Makes sense. The Steam Deck needed full controller support, 1280x800 resolution support, and for the text and UI to be legible at that resolution.
I still hope they build the UI to use a controller everywhere. Maybe not the games themselves but I want this to replace my Xbox.
They’re just going to use the same Big Picture Steam layout, that’s exactly what it’s for.
I think it makes sense that these would be looser than those for the Deck. It doesn’t have the text size or resolution constraints. Basically the only thing that matters is: is there a native version, and if not, does it run in Proton.
Tbh I think it might even make sense to reduce the visibility of this verification, because in my experience, the number of games that don’t run in Proton now is vanishingly small. Big standouts are those requiring kernel-level anti-cheat, but that is not going to change. It kind of sends the wrong message to even need the verification, as opposed to supporting the assumption that most of the time “it just works”.
I know a few people who until very recently still believed that you could only run Linux native games on a Steam Deck. I guess maybe these verifications are aimed to combat that.
According to Valve designer Lawrence Yang, developers hoping for a “Steam Machine Verified” badge can expect “fewer constraints” than 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,” Yang continued. VR developers seeking Steam Frame verification may expect a different process, though Yang said Valve will “be going through the same rounds of testing and providing developer feedback” as it does for the other verification programs.
I hope 0.1% lows of 60fps @ 1080p lowest quality (without upscaling/framegen) is one of the requirements.
Never give up!
