Valve unveiled a Steam Deck Compatibility Program that will help users figure out whether a game they own or want to purchase is going to run well on the handheld gaming PC device.
See at a glance how games will play on Steam Deck.
With Steam Deck, we're bringing your Steam Library to a new form factor—a portable gaming PC. While many games run great on Deck out of the box, this shift means there are some games that, while they may be great on a desktop PC, aren't a great experience on Steam Deck.
We want it to be easy for you to find great gaming experiences on Steam Deck, so we’ve designed a system to do just that.
Valve is reviewing the entire Steam catalog on Deck.
After each game is reviewed, it is categorized for its level of compatibility of Steam Deck. You’ll see these categories on Steam, when you’re browsing your library or shopping for games on Deck.
Four categories of Deck compatibility
VERIFIED
The game works great right out of the box.
PLAYABLE
The game may require some manual tweaking by the user to play, e.g. requiring user to manually select a community controller config, needing to use the touchscreen to navigate a launcher, etc.
UNSUPPORTED
The game is currently not functional.
UNKNOWN
We haven't checked this game for compatibility yet.
Games that check these four boxes are Deck Verified.
Input
The title should have full controller support, use appropriate controller input icons, and automatically bring up the on-screen keyboard when needed.
DisplayThe game should support the default resolution of Steam Deck (1280x800 or 1280x720), have good default settings, and text should be legible.Seamlessness
The title shouldn’t display any compatibility warnings, and if there’s a launcher it should be navigable with a controller.
System Support
If running through Proton, the game and all its middleware should be supported by Proton. This includes anti-cheat support.
Crucially, keeping with the overall mantra of user choice, you'll still be able to try and run whatever Steam game or program you want on the Deck, regardless of the verification process handled by Valve. On the other hand, while browsing the Steam store on the Steam Deck, the first tab is only going to show the Verified games that will run great. Users may also review the compatibility details of each game that has been reviewed to date, checking out exactly what may be amiss and deciding for themselves if they still want to get it or not.
The Steam Deck verification process has already started. In fact, according to Valve, it will continue well beyond launch, and a game's rating could change over time, too.
The first wave of pre-orders is expected to ship in December and we already got an official teardown video. Are you excited to get your hands on the device?
