The minimum performance bar will be a native resolution of 1080p at 30 frames per second.
At the Game Developers Conference 2026, Valve revealed the requirements for the new "Steam Machine Verified" compatibility badge, which will be applied to games for future Steam Machine devices. The minimum performance bar will be a native resolution of 1080p at 30 frames per second.
This requirement differs from initial reports about the system's capabilities, which mentioned support for 4K at 60 fps using AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution upscaling technology. In fact, the new bar shows that 4K gaming on the device will be possible, but most often with the use of aggressive image scaling settings.
Valve also confirmed that all games with the Steam Deck Verified compatibility badge will automatically receive Steam Machine Verified status. This means that the same control and input requirements are maintained for them as for the Steam Deck portable system.
At the same time, the company clarified that if a game is not supported on Steam Deck due to insufficient performance, it can still undergo separate testing for Steam Machine. If the project can reach the minimum level of 1080p and 30 fps, it will be able to obtain the corresponding status.
Among other features of the certification program:
- all games with Deck Verified status are automatically considered Machine Verified
- the same control requirements are used as on Steam Deck
- minimum performance for the badge is 30 fps at 1080p
- system performance is estimated to be approximately six times higher than that of Steam Deck
- testing does not include checking the display resolution and interface readability
- an updated API has been added for hardware detection
