Valve wants to ensure gamers are aware of which games will work on the Steam Decks December 2021 launch. Although the site promises Your Steam Library, anywhere you are, there has been some interest and skepticism from us about whether games made for PCs will work on a Linux-based handheld device.
Recently, the company opened its @OnDeck Twitter Account to showcase demonstrations of PC games running on Steam Deck. Today it announced the Steam Deck Compatibility program.
Steam Deck compatibility labels are found on all games published through Steam. They separate them into four categories. Verified is the highest level. It has a green logo and a checkmark that indicates games that work well on Steam Deck right out of their box.
Next is the yellow exclamation mark, which means that it's playable. You may have to adjust settings manually to make it work. The two other marks indicate games that are not supported on Steam Deck or are unknown as they haven't been tested yet.
Verified games can be used with the onscreen keyboard. They also support Steam Decks native resolution and fully support its OS. You can also navigate their menus using a controller. Although the first page will not display Verified games, you can browse and search throughout the store.
Valve has also provided information to developers on how to check that their games are compatible with the portable PC. Also, steps for anyone who would like to submit their titles for review. Even if the games are not manually submitted, important titles can be reviewed and submitted for review by developers before being released. It is important to remember that even if a game developer feels it isn't suitable for Steam Deck, they can still submit the title for review. Valve states that we don't want to restrict access to certain products but rather allow customers to search for the products that best suit their needs and goals.
Compatibility and configuration on a variety of devices is a strength and a weakness for PC games. There are many things that could go wrong, including anti-cheat software and special control systems. It is good to see Valve taking proactive steps to ensure owners know which titles will work. We just have to wait and see which games fail the test.
