Action Free To Play Massively MultiplayerPartial controller

Defiance on the Steam Machine

Not yet testedDerived from SteamOS compatibilityProtonDB Silver· 20 reports

Can the Steam Machine run Defiance?

Defiance isn't rated for the Steam Machine yet — Steam publishes no SteamOS compatibility signal for it, and we'd rather say so than guess.

Where to buy Defiance

We'll publish a verdict as data arrives. One signal does exist, and it isn't ours: 20 Linux players have reported running it under Proton, rating it Silver. That says it runs — not how fast.

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Key facts: Defiance on Steam Machine

Compatibility: Not yet tested (unknown). No SteamOS compatibility signal for the Steam Machine yet.
Device & mode: Steam Machine: Not yet tested — Runs locally on SteamOS (1080p default)
Steam Deck: Unrated by Valve — Runs locally on the handheld (800p)
Steam Frame: Native status: unknown — Flatscreen — streamed from a Steam Machine to a virtual screen; native play not rated
Performance: No frame-rate data — we don't publish a number we don't hold.
Conditions: None recorded — there is no frame-rate test to describe.
Basis: No verdict · 1 source (1 linked) · data as of June 2026 · methodology
ProtonDB: Silver, 20 reports
Limitations: No frame-rate measured and Valve hasn't rated it for SteamOS — there is no verdict yet.
Not recorded here: anti-cheat status, frame generation, game / SteamOS / Proton versions.

Steam Machine

Not yet tested

Not yet rated

Steam Deck

Unrated

No measured data yet

Steam Frame

Flatscreen

Stream to a virtual screen

Analysis — Defiance on the Steam Machine

CPU vs GPU

MMOs get CPU-bound exactly where it matters: crowded hubs and raids with dozens of players drawing at once. Cutting the visible-player limit or character detail helps there far more than dropping resolution.

What to expect

Defiance has no SteamOS rating yet. A similar game we do rate, PlanetSide 2, lands green on the Steam Machine — a reasonable first guide until this one gets its own verdict.

On the couch

Steam lists only partial controller support — some menus or modes may still want a mouse, and Steam Input's community layouts are the first thing to try.

64mmetacriticMetascore — critic reviews