Steam Machine Verified games are incoming, but they'll be very different to Steam Deck Verified

Steam Machine Verified games are incoming. Valve has confirmed it will take the time to check thousands of titles on its platform so that we can know at a glance whether a game will work on the new black box of gaming wonders. However, while the similar Steam Deck Verified program has quite strict requirements, Valve has said that Steam Machine verification is going to have “fewer constraints” such that “if your title is Verified on Steam Deck, it will be Verified on Steam Machine.”

This confirmation effectively signals what many might have expected, which is that the Steam Machine will launch with a far larger library of Verified games than the Steam Deck. That’s despite the new best gaming PC contender still being restricted by running Valve’s Linux-based SteamOS and using relatively modest hardware compared to a modern mid to high-end PC.

Specifically, while speaking to Game Developer, Valve’s Lawrence Yang says that devs hoping for a “Steam Machine Verified” badge could expect “fewer constraints” than is currently required for 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,” continues Yang.

Valve wasn’t drawn on just how many titles will be or are already Steam Machine Verified, but given the thousands of games that are currently Steam Deck Verified, it’s a fair bet that you won’t be struggling for options, even if the best Steam Deck games aren’t to your liking.

As Game Developer points out, while a verification rating for the Steam Machine will be useful for gamers, it’s also something developers are particularly keen on. That’s because it’s effectively a badge of honor, and Valve has a regular ‘Great on Deck’ section for promoting Steam Deck Verified games. A similar ‘Great on Machine’ or ‘Great on Steam Machine’ section could work well for gamers and devs alike.

While hype builds for the Steam Machine, we’re still waiting for an official release date and price, though one recent Steam Machine price leak hinted at it being more expensive than some of us might have hoped.