Before buying a Steam game for your Steam Deck, open that exact game’s Steam store page and check its Deck compatibility label and any title-specific details. Valve’s four labels indicate whether a game is expected to work smoothly, may need adjustments, is currently considered nonfunctional, or has not yet been checked. Because ratings can change, check the live page close to purchase.
How to check a game’s Steam Deck compatibility
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Search Steam for the exact game and open its store page. The Steam Store search also has a Deck Compatibility filter, including Verified and Playable options.
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Find the Steam Deck compatibility label and read the details shown for that game. The label is also visible in your Steam Deck library, where you can filter games by compatibility rating.
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If the rating is Playable, check what intervention or limitation Valve identifies and decide whether it is acceptable to you.
#1 Best Overall
Valve Steam Deck OLED 1TB Handheld Gaming Console- 1TB NVMe SSD
- 1280 x 800 HDR OLED display with premium anti-glare etched glass, 7.4" Diagonal display size up to 90Hz refresh rate
- Wi-Fi 6E
- 50Whr battery; 3-12 hours of gameplay (content-dependent)
- Carrying case with removable liner
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If the rating is Unknown, treat it as an unanswered compatibility check, not a failure verdict.
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If you need more confidence, look for recent community reports about the exact game. Treat them as individual user experiences, not as Valve’s official rating.
Rank #2
VALVE Steam Deck OLED 512GB SSD + 16GB RAM (International Version) - 7.4"" inch, 90Hz, 1280 x 800px, SteamOS 3.0, Handheld Gaming Console, Black- International (UK) Version
- 7.4” diagonal, HDR OLED, 1280 x 800 x RGB, up to 90Hz Refresh rate, High performance touch, <0.1 ms Response time, 1,000 nits peak brightness (HDR), 600 nits (SDR)
- SteamOS 3.0 (Arch-based)
- 512GB NVMe SSD, 16GB LPDDR5 on-board RAM (5500 MT/s quad 32-bit channels), microSD UHS-I supports SD, SDXC and SDHC
- 6 nm AMD APU, CPU: Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz (up to 448 GFlops FP32
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Check again shortly before buying, since a game’s rating may change.
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Valve describes the labels and where they appear on its Steam Deck Verified page.
Rank #3
- Operating System: SteamOS 3.0
What the four compatibility labels mean
| Label | What Valve says | What to consider before buying |
|---|---|---|
| Verified | The game works great on Steam Deck out of the box. | It is Valve’s strongest compatibility rating. Read the game’s displayed details for the criteria it meets. |
| Playable | The game may require manual adjustments. | Check the specific caveat. Valve’s examples include choosing a community controller configuration or using the touchscreen to navigate a launcher. |
| Unsupported | Valve describes the game as currently not functional on Steam Deck. | Do not assume the experience is suitable if you need it to work on the Deck now. |
| Unknown | Valve has not checked the game’s compatibility yet. | It is not an official finding that the game fails. Seek current evidence for the exact title or wait if certainty matters. |
What Verified checks
Valve’s Verified assessment covers four areas. The criteria explain what the label is intended to assess, but individual games can still differ in their details.
- Input: Full controller support, appropriate controller icons, and automatic display of the on-screen keyboard when needed.
- Display: Support for the Deck’s default 1280×800 or 1280×720 resolution, suitable default settings, and legible text.
- Seamlessness: No compatibility warnings, and controller navigation when the game uses a launcher.
- System support: For games running through Proton, the game and its middleware must be supported, including anti-cheat support.
These criteria can help you understand a rating, but the game’s own compatibility details are the relevant place to look for title-specific caveats.
Rank #4
- Valve is entering the gaming console marketplace with the new Steam Deck, a console geared towards PC gamers. The Steam Deck can be docked to a monitor, and used as a PC, or docked to a TV.
- Players can play a huge variety of games at any time with the comfort of a console and the freedom of a PC. Not anti-glare screen.
- Like the name suggests, the Steam Deck will include upgraded 1TB storage, and will include a carrying case. A micro SD slot will also enable expanded storage.
- Valve partnered with AMD to create a specialized APU optimized for handheld gaming, and Valve says the chip will deliver performance to run AAA gaming titles.
- The Steam Deck is outfitted with a 7-inch touchscreen, and two trackpads under the control sticks that allow gamers to operate games never designed outside of mouse and keyboard capabilities.
How to use community reports
Community curator pages can provide practical reports, settings, or caveats in addition to Steam’s official status. For example, the Deck Compatibility curator page contains user-facing reports. When reports differ, compare their dates and the game versions they refer to; one user’s result does not establish how the game will work for everyone.
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Why the rating can change
Valve calls compatibility ratings a snapshot: updates to a game, Proton, controller support, anti-cheat support, or Deck features can affect how a title works. In its March 4, 2022 Deck Verified update, Valve said ratings change over time and described its review process as ongoing. Use the live Steam page rather than relying on an old list or dated report.
For titles Valve has tested, the compatibility rating is the same on Steam Deck LCD and OLED models, according to Valve’s compatibility documentation.
Quick Recap
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