On July 10, 2026, Valve quietly updated the Steam client on SteamOS with a new interface that separates game compatibility ratings for Steam Machines from the general SteamOS rating. The change, which appears only when running Steam on a SteamOS device, lets owners of the long-dormant Steam Machine line finally see whether a game will run well on their specific hardware, rather than relying on ratings tailored for the handheld Steam Deck.
A Long-Requested Change Arrives
Steam’s store pages inside SteamOS now display two distinct compatibility badges where there used to be one. The original “SteamOS” rating—that iconic green checkmark, yellow play icon, or unsupported red circle—has been joined by a second badge labeled “Steam Machine.” This split, first spotted by users and data miners on Friday, is currently exclusive to the Steam client when running natively on SteamOS. Windows and macOS users browsing the store will see no such differentiation; for them, the Windows compatibility rating remains the relevant indicator.
The rating system itself isn’t new. For years, Valve has used a set of tests—Proton performance, input support, display scaling, and more—to categorize games for Steam Deck and, by extension, all SteamOS devices. But that extension was the problem. The tests were calibrated against Steam Deck’s fixed hardware: an AMD Zen 2 APU with RDNA 2 graphics. On a Steam Machine from 2015—say, an Alienware Alpha with a Core i3 and custom Nvidia GTX 860M—the results could be wildly misleading. A game marked “Verified” might struggle to hit 30 FPS, while an “Unsupported” title might actually run fine if you wrestled with settings.
Now, when you bring up a game’s page inside SteamOS, you’ll see two rows of information. The first shows compatibility for “SteamOS (Steam Deck and other devices)” and the second for “Steam Machine.” The UI doesn’t yet explain how the Steam Machine rating is determined—whether it targets a baseline spec from the original Steam Machine initiative or uses some form of dynamic hardware detection. Early observations suggest it’s a curated assessment, not a live scan of your current rig.
Who Stands to Gain
This update is a direct win for the small but vocal community that still runs SteamOS on dedicated living-room PCs. Broadly, four groups of users are affected.
Steam Machine owners. If you bought an official Steam Machine between 2015 and 2017, you’ve been stuck in a compatibility limbo. The Steam Deck-oriented ratings often painted a pessimistic picture, while community workarounds painted a more optimistic one. Now you have a rating that Valve says is designed for your machine class. It should reduce trial-and-error purchases.
DIY SteamOS desktop users. Anyone who installed SteamOS 3 on a custom PC—whether a hand-me-down office tower or a sleeper gaming rig—will benefit. While the “other devices” category still lumps you with the Steam Deck, the presence of a Steam Machine rating provides a secondary reference point. If your hardware is closer to an old Steam Machine spec (mid-range discrete GPU from the Maxwell/Polaris era), that new badge might be more predictive.
Steam Deck owners. For you, not much changes. The primary SteamOS rating remains your guide. However, seeing the Steam Machine badge can offer a quick sanity check: if a game gets a thumbs-down on Steam Machine but a thumbs-up on Steam Deck, it’s a clue that the title may heavily tax a lower-powered system, which might matter if you’re playing docked at 1080p or targeting 60 FPS.
Windows gamers eyeing SteamOS. If you’re considering a migration to SteamOS on an older PC, these ratings finally give you a store-level view of what to expect before you even install the OS. Boot up SteamOS on a USB stick, log in, and browse your wishlist to see realistic compatibility data for your hardware tier.
The Rocky Road to SteamOS 3.0
The original Steam Machine initiative, launched in 2015, arrived with grand promises but stumbled out of the gate. A fragmented hardware lineup, limited native Linux games, and a clunky SteamOS 1.0/2.0 experience left it in a niche. By 2019, Valve had stopped manufacturing its own Steam Machine hardware, and most OEMs quietly discontinued their models.
Then came Proton in 2018, turning the tide by letting thousands of Windows games run on Linux via a Wine-based compatibility layer. The Steam Deck’s 2022 debut supercharged that effort, with Valve pouring resources into Proton, graphics drivers, and the “Verified” program. But the Deck’s fixed hardware made it easy to certify games: test on one device, declare a binary outcome. For the diverse world of PC hardware, that binary approach fell apart.
SteamOS 3.0, built on Arch Linux with a read-only root, was initially exclusive to the Deck. After Valve opened it to general installation in 2025, a new wave of desktop users adopted it, bringing hardware configurations that stretched from decade-old CPUs to bleeding-edge GPUs. The community has long demanded a more nuanced compatibility signal. Friday’s update is the first concrete step.
It’s also a quiet acknowledgment that the “Steam Machine” product line still matters—at least symbolically. Valve may not sell them anymore, but the brand recognition is enough to re-purpose the term as a shorthand for “living-room PC with mid-range discrete graphics.”
How to See the New Ratings
There’s no toggle to flip and no opt-in beta to join. The feature appears to have rolled out in a routine Steam client update on the stable branch for SteamOS. If you have a SteamOS device, simply:
- Update your Steam client. On the desktop, click Steam → Check for Client Updates. Let it download the latest build.
- Browse the store. Navigate to any game’s store page. Scroll to the compatibility section. You should now see two rows of badges.
- Check your library. The same dual-rating appears on your library’s game detail page, helping you reassess titles you already own.
If you’re on Windows, you won’t see these ratings at all—even if you access the store through a browser. Valve hasn’t yet exposed the Steam Machine data on the web or mobile apps. To check a game before installing SteamOS, you can consult community databases like ProtonDB, which often include reports from users on similar hardware.
A quick comparison illustrates the difference. Consider a fictional game, Shadow of the Colossus Remake. Under the old system, its store page showed a single “SteamOS: Playable” badge, indicating minor issues on Deck. With the update, you might now see:
| Rating Category | Compatibility |
|---|---|
| SteamOS (other devices) | Playable |
| Steam Machine | Unsupported |
This tells you that while the Deck can run it with tinkering, a Steam Machine likely can’t handle it at all—perhaps due to GPU requirements or driver quirks that Proton can’t overcome on older Nvidia hardware.
What’s Next for SteamOS Compatibility
Valve hasn’t published any blog post or patch notes about the change—typical for their iterative stealth updates. But the move aligns with a broader pattern. In 2025, Steam added per-game Proton configurations, letting users select specific Proton versions for individual titles. Now, with hardware-specific ratings, the pieces are in place for a future where the Steam client could warn you pre-purchase that a game won’t run well on your exact system.
The obvious next step is dynamic, per-machine ratings. Valve could add an optional hardware profiler that reads your CPU, GPU, and RAM, then maps that to a compatibility spectrum. Such a feature would finally close the gap between the Deck’s curated experience and the open-ended PC ecosystem. It would also directly compete with third-party tools like ProtonDB, which already offer community-sourced, hardware-specific reports.
For now, the dual-rating system is a welcome refinement. It costs nothing, requires no configuration, and immediately improves the shopping experience for a neglected segment of SteamOS users. If you’ve been holding onto a Steam Machine or a repurposed desktop running SteamOS, this is your cue to fire it up and rediscover your library with clearer eyes.