One feature introduced with the Steam Deck was the notion of games being Steam Deck verified – giving users an easy indicator as to which titles should and should not run on the gaming handheld. With the upcoming Steam Machine, it appears Valve is taking a similar approach; this time offering more concrete compatibility requirements.

As part of the company’s GDC talk, Valve spoke on their upcoming hardware releases including the much-anticipated Steam Machine. According to Valve (as collated by PCGamer), the upcoming box will require a similar level of testing to that of the Steam Deck, meaning if it is Steam Deck verified then the game should also be Steam Machine verified.

That said, for all of its good, Steam Deck verification varies widely from title to title, with some offering bespoke graphics modes for the platform whereas others can run like a potato while still receiving the green checkmark.

For the Steam Machine, it seems requirements are slightly more stringent, with Valve revealing that there’s a performance target requirement of 1080p and 30fps. Given that this device is designed for TV play, here’s to hoping that most titles are able to run at perceptively higher resolutions and with increased framerates than than above however.

Regardless, it appears to be a step up compared to Steam Deck Verification. Of course, we will have to wait and see how strict Valve will be in this regard.

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KitGuru says: What do you think of the Steam Deck verification system? Is it too lenient? Would you accept modern games running at 1080p 30fps? Let us know down below.

At GDC 2026, Valve has officially set its requirements for the Steam Machine Verified badge, targeting native 1080p resolution. This resolution floor aligns with early analysis of the system's specifications, which highlighted how 4K@60 FPS gameplay on the system would rely heavily on AMD FSR upscaling. During a talk held this week, Valve confirmed again that all Steam Deck Verified games will also be Steam Machine Verified, with the same input expectations as the handheld. The biggest surprise, however, is in the required performance level - native 1080p resolution at 30 FPS - a far cry from the reveal's messaging […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/steam-machine-verified-requirements-target-native-1080p-resolution-30-fps-gameplay/

While Valve had originally planned to release new hardware products in early 2026, the ongoing memory and storage shortage has put a hold to those plans. Valve has recently pushed its release timing from ‘Q1 2026' to ‘1H 2026'. 

In an update shared this week Valve said that it still ‘hopes' to ship the Steam Machine, Steam Frame and Steam Controller in 2026. This had some worrying that the new products may not ship this year at all but a spokesperson told The Verge that Valve still fully intends to ship its new products in the first half of this year.

While we were initially expecting all three new hardware products to launch before the end of this month, towards the end of last year, the AI data centre market began to make a huge impact on global memory and storage supplies. Since then, prices for high-speed RAM and storage have been creeping up and manufacturers have begun shifting production capacity to better serve the AI market, leaving less production available for consumer-grade electronics.

Aside from the Steam Machine, there has also been talk of the memory shortage causing price hikes for current consoles like the Nintendo Switch 2 and delays for next-gen systems like the PlayStation 6.

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KitGuru Says: Do you think Valve should pause its release plans or should it push ahead despite potential long-term supply challenges?

Late yesterday evening, Valve posted a 2025 Steam retrospective that also included some small but significant tidbits on the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller shipping. As you will certainly recall, their original goal was to ship all three products in early 2026, as confirmed even by AMD CEO Lisa Su. However, shortly after that statement, Valve told consumers that it was forced to delay the timetable on the heels of the ongoing memory and storage crisis and was now targeting the first half of 2026. The new blog post appears to quietly push the shipping window even further. […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/valve-steam-machine-now-targeting-this-year-instead-of-first-half/