Valve Introduces SteamOS Compatibility System for Non-Steam Deck Devices

Valve has announced a new SteamOS "Compatibility system" that will help gamers identify which games run smoothly on non-Valve devices using SteamOS.

This development comes as the Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS, the first non-Valve device to ship with SteamOS pre-installed, prepares for its release on May 25, 2025.

The new system builds on the existing Steam Deck "Verification" process, but is specifically designed for devices running SteamOS that aren't Steam Decks.

According to Valve's announcement, this system will make it easier for players to know which games will work properly on their SteamOS-powered hardware.

"SteamOS Compatibility ratings are based on a subset of the Steam Deck Compatibility testing results and are meant to show at a glance whether a game and all of its middleware is supported on SteamOS," Valve explained.

When the system rolls out, games will be marked as either "SteamOS Compatible" or "SteamOS Unsupported" [similar to Verified or Non Verified on Steam Deck].

A game receives the Compatible rating if the game and all its middleware work properly on SteamOS. This includes checking features like general game functionality, launcher functionality, and anti-cheat support.

Valve has noted that over 18,000 titles on Steam are expected to be marked as SteamOS Compatible right from the start. This large library of compatible games should give users of the upcoming Lenovo Legion Go S plenty of options to choose from.

The company provided an example of how this will look to users. For instance, a notification for Portal 2 would state: "Our testing indicates that Portal 2 is Compatible with devices running SteamOS, based on Steam Deck compatibility results." It would also include a blue check mark with text saying "Successfully runs on SteamOS."

It's worth noting that, unlike Steam Deck Verification, the SteamOS Compatibility system doesn't test for performance or input compatibility on specific hardware. This is because Valve can't test how games will run on all possible hardware configurations that might use SteamOS in the future.

This means, for game developers, implementing SteamOS Compatibility won't require any additional work. If a game already has a Steam Deck Compatibility rating, an automated process will use that data to generate its SteamOS Compatibility rating.

Valve plans to roll out these updates "in the next few weeks," just in time for the Legion Go S launch.

This development marks an important step in the expansion of SteamOS beyond Valve's own hardware. In the future, users may be able to install SteamOS on various devices, including existing laptops, desktops, or handhelds, potentially creating more options for Linux-based PC gaming.