New Steam feature estimates your FPS before buying a new game

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A recent discovery within Steam’s files reveals a tool called ‘FPS Estimator.’ This feature is designed to give you an idea of how well a game will run on your computer before you buy it, predicting your likely framerate.

It’s incredibly frustrating when your computer can’t handle the tasks you need it to. Whether it’s an outdated graphics card or not enough memory, especially with recent hardware shortages, having insufficient components can really slow down your software.

It’s incredibly frustrating to spend money on a new game, only to find it’s poorly made and feels more like a simple slideshow than an actual game.

For years, players have used websites like ‘Can You Run It?’ to check if their computers can handle new games. Now, it looks like Valve is developing a similar feature directly within Steam, which will predict how well a game will run on your system before you buy it.

Valve working on ‘FPS Estimator’ tool for Steam

A dataminer nicknamed ‘Roadrunner’ recently discovered some new code on SteamDB. This code suggests a feature called the ‘Framerate Estimator’ is being developed.

Steam is adding a feature that predicts your likely FPS (frames per second) in games. It does this by comparing your PC’s hardware to data from other Steam players with similar setups. This discovery was made by Roadrunner on SteamDB.

— LambdaGeneration (@LambdaGen) April 4, 2026

The code lets you see if your computer can run a game directly from its Steam page. It checks your PC’s specs against the game’s requirements.

Steam can predict how well a game will run on your PC. Just enter your computer’s specs—like the CPU, graphics card, and RAM—and Steam will compare that information to data from other players with similar hardware. It then shows you a chart of their performance, giving you an idea of what to expect.

It’s not perfectly precise, and Valve acknowledges that by labeling it an ‘Estimator.’ However, by monitoring comparable computer setups, it should provide a reasonable idea of how your system performs relative to others.

This tool lets you save your computer’s specifications, so you won’t have to re-enter them each time. It also allows you to manage multiple computers. For example, if you’re considering a game that performs better on a PC than on a Steam Deck, this tool can help you decide which platform to use.

We don’t have an exact date for when this new Steam feature will be released to everyone. But some users on social media have reported being asked to share their game performance data, suggesting it could be rolling out soon.

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2026-04-06 04:48