Steam to Expand the Steam Deck Verification Process for Upcoming Consoles

It's undeniable to say that Valve's Steam Deck was industry-defining, as the Nintendo Switch competitor brought eyes to the handheld sphere in ways that hadn't previously been seen. After its launch, too many consoles have launched to count, and it's become a staple of the cosy gaming and an accessible entry point economically for those who would otherwise not join the PC sphere.

We've already seen the fruits of Valve's labour in the form of the new handheld consoles that seek a slice of the Steam Deck pie, and Valve is all in on the hype for the handheld consoles. Launching what would essentially be the Windows competitor, SteamOS is working its way to become a multi-console operating system that moves outside of the Steam Deck.

With the Legion Go S, those who purchase it will be able to enjoy a SteamOS equal to the Steam Deck one available right now, but on different hardware. It's an expansion of the market that is all too welcome, as the Steam Deck was so healthy for Linux, and its widespread launch of the SteamOS could be monumental for the videogame industry as a whole.

As a part of this natural growth for Valve's business model, the Steam Deck Verification system is being expanded to touch a bit on SteamOS compatibility over the previous Steam Deck verification system, which will let SteamOS users know the same information: whether the game will work. It's not a 1:1 with the Steam Deck Verification system that is currently in place, but it works using the same information, and will label titles as either SteamOS Compatible or SteamOS Unsupported (skipping the middleman of Steam Deck Playable).

As it uses the same information, Valve is expecting to launch this system with over 18,000 titles on Steam being SteamOS Compatible straight out of the gate, meaning that many of the titles available will work immediately. Since it uses the same information as the Steam Deck Verification, it also won't require additional work from developers who have already submitted it for verification.

As a whole, this will work for all hardware devices utilising SteamOS will work by this system, and it won't vary between them as it's at the software level. The method will be tried-and-true by the time more SteamOS devices launch, and those using these will be able to check between Steam Deck Verification and SteamOS compatibility to know all the information they need to make a purchase.