We’ve known for ages that the Steam Machine has a similar game compatibility rating system to the Steam Deck, wherein Valve tests games and slaps them with a Verified, Playable, or Unsupported sticker depending on how much they play technical ball. For the first fortnight and change of the Machine’s release, though, the results of these tests haven’t been visible – alongside the Deck verification info – on those games’ Steam store pages.

Hence odd situations like Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced winning full Steam Machine Verified status, but not being able to show it on Steam itself, like if Johannes Høsflot Klæbo had to hide his Olympic golds under that funny little skiing hat. Only, at some point in the past few hours, Valve silently did enable compatibility deets to appear, revealing them to all. Also, Black Flag Resynced really does run well on the Steam Machine, and Johannes Høsflot Klæbo is the most decorated athlete in Winter Olympics history, so who’s laughing now?

It remains questionable that to read Steam Machine-specific details, you need to navigate through the store page’s Steam Deck Compatibility section, but it’s still handy if you’ve splashed the cash on the SteamOS box and want to know how capably your Windows-made games will adapt. Valve’s own Dota 2, for instance, must settle for Playable status, earning points for its graphical performance and gamepad support but denied the top prize for some inaccurate controller icons and the occasional need for an onscreen keyboard. The newly released Palworld 1.0, on the other hand, gets full marks (and that gloriously green Verified tick) for its smooth-running settings and input compatibility across the board. Truly, the Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Steam Machine interoperability.

The final piece of Valve’s 2026 Steam hardware lineup, the Steam Frame VR headset, will also be getting its own verification program. Which makes sense, as it’s essentially a tiny low-end PC strapped to your face, able to run less demanding games in standalone mode. Mind you, it does introduce the added complication of running off an Android-style ARM chip, for which Valve have invested in yet another layer of compatibility software called FEX. The extent to which this will ensure x86-based games will run on the ARM-waving Frame isn’t yet clear, but hopefully a verification system will help cut through the confusion. Like Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, scything across the snow of a frigid Norwegian hillside.