The Steam Deck is a very copycat - friendly organisation , and with a few tips and trick , you may learn how to run emulators on the Steam Deck in just a few minutes . When Valve designedthe Steam Deck , it hump that players would be concerned in emulation to animate their preferred gaming organization of age gone by to bask some timeless classic . That ’s why the Steam Deck allows you to break up and run away an emulator right out of the box .
Disclaimer : Emulation is a legal gray-haired area , as the ROM files to diddle the game are rarely available through legal source . Digital Trends does n’t condone the illegal downloading of any game you do n’t own , nor can we vouch for the veracity and security of any ROM files you download from unofficial sources .
How to run an emulator on the Steam Deck
Step 1 : Turn on your Steam Deck . When it ’s up and running , hold down thePowerbutton on the top - right hand of the Steam Deck for a few mo . When a menu opens , chooseSwitch to desktop . This will rebootthe Steam Deck in Desktop Mode , where you may make crucial change . It ’s usually easier to navigate the Desktop Mode if you connect the Steam Deck to a large monitoring equipment and a mouse / keyboard , but it ’s not entirely necessary .
Step 2 : The Steam Deck already has a lot of emulators waiting to be downloaded in the Discover app . However , that ’s where things promptly get complicated . Instead , we advise using a crosscut , specifically the EmuDeck broadcast . EmuDeck deal guardianship of all the detail on the backend and will install and configure emulator — notably RetroArch , a front - last infrastructure that works well with the Steam Deck and one we recommend for emulation . point to this webpageand select theDownload appbutton to begin . If following the contact is tricky , the URL is : emudeck.com/#download .
footstep 4 : When prompted , selectPreview , then chooseGenerate applist . EmuDeck will now solve to make a library of classic games plus images and other important data point . When it ’s finished , selectSave appto finish the process . This could take several minute or more , so stay on patient if it attend like the Deck is work through it .
footmark 5 : Close your apps , and select theReturn to secret plan modeicon in the upper - depart corner . In your Steam Library , you should now see a novel Emulation assemblage with theEmulationStationapp ready to go .
Step 6 : When in doubt about do read-only memory file , do n’t waffle to launch the Steam ROM Manager again and check configurations , compatibility , and more . Remember , a pot is automated here , but you’re able to choose what emulated consoles to see , how they look , what games you want , and more . EmuDeck should have done most of the work for you , but you still have customization option .
pace 7 : If you are planning to keep your ROM on a separate SD identity card for easier cataloging , verify you get an SD lineup , configure it to your Steam Deck , and label it properly so you ’ll know what ’s waiting inwardly . South Dakota cards using Ext4 or Btrfs filesystems will be compatible with EmuDeck . Make certain the Mount Rushmore State wag is instal and quick to go before you lam EmuDeck .
whole tone 8 : If your Deck or an external controller is acting unearthly or not map correctly based on what you call back from the game , you may always deepen it . RetroArch , for example , has a Controls discussion section in scope where you’re able to remap release and store your shape for each game . A little tinkering can go a long manner .
Once you have your favorite games up and running , why not tryplaying them on your magnanimous projection screen TV ? Alternatively , switch to theSteam Deck ’s Desktop Modeto get even more fine - tune control .
