At the end of February, you can buy the Steam Deck. By now, we also know games that work on the Steam Deck. However, some multiplayer games are officially not supposed to run. MeinMMO explains which ones they are.
What is the Steam Deck? The Steam Deck is a gaming PC in handheld format. You can play Steam games directly on the couch with the device. The Steam Deck has similarities with the Nintendo Switch, but appeals to a completely different audience.
If you want to buy the Steam Deck for your daily multiplayer rounds, you might want to reconsider. Because Valve, the developer behind the Steam Deck, has been reviewing games and their compatibility with the Steam Deck for some time now. And many multiplayer titles currently do not work.
This is because Valve is not using Windows for its Steam Deck but an operating system called SteamOS. This has sparked discussions after the announcement, about what you can actually play on the device.
Valve tests if games work on the Steam Deck
What does “Verified for Steam Deck” mean? Valve is currently checking which games are compatible with the Steam Deck. Valve also confirmed in a discussion that all games are supposed to run on the Steam Deck in the future.
Valve assumes that you will keep Steam OS installed on the Steam Deck for now. This list is continually updated and there are four levels in Valve’s review system:
- Verified: this means the games work very well
- Playable: this means you may need to make some adjustments yourself
- Not supported: these games do not run on the Steam Deck
- Unknown: Valve has not yet reviewed the games, but they will be tested in the future.
It is also important to note that this is not a rigid system. Games can switch from Verified back to Playable if developers change the engine or implement a new copy protection.
Currently, some multiplayer games belong to the titles that are not running on the Steam Deck.
36 multiplayer games that currently do not run on the Steam Deck
Why don’t the games work? For all titles, there is the note “This product’s anti-cheat is not configured to support Steam Deck.” This means that anti-cheat does not work and thus the game does not start. Anti-cheat, however, is a prerequisite for many multiplayer games to be able to detect cheaters.
The Steam Deck uses Steam OS as its operating system. It is not Windows, but a Linux operating system. This causes some limitations for games that do not exist under Windows. Anti-cheat programs have issues with Linux. If you are interested in SteamOS, you can find more information in our article on MeinMMO:
We cannot tell you whether and when Valve will find a solution here in the future. However, Valve has stated that they want to address the issues.
Which games do not run? The following multiplayer titles currently do not run on the Steam Deck (as of February 11, 2022). We update the list regularly for you. The games are sorted alphabetically if you are looking for a specific game.
- Arche Age: Unchained
- Black Squad
- Black Desert
- Bless Unleashed
- Back 4 Blood
- Closers
- Conan Exiles
- Crossout
- Deadside
- Dead by Daylight
- Digimon Masters Online
- Dragon Ball FighterZ
- Friday the 13th: The Game
- For Honor
- Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
- Gears 5
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection
- Hunt: Showdown
- Hell Let Loose
- Insurgency
- Lemnis Gate
- Last Oasis
- New World
- Naraka: Bladepoint
- Outriders
- PlanetSide 2
- Predator: Hunting Grounds
- Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis
- Rogue Company
- Soulworker
- Scavengers
- Tom Clancy´s Rainbow Six Siege
- The Crew 2
- Watch Dogs 2
- Warhammer: Vermintide 2
- Z1 Battle Royale
Alternatively, you can of course install Windows on the Steam Deck. This way, all other games should work as well. However, this only applies to those of you who do not mind the effort and want to install a new operating system.
Alternatives to the Steam Deck: Do you feel too restricted by SteamOS or don’t want to install Windows? In addition to the Steam Deck, there are other handheld consoles that you can also play on the go.
We at MeinMMO present you with a handful of alternatives to the Steam Deck that you can already buy: Steam Deck: Here are the 4 most interesting alternatives 2021
