Steam Deck game compatibility involves three different checks: Valve’s official Deck review, community reports on ProtonDB, and AreWeAntiCheatYet’s anti-cheat tracker. Each covers a different part of the experience, so the useful check depends on whether you care about the game’s overall usability, how it runs through Proton, or access to online play protected by anti-cheat.
That distinction matters: a result about one part of a game does not settle every other compatibility question.
Three resources, three different questions
| Resource | What it checks | When it helps | Scope |
| Valve’s Steam Deck review | The game’s expected experience on Steam Deck, including controls, readability, performance, launchers, and system support | When you want Valve’s device-specific compatibility rating | A review of the Steam Deck experience |
| ProtonDB | Community reports about games running through Proton | When you want to read about players’ experiences and reported workarounds | Reports concern running games through Proton; they are not Valve’s official ratings |
| AreWeAntiCheatYet | Anti-cheat compatibility for games on GNU/Linux, Wine, or Proton | When anti-cheat may affect a game’s online features | Its focus is anti-cheat, rather than a full review of the game’s Deck experience |
What Steam Deck Verified checks
Valve assigns one of four ratings: Verified, Playable, Unsupported, or Unknown. The labels summarize Valve’s compatibility review, which covers more than whether a game launches.
- Verified: The game passes Valve’s checks without requiring user configuration to access its functionality.
- Playable: The game works but may require manual steps.
- Unsupported: The game is currently not functional on Steam Deck.
- Unknown: Valve has not completed its compatibility review. It is not a finding that the game failed.
Valve’s checks include controller input, display and text readability, launchers, performance, and Proton or system support where relevant. Its published criteria include a default-configuration performance measure of 30 fps at 800p and a minimum font height of 9 pixels at 1280×800.
Valve tests a Linux build by default when one is available. If that build fails the compatibility tests or has significant issues, Valve tests the Windows build running through Proton and submits the more favorable results. Games can be installed regardless of their rating.
What ProtonDB and AreWeAntiCheatYet add
Proton is Valve’s compatibility layer for running Windows games on Linux. ProtonDB collects community reports about games running through it, giving you a different kind of signal from Valve’s review: player-reported experience rather than an official Steam Deck rating.
AreWeAntiCheatYet, often shortened to AWACY, narrows the question to anti-cheat. The crowdsourced tracker lists games and their compatibility with GNU/Linux, Wine, or Proton. Its displayed categories are Supported, Running, Planned, Broken, and Denied.
The distinction is practical. A game may need separate checks for its general Deck experience and for an online mode that uses anti-cheat. A ProtonDB report addresses running the game through Proton; AWACY focuses on anti-cheat status.
Why anti-cheat support depends on the game
Valve documents Proton support for Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye, but that general support does not automatically make every game using either system compatible. For Easy Anti-Cheat, a developer must enable support for the specific game build. BattlEye titles require a manual configuration step.
So if online multiplayer is important, check the game’s anti-cheat status as well as its general Deck rating. Support for the anti-cheat software is only one part of that check.
A practical compatibility check
- Start with the Steam Store or your library. Check the game’s Steam Deck rating and read any compatibility notes. Treat Unknown as an unfinished Valve review, not a failed result.
- Look at ProtonDB reports. Read community accounts of the game running through Proton, including any reported settings or workarounds that match your situation.
- Check AreWeAntiCheatYet for anti-cheat games. This is especially relevant when an online mode is important to you.
- Recheck after meaningful changes. Compatibility information can change. Valve says its review is ongoing and may be repeated when new information becomes available.
What an unknown or changing result means
An Unknown rating says that Valve has not completed its review; it does not say that a game is incompatible. Valve’s review is ongoing, and it may retest games when new information becomes available. Check the relevant game rating and, where applicable, its Proton and anti-cheat reports when deciding whether a particular part of the game will work for you.
