The Steam Deck has been a brilliant alternative to Nintendo’s Switch, giving players a more powerful handheld with a huge library of games. Valve marks its games with the ‘verified’ status so that players know which titles are compatible with the system, but it seems fans don’t care about it.
A recent survey from Overkill shows that 70% of Deck owners actually ignore games having the ‘verified’ status. While that sounds pretty wreckless, the Deck essentially being a mini-computer does mean there are ways to get over the ‘unsupported’ status.
Most Steam Deck games with the ‘unsupported’ status usually means the game has online multiplayer that Valve’s online anti-cheat doesn’t support. However, some of these titles can be played solo, like fighting games or sports simulators, so even if online doesn’t work, players won’t mind it.
However, there are the occasional single-player titles that are also marked as ‘unsupported.’ Reasons for this can be complicated, though factors like the Deck’s weaker hardware or poor system configurations are usually the culprit. Even with these issues, Deck players still find ways to play these games through custom protons and various mods.
Verified games can also have their own issues, despite the seal of approval from Valve. While most of these titles are playable right out of the box, certain games can have issues. Baldur’s Gate 3, for example, is verified but the third act is filled with frame drops.
Other interesting tidbits revealed include the fact that most Deck owners also have a Switch, prefer indie games over AAA titles, and a good chunk of them love emulation. We actually aren’t too surprised that Deck owners also own a Switch, as the fondness for handheld systems were usually developed through a Nintendo system.
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The Steam Deck is now available for purchase in most gaming stores. Valve has told fans not to expect a Steam Deck 2 anytime soon.