Before buying a game, people usually want to know a few things. Can I play it with a friend on another console? Can we share one screen? Does my controller work? Will it run on my Mac? Steam answers all of these on every store page, as a list of features the developer ticks. Every game page on this site now repeats those answers. This guide explains what each one means, and the one rule that matters most: if Steam does not list something, that does not mean the game lacks it.
Where the answers come from
When a developer sets up a Steam store page, they pick features from a fixed list: single-player, online co-op, cross-platform multiplayer, shared or split screen, controller support, and so on. They also say which operating systems they sell the game for. Steam shows these on the store page and publishes the same data in a form other sites can read. That is where our game pages get their answers, so every answer starts with "Steam lists" or "Steam does not list".
Developers set these flags themselves, and nobody checks them. A flag can be missing because the developer never ticked it, or because the feature arrived in an update after the store page was set up.
Crossplay
The flag is called Cross-Platform Multiplayer. When it is there, the game lets PC players play with players on at least one other platform. Palworld and Split Fiction both carry it.
What it does not tell you is which platforms. "Cross-platform" could mean PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, or just the Steam and Microsoft Store copies on PC. For that you need the publisher's own announcement.
Helldivers 2 shows why a missing flag means little. Its Steam data, read on 6 October 2026, has no Cross-Platform Multiplayer flag. But PC and PS5 players can play together, and the developer, Arrowhead, announced it on the PlayStation Blog before launch. Steam's listing just never said so. That is why our pages call a missing flag "not listed" and send you to the publisher's notes, rather than answering "no".
Split screen and Remote Play Together
Steam has two split-screen flags: Shared/Split Screen Co-op and Shared/Split Screen PvP. "Shared screen" means both players are on one screen without it being split, which is common in 2D games. The flags apply to the PC version only. A game can have split screen on PlayStation and not on PC, or the other way round.
The flag to look for next to it is Remote Play Together. It lets a friend who does not own the game join a local multiplayer session over the internet. The game runs on your PC and is streamed to them. Split Fiction lists split-screen co-op and Remote Play Together, so on PC you can play it on one screen or with a friend somewhere else.
Elden Ring, Palworld and Red Dead Redemption 2 list neither, so the PC versions are not sold as split-screen games.
Single-player, or "can I play it solo?"
This is where "not listed" misleads most. Split Fiction lists no single-player mode, and it really is a two-player game. Helldivers 2 lists no single-player mode either, yet you can play its missions alone. Set matchmaking to Friends Only and nobody else joins. What you cannot do is play it offline, because the game is online only.
So when our page says Steam lists no single-player mode, read it as "built for a group". It does not mean "impossible alone". Check the store page's own description before you buy a game to play by yourself.
Controller support: full, partial or not listed
- Full controller support means the developer says you can play the whole game, menus included, without touching the mouse. Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077 and Hollow Knight: Silksong list it.
- Partial controller support usually means some menus or modes still need a mouse and keyboard. Red Dead Redemption 2 and Helldivers 2 are listed as partial.
- Nothing listed can mean mouse and keyboard only, or a developer who never set the flag.
Some games add DualShock or DualSense Controller Support, which means PlayStation controllers are supported directly. Our pages say "including PlayStation controllers" when either flag is present, as on Cyberpunk 2077, Palworld and Silksong.
Mac and Linux
These two are the most reliable, because they depend on whether a macOS or Linux build is actually on sale on Steam, not on a box the developer ticks.
- Cyberpunk 2077: Steam sells a macOS version.
- Hollow Knight: Silksong: Steam sells both a macOS and a native Linux version.
- Elden Ring, Palworld and Red Dead Redemption 2: Windows only on Steam.
Linux needs one more distinction. "No native Linux version" does not mean "will not run on Linux". Steam's Proton runs many Windows games on Linux and on the Steam Deck, which is a separate question. Each game's Steam Deck page on this site covers Proton results.
How to use this
- Open the game's page here and look at the facts table and the questions underneath. They show what Steam lists, in plain words.
- If something you need is "not listed", search the publisher's announcements or patch notes for that feature. Crossplay and split screen often arrive in updates.
- For console versions, go by the console store and the publisher's notes. Steam's listings only describe the PC version.
