How to run emulators on the Steam Deck

The Steam Deck is a very emulator-friendly system, and with a few tips and tricks, you can learn how to run emulators on the Steam Deck in just a few minutes. When Valve designed the Steam Deck, it knew that players would be interested in emulation to recreate their favorite gaming systems of years gone by to enjoy some timeless classics. That’s why the Steam Deck allows you to pick and run an emulator right out of the box.

Difficulty

Moderate

Duration

1 hour

What You Need

Steam Deck
Potentially an SD card for file management

Disclaimer: Emulation is a legal gray area, as the ROM files to play the games are rarely available through legal sources. Digital Trends doesn't condone the illegal downloading of any games you don'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 the Power button on the top-right of the Steam Deck for a few seconds. When a menu opens, choose Switch to desktop. This will reboot the Steam Deck in Desktop Mode, where you can make important changes. It’s usually easier to navigate the Desktop Mode if you connect the Steam Deck to a larger monitor 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 quickly get complicated. Instead, we suggest using a shortcut, specifically the EmuDeck program. EmuDeck takes care of all the details on the backend and will install and configure emulators — notably RetroArch, a front-end infrastructure that works well with the Steam Deck and one we recommend for emulation. Head to this webpage and select the Download app button to begin. If following the links is tricky, the URL is: emudeck.com/#download.

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