Portal 2 is the first game to become Steam Deck verified and this is what it means

Portal 2 has become the first game to be Steam Deck verified according to the game’s Steam page history. 

Initially spotted by a Reddit user in r/pcgaming, it looks as if Valve is gearing up ahead of the Steam Deck’s release in February of this year. A quick look into Portal 2’s in the Steam Database shows that changes were made as recent as two days ago on January 11 where an item named 'Steam Deck compatibility' was added. 

Below the 'Steam Deck compatibility' change are a number of entries named things like: 'Steam Deck verified', 'default controller configuration fully functional', 'interface text is legible', 'controller glyphs match deck device', and more. What that basically means is Valve has gone into Portal 2 and performed tests to see how compatible it is with the upcoming Steam Deck console.

If you weren't aware, in order for a game to become 'Steam Deck verified' Valve must first review it and organise it into one of four categories. As explained on the Steam Deck website, the four categories are: Verified - "the game works great on Steam Deck, right out of the box", Playable - "the game may require some manual tweaking by the user to play", Unsupported - "the game is currently not functional on Steam Deck", and Unknown - "[Valve] haven't checked this game for compatibility yet."

In order to get that Steam Deck verified tick, each game must adhere to the following specifications: 

• Input - "The title should have full controller support, use appropriate controller input icons, and automatically bring up the on-screen keyboard when needed" 
• Display - "The game should support the default resolution of Steam Deck (1280x800 or 1280x720), have good default settings, and text should be legible"
• Seamlessness - "The title shouldn’t display any compatibility warnings, and if there’s a launcher it should be navigable with a controller" 
• System Support - "If running through Proton, the game and all its middleware should be supported by Proton. This includes anti-cheat support."

It appears that Portal 2 is the first game that ticks all of those boxes. However, it won't be long until we find out what other games are ready to go as the handheld console is due to start shipping out in February 2022.

Wondering what games you should play on your Steam Deck first when it arrives? Take a look at our list of the best PC games for inspiration.