TheRetroArcade
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Joined: Feb 2026
Still, its advice for games being made with SteamOS in mind is all top-notch.
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At this year's GDC event in San Francisco, Valve gave a talk on its Steam hardware family (pdf warning), focusing on just what developers need to do to ensure that their games get verified. Not for the Steam Deck, but for the forthcoming Steam Machine and the highly anticipated Steam Frame VR headset.
Starting with the Steam Machine, Valve notes that there is one very simple box to tick off: If it's verified for the Deck, it will be for the Machine. Well, not quite, as the hardware inside the Steam Machine is considerably more potent than that in the Deck, hence why there's a target of 30 fps at 1080p to get performance verification.
As there's no mention of upscaling or frame generation with this requirement, you can safely assume that this is all native. Admittedly, 30 frames per second doesn't sound great, but if a game is entirely GPU-limited in this scenario, then upscaling would certainly make a significant difference.
To get Steam Machine verification, games will need to meet the same input requirements as for the Deck, but since you'll be using a decent-sized monitor or TV with the Gabecube, there's no need to hit any targets for display resolution or legibility.
When it comes to the Steam Frame, there's no verification process for games that get streamed to the VR headset, because they'll be running natively on your PC. However, 'stand-alone play' (i.e. using the Frame's Arm chip) does have verification requirements, with the performance being 90 fps for VR games. Anything 2D, though, just needs to hit 30 fps at 720p.
As things have been progressing since the first announcement of Valve's new hardware, I've become less interested in the Steam Machine but far more sold on the Frame. These requirements for verification only cement those impressions further, because I'm certainly not keen on playing any PC game at 30 fps. I know that it's basically a minimum requirement and certainly not unusual in the world of consoles, but it's 2025. Not 2005.
Anyway, for the rest of the talk, Valve highlighted some key aspects that developers should focus on when making games to run on SteamOS. Of particular note was the suggestion that games should 'support offline mode, including on first run', and if I can be frank, that should really be a requirement.
Following on fr...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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GamesRadar+
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Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
At this year's GDC event in San Francisco, Valve gave a talk on its Steam hardware family (pdf warning), focusing on just what developers need to do to ensure that their games get verified. Not for the Steam Deck, but for the forthcoming Steam Machine and the highly anticipated Steam Frame VR headset.
Starting with the Steam Machine, Valve notes that there is one very simple box to tick off: If it's verified for the Deck, it will be for the Machine. Well, not quite, as the hardware inside the Steam Machine is considerably more potent than that in the Deck, hence why there's a target of 30 fps at 1080p to get performance verification.
As there's no mention of upscaling or frame generation with this requirement, you can safely assume that this is all native. Admittedly, 30 frames per second doesn't sound great, but if a game is entirely GPU-limited in this scenario, then upscaling would certainly make a significant difference.
To get Steam Machine verification, games will need to meet the same input requirements as for the Deck, but since you'll be using a decent-sized monitor or TV with the Gabecube, there's no need to hit any targets for display resolution or legibility.
When it comes to the Steam Frame, there's no verification process for games that get streamed to the VR headset, because they'll be running natively on your PC. However, 'stand-alone play' (i.e. using the Frame's Arm chip) does have verification requirements, with the performance being 90 fps for VR games. Anything 2D, though, just needs to hit 30 fps at 720p.
As things have been progressing since the first announcement of Valve's new hardware, I've become less interested in the Steam Machine but far more sold on the Frame. These requirements for verification only cement those impressions further, because I'm certainly not keen on playing any PC game at 30 fps. I know that it's basically a minimum requirement and certainly not unusual in the world of consoles, but it's 2025. Not 2005.
Anyway, for the rest of the talk, Valve highlighted some key aspects that developers should focus on when making games to run on SteamOS. Of particular note was the suggestion that games should 'support offline mode, including on first run', and if I can be frank, that should really be a requirement.
Following on fr...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?