Fallout 4 gets a Steam Frame Playable rating, so you can take the wasteland with you

Fallout 4 has picked up a Playable rating for Steam Frame, making Bethesda’s open-world RPG one of the games Valve has assessed for running directly on the headset. This is the standard, flat-screen Fallout 4, not Fallout 4 VR.

The rating applies to standalone play: the game runs on the headset rather than being streamed from a gaming PC. It is a Playable result rather than Verified, and there are a couple of setup details to know before heading into the Commonwealth.

SteamDB’s listing of Valve’s compatibility results says some text entry requires players to bring up the on-screen keyboard manually. It also notes that first-time setup requires an internet connection.

Fallout 4 as shown in Bethesda’s Steam store screenshots. Image: Bethesda Game Studios

What Valve checked on the headset

The published review data says Fallout 4’s default controller configuration gives access to all functionality, displays Steam Frame controller icons and keeps in-game interface text legible. Valve’s assessment also says the default graphics configuration performs well on Frame.

Fallout 4 as shown in Bethesda’s Steam store screenshots. Image: Bethesda Game Studios

That is a compatibility assessment, not a promise of a particular frame rate or how a heavily modified game will behave. SteamDB lists the test date as October 22 and identifies the tested build, so later updates or changes to a player’s setup could affect the experience.

The independent tracker Steam Frame Lab lists Fallout 4 as added to its Playable list on October 29. A headset owner can check the current compatibility details in their Steam library or on the game’s store page before installing.

Fallout 4 as shown in Bethesda’s Steam store screenshots. Image: Bethesda Game Studios

Playable is not the same as Verified

Valve describes Playable as a game that functions on Steam Frame but may need manual work. Verified is the more stringent result: the game must pass all compatibility checks without users needing to configure it to access its functionality.

Valve says the Frame review covers games running on the headset itself, including both VR and non-VR titles. It is separate from whether a game works when streamed from a PC. A Steam Deck rating is also a separate assessment for a different device.

Players interested in a room-scale wasteland should distinguish this listing from the separately sold Fallout 4 VR. The newly listed result is for the conventional PC game presented as a flat-screen experience on the Frame.