Valve Will Check Out Every Steam Game on Steam Deck
Valve has announced that it will check out each of the more than 50,000 games available on Steam for compatibility with the Steam Deck console.
- Valve will test all Steam games for compatibility with Steam Deck;
- Games will be divided into four categories: verified, playable, unplayable, and unknown;
- Valve will test not only whether a game can be launched, but also controls, performance, and font legibility on a small screen;
- All of this is meant to be purely informational - Valve will enable us to install all games on Steam Deck regardless of whether they will run properly.
Valve intends to test all games available on Steam for compatibility with Steam Deck. This will mean testing over 50,000 productions. This is a huge undertaking, so the company has hired a lot of extra staff to create a new team dedicated to this task. The team will have their hands full, because new titles are being added to the store's offer all the time, so the plan is to maintain this group permanently.
One of the main attractions of Steam Deck is supposed to be the ability to run most of the games available on Valve's store. The problem is that the device uses Linux and will run Windows games using the Proton technology. This solution should not cause problems with most productions, but there will certainly be exceptions. In addition, many titles have a control system that does not necessarily work well on a portable console. Hence the need for testing.
Criteria for testing games on Steam Deck
Productions that will run on Steam Deck will be divided into four categories. The status "verified" will be given to games that meet the following criteria:
- Support the device's control system;
- Use a font that is readable on Steam Deck's display;
- Support the native resolution used by the device;
- Offer a graphic settings configuration that will allow for smooth gameplay on Steam Deck.
Games that do not meet one or more of these criteria but still run on the device will be marked as "playable", and players will be advised of any issues they can expect while playing.
Games that don't launch will be marked as "unplayable". The last category will include titles with the status of "unknown" - it is used for games that have not yet been tested. Valve warns that it will take time to check out all the games available on Steam, so not every title on the service will be tested before the console's December launch.
In the future, developers will be able to submit their games for testing before their debut. Valve expects such a process to take about a week.
It is worth adding that the whole "rating" system will only provide useful information. Nothing will prevent us from installing items that are not supported by Steam Deck.
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Shipping of Steam Decks to consumers will begin in December 2021. Unfortunately, all copies prepared for this year have already sold out. Those who make reservations today will have to wait for their device until the second half of 2022.