Valve Corporation has officially announced plans to expand its Steam Verified initiative to include the Steam Machine and Steam Frame, confirming that the upcoming hardware will be included in the program ahead of their launch in Summer 2026.
In an official post on Steam, Valve Corporation has revealed plans to expand its Steam Verified program to include the Steam Machine and Frame ahead of their launch in Summer 2026. As is the case with the Steam Deck Verified system, the company’s goal is to help players understand how well a game will perform on the new hardware straight out of the box, without requiring additional configuration or troubleshooting.
The Steam Machine Verified program will closely mirror Steam Deck Verified requirements, focusing on factors such as controller support, default graphical settings, and overall user experience. Valve noted that developers whose games already perform well on Steam Deck should not need to make any additional changes, stating, “If your game already runs well on Deck, it will also run well on Machine with no extra work required from you.” The company also revealed that it is already testing titles that previously fell short of Steam Deck performance requirements, as many of them will achieve Verified status on the more powerful Steam Machine hardware.
Meanwhile, the company has introduced a different approach with the Steam Frame. Primarily designed to stream games from a PC, the VR headset is also capable of running software natively thanks to its standalone functionality. As such, certain games can be played directly on the headset without needing to remain connected to another system. For Steam Frame Standalone Verified, Valve will evaluate games based on performance, UI readability, text clarity, and compatibility with the device’s controllers. The company confirmed that the same testing standards will apply to both VR and non-VR titles.
In addition to the new verification categories, Valve has updated the Steam Partner Dashboard. Developers will now find dedicated Steam Machine and Steam Frame verification tabs alongside Steam Deck Verified, with many games already showing test results for the upcoming hardware.
