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In a recent update on the Steamworks Group on Steam, Valve gave an update on Steam Deck Verification and testing appears to be ramping up lately.

Valve confirmed in the post that they have already tested "thousands of titles" for Deck Verified. Their previous focus has been to prioritize titles based on playtime and interest from people who have reserved a Steam Deck, which appears to be an automatic process. They've also now given access to a small set of developers and publishers the ability to directly submit titles for review.

On top of that, they're beginning to increase the amount of titles going through verification, which makes sense considering we're getting close to the Steam Deck release on February 25.

Going by SteamDB, there's now 60 titles (as of publishing time) that are Deck Verified. Some of the most recent additions to this include: Baba Is You, Daymare: 1998, Hellish Quart, Death Trash, Paint the Town Red, Sam & Max Save the World, Roundguard and Wytchwood. There's a bunch that are also only noted as Playable, due to various issues like launchers, requiring the touch screen for initial setup and others. The number of games you can play with a few minor issues will be much larger overall.

Since they've tested thousands, they're of course not showing the entirety of what is actually Verified yet. Expect plenty more to suddenly appear over this month.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Beamboom Jan 30, 2022
I find some of those whitelisted as downright *weird* that they've spent time on testing. Looks so ridiculously random. I really can not understand why they don't start with the currently most popular games on Steam, and proceed downwards on that list.

It would look SO much better towards those that's on the fence on this machine if some of their favourite games that they are gaming on nowadays are confirmed working on it.
And obviously, the more popular a game is the higher that chance will be.

EDIT: Or, if that's indeed what they HAVE done, then... Uhm... That doesn't bode well.


Last edited by Beamboom on 30 January 2022 at 6:38 pm UTC
CatKiller Jan 30, 2022
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Quoting: BeamboomI find some of those whitelisted as downright *weird* that they've spent time on testing. Looks so ridiculously random.
They've got unpublished test results. The initial batches of published test results were just to test the store interface, with limited numbers in case it didn't work. I expect they wanted a range of ways that the testing failed so that they tested each part of the interface.
Purple Library Guy Jan 30, 2022
Quoting: CatKiller
Quoting: BeamboomI find some of those whitelisted as downright *weird* that they've spent time on testing. Looks so ridiculously random.
They've got unpublished test results. The initial batches of published test results were just to test the store interface, with limited numbers in case it didn't work. I expect they wanted a range of ways that the testing failed so that they tested each part of the interface.
Ah, that makes sense. Gotta say, I too was first thinking, "Oh, if they've tested thousands that's great! Hang on, if they've only got sixty to show for it, that's really bad!"
But yeah, probably it's not like that. I hope.
Eike Jan 30, 2022
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I wonder though how long after their first test they could be showing off much more?
const Jan 30, 2022
December + Valve Time? :D
Mountain Man Jan 31, 2022
Quoting: BeamboomI find some of those whitelisted as downright *weird* that they've spent time on testing. Looks so ridiculously random. I really can not understand why they don't start with the currently most popular games on Steam, and proceed downwards on that list.

It would look SO much better towards those that's on the fence on this machine if some of their favourite games that they are gaming on nowadays are confirmed working on it.
And obviously, the more popular a game is the higher that chance will be.

EDIT: Or, if that's indeed what they HAVE done, then... Uhm... That doesn't bode well.

My guess is that the testing is automated, and any game that gets "green lights across the board" in the benchmark is given the "Officially Confirmed to Work on the Steam Deck" stamp of approval. That would explain why things might seem a bit random.
Philadelphus Jan 31, 2022
Quoting: BeamboomI find some of those whitelisted as downright *weird* that they've spent time on testing. Looks so ridiculously random. I really can not understand why they don't start with the currently most popular games on Steam, and proceed downwards on that list.

It would look SO much better towards those that's on the fence on this machine if some of their favourite games that they are gaming on nowadays are confirmed working on it.
And obviously, the more popular a game is the higher that chance will be.

EDIT: Or, if that's indeed what they HAVE done, then... Uhm... That doesn't bode well.
I too find it weird, but I'm ecstatic that it shows they're testing smaller games the likes of which I'll be more likely to be playing on the Deck, rather than just popular AAA games that I'm not interested in. And as others have pointed out, they probably are testing those games too, and we'll start seeing a bunch more statuses getting updated in the next few weeks.

Quoting: Mountain ManMy guess is that the testing is automated, and any game that gets "green lights across the board" in the benchmark is given the "Officially Confirmed to Work on the Steam Deck" stamp of approval. That would explain why things might seem a bit random.
Aren't some of the criteria things like "text is at a readable size" and "correct controller glyphs are shown"? Like, programming's my day job so I'm not going to rule out that automated tests could be derived for that, but…programming's my day job, so I also have an idea of just how hideously difficult it would be to write such tests. I suppose if anyone had the motivation and know-how to do it it'd be Valve…
ElectricPrism Jan 31, 2022
In this case gate-keeping is good as it will eliminate quality control issues. Gamers need to have a good and painless experience. I am curious to see how the list shapes up this coming launch month.
emphy Jan 31, 2022
What's really needed is not this half-behinded "we think it'll run fine"-label, but a list of games that have a true commitment to *full* support, either by valve or the devs of the game in question.

This is especially important in the case of the games that are running via proton, since those have the biggest potential of valve and the devs pointing to each other when you need something fixed.


Last edited by emphy on 31 January 2022 at 7:53 am UTC
slaapliedje Jan 31, 2022
Quoting: emphyWhat's really needed is not this half-behinded "we think it'll run fine"-label, but a list of games that have a true commitment to *full* support, either by valve or the devs of the game in question.

This is especially important in the case of the games that are running via proton, since those have the biggest potential of valve and the devs pointing to each other when you need something fixed.
Yeah, what I wish had happened more often for the Steam Controller roll out was more developers using the actual Steam API for controllers (which does work with all of the controllers Steam supports... which is to say a lot). Then no matter which controller you're using, the game will display the correct buttons.

One of the few I recall that supported this was Magicka. It was quite nice to have all of the buttons stated correctly. Considering the button layouts are different depending on if you're using an xbox/clone controller, Switch or PS3/4/5 one...
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