Time Steam deck originally launched on February 25, 2022we called it “rational, sensible and undeniably attractive” in our language five star review.
Designed and manufactured entirely by Steam’s parent company, Valve, it’s custom made Linux version called SteamOS. This was an introduction Linux For many PC gamers who are otherwise attached to Windows, and it has proven to be a stable, efficient and clean OS that just seems to work.
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Has it always been possible to run Windows 11 on Steam Deck?
The steam deck was never intended Windows 11 device. Although in the first year of Deck’s life you could “hack” Windows on hardware with some clumsy steps and the efforts of a community driver, Valve has finally made the process much easier by releasing a program. Official Windows driver package.
That didn’t mean Valve suddenly got away with it SteamOS. The company was simply acknowledging the interest in running Windows on its hardware while removing the biggest hurdles.
With Windows 11 installed on Steam Deck, users could get full anti-cheat, sign-in support Xbox Game Pass titles and better support for other game launchers like Epic, Battle.net and Ubisoft.
As you can imagine, getting everything to work properly was not an easy process.
Until recently, when Microsoft started pushing it Xbox Full Screen Experience/Xbox Mode for gaming computersRunning Windows on a small screen using gamepad input wasn’t much fun.
A full Windows experience, Windows on Steam Deck also comes with additional telemetry and bloat that reduces efficiency and performance compared to SteamOS.
This issue was not specific to Steam Deck. Ours Xbox Ally X in the review, it was noted that the Windows experience is still lacking due to the lack of optimization.
Many of these problems remain despite Microsoft’s recent advances in gaming hardware. What else were Steam Deck users to do but create their own solutions?
A Reddit community known as r/WindowsOnDeck It arrived in 2022 and has had over 15,000 weekly visitors ever since. The community is made up of like-minded PC gamers who prefer to dual-boot Windows with SteamOS, and there’s plenty of support documentation and how-to guides here.
Bald Sealion’s Steam Deck Windows guide The WindowsOnDeck community can be considered the first stop on the journey. It’s a veritable treasure trove of installation help, Windows OS tweaks, controller setups, quality of life improvements, FAQs, troubleshooting help, and more.
Community developed utilities There are programs that help with controller mapping and more granular power control, such as custom scripts that help improve performance and battery life when running Windows.
If you’re interested in dual-booting Windows and SteamOS on your Steam Deck, I can’t think of it. Better place to check first. The community responds quite actively to requests for help in solving problems, and there are great discussions on various topics.
Why is Steam Deck an impossible Windows gaming handheld?
Despite apparent obstacles, including the need for customization and the fact that many consider SteamOS to be the best way to play, the Steam Deck has become Windows’ go-to handheld for gaming.
Although Valve eased the initial steps with an official Windows driver pack about a year after the Steam Deck’s launch (probably in response to Valve seeing that Valve wanted to try Windows on its hardware), it was the community that sprung up around it that kept the dream alive.
Although I’ve always toyed with the idea of ​​putting Windows 11 on Steam Deck, still actually going through the process. That will change as I see how many players are having a positive experience this weekend, and I can’t wait for my favorite Game Pass titles to launch while sitting on the couch.
Do you have a Steam Deck for dual booting Windows and SteamOS? How is the experience going? If you haven’t taken the dual-boot pill, do you plan to in the future? Let me know what you think in the comments section!
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