While we continue to wait for Valve to launch the Steam Machine amidst painful hardware shortages at the hands of AI hyperscalers, the company has released some details on its verification program at GDC 2026.
Much like the Steam Deck, one of the big selling points for the Steam Machine is going to be the “Steam Machine Verified” program that’ll let you know at a glance whether or not a game will run well on the Steam Machine. We’ve known that this program was a thing since Valve announced its mini gaming PC back in November, but at GDC 2026, Valve laid out the actual requirements.
The biggest difference from the Steam Deck’s verified program is that for a game to be verified on Steam Machine, it needs to run at 1080p with 30fps. Beyond that, any game that’s verified on Steam Deck already will automatically be verified on Steam Machine. Valve can carry over that verification because, like with the Steam Deck, a game needs to be able to use a controller 100% of the time to earn that green checkmark.
