 system requirements aren't exactly tough at the minimum specs level, so having the game rated as Unknown made little sense as it seemed like a surefire day one Playable title. You can run the game on an Nvidia GeForce GTX 960, which came out nearly ten years ago, so why would the Steam Deck struggle?
Path of Exile 2 was actually demonstrated running on the Steam Deck pre-release, so it was only a matter of time before the rating was changed. This news came from Noah Kupetsky at SteamDeckHQ, who tried the PC demo of Path of Exile 2 during Summer Games Fest and asked the question regarding Steam Deck compatibility. The team member to whom Kupetsky asked the question confirmed that the team is working on it, and said that in an ideal world, the game will be playable on the handheld "without issue."
The Playable rating is great for gamers who want to take their Path of Exile 2 progress with them on the go, but don't expect full verification to be a formality. We've recently seen several great games, such as Ghost of Tsushima, fall short of receiving a Steam Deck Verified rating for minor issues and text size is quite a common issue that certain games never overcome.
Even if a text-size slider is included, Steam Deck compatibility is judged based on how the game boots and plays in default settings at either 800p or 720p. The text size from the original game would need to be increased as part of the default configuration for the game to earn a Steam Deck Verified rating.
If you're looking for more titles to play on your handheld, check out our guide to the best microSD for Steam Deck guide, if you're looking to expand your storage and install more games.