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We've been wondering what Valve had planned to show off Steam Deck compatibility for games and now they've launched Deck Verified as their answer.

Valve say they are reviewing the entire Steam catalogue on the Steam Deck, with each of them gaining a category that it falls under that will show up across Steam from the store to your own Steam Library. The ratings will be split across Verified, Playable, Unsupported and Unknown. This is good because there's a lot of reasons why games will mix between perfect and unplayable on Steam Deck and the Arch Linux-based SteamOS it ships with.

To be actually Verified the games need to hit these four points:

  • Input - The title should have full controller support, use appropriate controller input icons, and automatically bring up the on-screen keyboard when needed.
  • Display - The 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.

When you're playing on a Steam Deck, the first tab in the Steam store will also only highlight games that are "great" on the Steam Deck too.

Check out their video explainer below:

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Want to see what their plan is? You can check it out on Deck Verified.

Valve also put up a Steam Deck Compatibility Review Process guide, which goes over the steps required for developers to take a look at. It gives an interesting insight into exactly what Valve and developers will be doing. Developers however will not be able to remove their game from being listed as Valve say the Deck is "an extension of Steam onto a new portable PC form factor, and so customers both expect and have access to the same store and library that they would on any other PC".

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141 comments
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Kors Oct 18, 2021
I'm counting on Steam Deck to skyrocket Linux usage, or at least to bring more games to linux based OS
jens Oct 18, 2021
  • Supporter
Nice, sounds like a valve curated protondb.
mylka Oct 18, 2021
"Playable"
like trine.... works, but workshop does not. and it is a native game

why isnt there a PERFORMANCE check for "Verified"?
works, but play it with proton. its faster
Alm888 Oct 18, 2021
So… In other words, Valve acknowledges that their "all your library should work" and "no porting required" promises are not feasible.
It is basically WINE's AppDB version 3 (with ProtonDB being version 2).

No matter what others say, I won't believe emulated Windows games will ever run perfectly, especially when they have issues even with newer versions of Windows itself.

"Runs Great With Proton!" Yeah, sure.
kellerkindt Oct 18, 2021
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An alternative - and more detailed - explanation on how it works and what the checks are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8tNvhwkth8
eldaking Oct 18, 2021
Quoting: GuestThe chosen terms are not very clear to me.
"Verified, Playable, Unsupported and Unknown"
Is "Playable" better or worse than "Verified"? What does "verified" even mean? It could mean it has been verified as not working.
"Unsupported", ok, but it doesn’t tell if it’s working or not.
"Unknown" is of course not helping much either.

I’m not asking for the answers, just saying they should choose terms that immediately make sense.

From the video, the symbols are clearer (checkmark, letter i and crossed circle) and apparently there is a tooltip listing the details for each game - whether it is listed as "playable" due to not working with a controller or text being small or requiring extra steps, for example.

Once we have the symbols, I think the names actually clarify things - it further explains that the green checkmark means the game was verified to work and that the i in a circle means the game is playable but requires more information (as opposed to checkmark meaning, say, "no issues reported" and the i meaning "unplayable and here are the details"). Still, there probably could be a better design.
Mohandevir Oct 18, 2021
Quoting: Alm888So… In other words, Valve acknowledges that their "all your library should work" and "no porting required" promises are not feasible.
It is basically WINE's AppDB version 3 (with ProtonDB being version 2).

No matter what others say, I won't believe emulated Windows games will ever run perfectly, especially when they have issues even with newer versions of Windows itself.

"Runs Great With Proton!" Yeah, sure.

Maybe, but as we have seen in another article, the top 100 games is already covered at 80% min... Not counting the games that will support Proton EAC or BattleEye (another 15% span). I don't think we need to worry about it too much.

Quoting: kellerkindtAn alternative - and more detailed - explanation on how it works and what the checks are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8tNvhwkth8

Interresting... Some other reasons that makes me think that futur games will probably be more Proton friendly than right now which is already in good shape.


Last edited by Mohandevir on 18 October 2021 at 7:53 pm UTC
Mohandevir Oct 18, 2021
Before worrying about the 100% compatibility mark, I would try to get the same tests on Windows 10-11 with Windows games... It might be lower than 90%.

Ex: My son was never able to run Batman Arkham Asylum on Windows... I did with Proton.

I mean... 100% support doesn't exist, even on Windows, so...


Last edited by Mohandevir on 18 October 2021 at 7:58 pm UTC
denyasis Oct 18, 2021
Send like a good idea. Tampers down expectations to something more realistic and probably prevents very loud angry people that would be disappointed it's not a drop in replacement windows system.
Salvatos Oct 18, 2021
QuoteWant to see what they've got so far? You can check it out on Deck Verified.
Are you seeing an actual list there, Liam? I only see this text:

QuoteThe team is currently working on a way for you to be able to check the compatibility category of each of the games in your own library ahead of launch.

In addition, you’ll soon be able to see which games in the Steam catalog have already gone through Steam Deck review, and what compatibility category they fall in. More on this soon.
----
Due to "appropriate controller input icons" alone, I feel like a lot of games will fall short of Verified. I rarely see the right icons for my DualShock.
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