Valve has officially launched its Steam Deck compatibility check feature, letting players see which games will be ready when the system launches.
Valve has just launched a compatibility checking feature for players to see if their Steam games will run on the upcoming Steam Deck console. This handheld answer to Nintendo’s popular Switch took gamers by surprise when it was announced last summer, but the Steam Deck has since gained a strong wave of positive publicity from developers and industry insiders ahead of its planned launch later this week. The appeal of the Steam Deck is quite simple, as it will allow players to take their PC libraries with them on the go – including the highly anticipated Elden Ring, which is set to be released on the same day as the Steam Deck.
While Valve has already promised that a massive number of PC games will be compatible with the Steam Deck when it releases on February 25, not every available Steam title will be ready for the console right out of the gate. For example, developer Behaviour Interactive has stated that the horror-themed crossover survival title Dead By Daylight might not be compatible with the Steam Deck at launch due to issues surrounding the game’s Anti-Cheat software, though it does plan to correct this problem eventually. In the meantime, the Steam Deck is already offering players access to hit PC games like Death Stranding and Halo Infinite at launch.
As reported by Game Rant, Steam users can log onto their accounts and view the new Steam Deck section to verify which games will be ready to run on the Steam Deck from day one. These games are placed in four different categories, the first of which is labeled Steam Deck Verified. Games under this category are fully ready to play on the Steam Deck without any required updates or modifications. The second is Deck Playable, which means that the game will work on the Steam Deck – but may require some adjustments by the player to run properly. The third is unsupported games, which have been confirmed not to function on the Steam Deck at present. Finally, there is an unnamed category for games that simply haven’t been tested on the Steam Deck yet. After all, Steam has thousands of different PC games in its library, and it will take Valve some time to run through them all to see which ones will work on the Steam Deck.
The Steam Deck was originally planned to come out during the recent 2021 holiday season, but Valve was forced to delay the Steam Deck’s launch until late February due to ongoing resource shortages brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. While insiders have noted that the Steam Deck’s battery life pales in comparison to the Nintendo Switch, others have praised the new console for its solid controls and impressive technical specifications. Even in the months before the Steam Deck’s development kits were released to developers, big industry names like Xbox’s Phil Spencer expressed excitement for the Steam Deck, especially in regards to outside services like xCloud.
Some fans have already compiled lists of which Steam titles will be compatible at launch, but having such a resource available right from Steam itself is certainly a helpful tool for players looking to know if their favorite game will run on the Steam Deck when it launches at the end of the week. The Steam Deck is an exciting prospect for gamers looking to take their PC libraries with them on the go, and now their wait is coming to an end.
Source: Steam (via GameRant)
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