Valve: Steam Deck Verified games should auto-qualify for Steam Machine Verified
Valve says the upcoming Steam Machine Verified program will be less strict than Steam Deck Verified, based on comments from Valve designer Lawrence Yang in an interview with Game Developer. Yang said developers can treat Steam Deck as the benchmark for Steam Machine verification. Yang also offered a simple guideline. A game that is already marked Verified on Steam Deck should also receive Steam Machine Verified status.
Valve did not spell out which checks will change. Some parts of Deck Verified are tied to Steam Deck’s 800p or 720p expectations, so those display-focused requirements may be relaxed for Steam Machine. Proton compatibility and controller support are still central to Valve’s SteamOS experience, so those areas may stay close to the current Deck process.
According to Valve designer Lawrence Yang, developers hoping for a “Steam Machine Verified” badge can expect “fewer constraints” than Steam Deck Verification . “One easy rule of thumb is that if your title is Verified on Steam Deck, it will be Verified on Steam Machine,” Yang continued. VR developers seeking Steam Frame verification may expect a different process, though Yang said Valve will “be going through the same rounds of testing and providing developer feedback” as it does for the other verification programs.
— Game Developer
Source: Valve
Valve engineer Steve Cardinali also explained why Valve built the Steam Controller Puck. Cardinali said Bluetooth performance varies across home setups and PC hardware, which can lead to interference, latency, or issues when multiple Bluetooth devices are connected. Cardinali said the puck is meant to reduce those problems, and its charging design is intended to keep the receiver placed away from interference sources.
Valve still has not shared pricing or a release date for Steam Machine hardware.
Source: Game Developer , TechPowerUP
