What does Steam Deck Verified mean?
Valve's four compatibility ratings, what a game must do to be Verified, who does the testing, and why a rating can change.
Published 3 min read
In short
Steam Deck Verified is Valve's top compatibility rating: it means Valve has tested the game and found it works well on Steam Deck without any setup.
The other ratings are Playable (works, but may need manual tweaks), Unsupported (does not work) and Unknown (not tested yet).
To be Verified, a game needs full controller support, a readable picture at the Deck's resolution, no warnings or mouse-only launchers, and, if it runs through Proton, support for all its components, anti-cheat included.
When you browse Steam, many games carry a small badge about Steam Deck. It comes from Valve’s compatibility programme, in which Valve itself tests games and rates how well they run on its handheld. The top rating is Verified. This explainer covers what the ratings mean, what Verified requires, and how the testing works, using Valve’s own descriptions.
What are the four ratings?
| Rating | What Valve says it means |
|---|---|
| Verified | The game works well on Steam Deck straight away |
| Playable | The game works, but may need some manual adjustment by the player, such as choosing a community controller layout or using the touchscreen for a launcher |
| Unsupported | The game does not currently work on Steam Deck |
| Unknown | Valve has not yet checked the game |
You see the rating on a game’s store page and in your library, and you can open it for a detailed breakdown of what to expect.
What does a game need to be Verified?
Valve checks four areas.
- Input. The game must fully support the controls on Steam Deck, show controller icons that match them, and bring up the on-screen keyboard automatically when you need to type.
- Display. It must support the Deck’s resolution, 1280x800 or 1280x720, have sensible default settings, and keep text readable. Valve’s documentation for developers sets a floor: the smallest text on screen should never be less than 9 pixels high at 1280x800.
- Seamlessness. The game must not show compatibility warnings, and any launcher it uses must be navigable with a controller.
- System support. If the game runs through Proton, Valve’s compatibility layer for Windows games, the game and all the software it relies on must work in Proton. Valve names anti-cheat specifically.
A game that falls short on any one of these ends up Playable or Unsupported rather than Verified, depending on how serious the problem is.
Who does the testing, and how long does it take?
Valve does. Its documentation says older games are added to the review queue automatically when they meet certain automated criteria, that Valve may also add important titles on its own, and that developers can ask for a review through Steamworks. Valve aims to complete a review and give developers the results within a week.
Developers then see a point-by-point report. They can publish the result, ask for a new review after fixing problems, or dispute the findings. Valve now reviews for three kinds of hardware: Steam Deck, Steam Machine and third-party devices running SteamOS, and sets a performance baseline for each; for Steam Deck it is 30 frames per second at 800p.
Can a rating change?
Yes. Valve describes the programme as ongoing, with ratings updated as games and Steam Deck itself improve. A game can move up after the developer fixes an issue and asks for a new review, and a game rated Unknown today may be tested later.
What does the rating not tell you?
Verified is about compatibility and the out-of-the-box experience. It does not promise a particular frame rate beyond Valve’s baseline, nor that every setting runs well. Before buying for Steam Deck, open the rating’s breakdown on the store page to see which checks a game passed and which it did not. And if a game you bought turns out not to run well, Steam’s normal refund rule applies; our guide to Steam refunds explains it.