Valve needs to rethink the Deck Verified program

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Table of Contents The times, they are a- Some simple fixes

The Steam Deck Verified program was a good start, but it’s time to move on.

Valve separates compatibility with the Steam Deck into four buckets. You have Verified games, which have a green check mark for Valve’s seal of approval, and you have Playable games, which would normally get a Verified badge had it not been for some small issues (i.e. small text or invoking the on-screen keyboard). Those are the two categories you gravitate toward.

Then, there are Unsupported games, which have what Valve sees as a game-breaking issue, such as the use of anti-cheat software that doesn’t work properly on Linux. And finally, Unknown games, which Valve just doesn’t know anything about — there are a lot of games on Steam. Valve lays out four criteria to earn a Verified badge, which you can see below.

Something that isn’t included here but does show up on Verified games is this line: “This game’s default graphics configuration performs well on Steam Deck.” Valve has taken some flack for that, particularly with problematic games on the Steam Deck like The Last of Us Part One and No Rest for the Wicked. But overall, this has been a good system.

It’s not perfect, but it’s a good shorthand for quickly knowing if a game will work or not. If you want to go deeper, websites like ProtonDB are fantastic, but the Deck Verified program still has its place. I know, at a glance, that I can play Marvel Rivals on my Steam Deck, but I can’t play Apex Legends. That’s helpful, albeit far from perfect.

But handhelds are changing, as are games, and it’s time for the Deck Verified program to change along with them.

The times, they are a-

The most obvious sign of that is the Lenovo Legion Go S that comes with SteamOS installed. This handheld is set to launch in a few short months, it’s officially licensed by Valve, and it shows the same