Valve Introduces ‘Deck Verified’ for Steam Deck

Well-supported games will receive a check mark.

Well-supported games will receive a check mark.

Valve’s first truly portable gaming PC, the Steam Deck, is set to release in December, just in time for the holidays. The device, which looks like a Nintendo Switch that’s been working out, has some impressive muscle under its hood in spite of its relatively small size. Even so, as anyone who plays PC games will tell you, running them is not always such a simple endeavor, especially since the Steam Deck’s OS is based off of Linux.

In order to keep users informed of which games work on the Steam Deck and which don’t, Valve has introduced “Deck Verified,” a system that denotes which games are guaranteed to work on the console, and which may experience choppier performance.

The system is composed of four levels: the first level, Verified, is for games that are 100% compatible with the Steam Deck’s hardware and software, and can run as well as they do on a proper PC. The second level is Playable, indicating that the game can run and be played, but may require some manual tweaks to run properly. The third level is Unsupported, indicating a game cannot be played on the Steam Deck at all, usually due to hardware limitations like VR. The fourth level is Unknown, indicating that Valve hasn’t tested the game’s compatibility yet.

While Valve will be running their own tests, they’re also encouraging game developers to pitch in and submit their own testing data. Developers can also submit a game for review prior to its actual release.