Valve is making changes to Steam Deck Verified, its compatibility labeling system that tells players whether a game will run well on Steam Deck. The company says the update is designed to make verification results arrive more quickly while keeping the tags more reliable as games and system software evolve.
### What’s Changing With Steam Deck Verified
Steam Deck Verified currently sorts games into several categories—most notably Verified, Playable, Unsupported, and Unknown—based on checks like controller support, readable text, performance expectations, and whether the game launches properly on SteamOS via Proton. Over time, that status can drift as games patch in new features, launchers, anti-cheat updates, or UI changes that affect handheld play.
Valve’s new approach focuses on speeding up how often titles are re-evaluated and how quickly updates to a game (or to SteamOS/Proton) are reflected in its label. In practical terms, that should mean fewer “outdated” ratings lingering on store pages, and fewer surprises for Steam Deck owners who rely on the badge before buying.
### Why Labels Matter More Than Ever
Steam Deck’s audience has expanded well beyond early adopters, and the Verified icon has become one of Steam’s most influential purchase signals for handheld PC players. With more publishers shipping always-online features, third-party launchers, and evolving anti-cheat solutions, compatibility can change rapidly—sometimes overnight—making a faster feedback loop essential.
Valve’s update also reinforces an important reality of PC gaming: compatibility is not a one-time checkbox. A game can become better on Steam Deck through optimization and Proton improvements, but it can also break due to a patch, middleware change, or a new launcher flow that isn’t friendly to controller-only play.
### What This Means for Players
For Steam Deck owners, the best-case outcome is simple: you’ll spend less time Googling workarounds and more time playing, because the store page should more accurately reflect the current state of a game. For developers and publishers, quicker label updates raise the stakes—if a patch harms handheld play, the impact on sales visibility could be felt sooner.
In the bigger picture, Valve continuing to invest in Verified signals that the company sees handheld PC gaming as a long-term pillar of Steam. As competition in the portable space heats up, clear, trustworthy compatibility information could be one of the platform’s most valuable advantages.
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