Nearly two and a half years after its launch, Valve's Steam Deck now boasts a library of 30,000 games that are either officially Verified or marked as Playable on the handheld PC. This figure represents a substantial increase from the approximately 3,000 compatible games reported in May 2022.
According to data from SteamDB, the current breakdown includes 8,964 games that have achieved Steam Deck Verified status, meaning they are expected to function flawlessly from the moment they are launched. An additional 21,083 games are categorized as Playable, indicating that they may require minor adjustments or user intervention to provide an optimal experience.
The Steam Deck Verified badge signifies that a game has met Valve's criteria for seamless operation on the device. However, the verification process itself can be complex for developers to navigate. It is important to note that games not carrying either badge are not automatically incompatible. For instance, older titles like Dragon Age: Origins, officially listed as Unsupported, can still run exceptionally well on the Steam Deck. A primary concern for compatibility, especially in competitive titles, remains kernel-level anti-cheat systems, which often struggle to function on SteamOS, the Linux-based operating system powering the handheld.
Conversely, some games may become unplayable. Ubisoft recently announced the removal of For Honor from the Linux platform, citing the inability to deploy adequate anti-cheat protections. This decision will result in the game being unavailable on Steam Deck starting September 10, reducing the total count of playable titles.
With over 130,000 games released on Steam to date, the growing number of compatible titles highlights the significant expansion of the platform's library since the Steam Deck's inception. The current compatibility rate suggests a much larger portion of the available Steam library can now be enjoyed on Valve's portable hardware.