When a Steam Deck user walks through the Steam store or their game library, they can see at a glance whether a game is compatible with the device thanks to these four tags.

The green “Compatible” label means that the game has been manually validated by Valve teams and is considered fully functional on the device, displaying a minimum of 30 frames per second. The yellow “Playable” label means the game is running on the Steam Deck, but the player will need to configure something themselves, for example manually selecting a community setting for the controller, manually generating the on-screen keyboard to enter text, or use the touch screen to navigate a launcher. The gray label “not supported” is clear: you don’t need to buy the game for your Steam Deck, it won’t even launch, like all VR games, for example. Finally, the tag “indeterminate” means that Valve has not yet verified the compatibility of the game and therefore there is hope.

The Steam Deck main menu will naturally highlight the games supported by the device thanks to the “Great on Deck” tab, but the user will be able to navigate the rest of the Steam store by switching to the neighboring tab. Obviously, we would have liked to have an estimate of the number of games rated at the Steam Deck launch, but Valve will have the opportunity to provide a first list by the end of the year.

“The team is currently working to provide you with a way to check if each of the games in your library is compatible with the Steam Deck prior to their release. Soon you will also be able to see which games in the Steam catalog have already been tested for compatibility with the Steam Deck and know their category. More details will be communicated shortly.“confirms Valve.