Steam Deck Verified program gets updated for third-party gaming handhelds

The Steam Deck Verified program has been updated, and while it doesn't address the core issues surrounding the program, the update introduces SteamOS compatibility. This change is mainly for the third-party gaming handhelds running on Valve's OS, such as the Legion Go S.

As Valve explained in the Steam developer blog, there will be two categories of SteamOS compatibility. One is for the games that are compatible with the OS, and the other is for those that are unsupported. To compare, the Deck Verified program has four: Verified, Playable, Unsupported, and Unknown.

Valve also notes that this new addition to the Deck Verified program isn't just for the gaming handhelds that ship with Valve's OS. Instead, it's for "any hardware running SteamOS that isn't a Steam Deck." In the developer blog, the company further highlights that it expects over 18,000 games to be marked compatible right out of the game.

Another thing to note is that Valve mentions that the updates will be automated and it will not manually retest each game. Instead, the compatibility check will be done through Steam Deck Verified data to determine SteamOS support for the games. For future games, Deck Verified and SteamOS compatibility badges will be processed simultaneously.

While this is a positive change for the gaming handhelds that can run SteamOS (Legion Go S curr. $599.99 on Best Buy), Valve has yet to address the underlying issues of the Deck Verified program. Given the aging hardware of Valve's gaming handheld, a Verified badge for the recently released AAA games doesn't always mean that the players will have a good experience while playing the game.

Of course, this update shows that Valve is working to improve the Deck Verified program, and it's possible that a major change in the verification process is on the horizon.