Probably, but here’s how you get Heroic Game Launcher!
“Switch to desktop” (you can access this from the “power” options)
Now you have a Linux desktop! Whoa, awesome! Start the “Discover” app (search for it and launch it just like you were in windows). This is an easy way to install new linux apps.
In Discover, search for Heroic Games Launcher.
Install it.
Start it.
Log into your Epic or GOG account. Whoa, there’s your library in Epic and/or GOG!
Install whatever you friggin want.
Launch Steam (still in Desktop mode.)
“Add non-Steam game to library → Heroic Games Launcher” (you might be able to individually add all the Epic or GOG games you just installed if you prefer, but Heroic Games Launcher is all you really need to add)
Go back to “gaming mode” by double-clicking the desktop icon that says something like “gaming mode”
Now you can access Heroic through Steam in gaming mode. Start it up, there are all your non-Steam games!
I received mine this week and it really is magical. I’d been having bouts of procrastination trying to decide what to play on my desktop computer in recent weeks. But with the Deck it’s like rediscovering games. Super Blood Hockey and Cursed Castila are made for it. There is a thread nearby this one about an improved engine for Duke Nukem II and the author included directions for installing it on the Deck. It works and is also incredible! I’m so happy with this thing.
It makes the Switch look like an Etch-a-Sketch. Not just in terms of power but in terms of what it opens up to the user.
A prediction: this is the end of handheld consoles that don’t run Steam. (Not much of a prediction, since the Switch was the exception that proved the rule anyway, but now we know it’s the last of its breed.)
Agreed. Like Dave said upthread, they can’t even make enough to do the kinds of numbers the Switch can do, so even if it could be really popular, it won’t be because they can’t make enough. It will be a boutique niche product for a long time, whereas the Switch and its successor will be mainstream successes.
So, screwing around with mine, I thought it was fine. The. I played Final fantasy pixel remaster on it. Then I tried Emudeck. This is a dream machine. Finally going to be able to complete Jean D’Arc years after my PSP broke.
I’m not talking about right now, but the future. (That’s why it’s a prediction!) And I’m not talking about just the Steam Deck, but handhelds in general. This is the proof of concept. Valve won’t be the only company making these things. (They already weren’t, but they were the first to do it right. Just like iPhone wasn’t the first smartphone, but it was the first to do it right.)
Nintendo’s next console won’t be handheld, and twenty years from now (max), Nintendo will have exited the hardware game and be a software company, like Sega.
(That’s the fun part of making predictions – if I just said what everybody else already believed, why bother saying it?)
This is a great explanation. This is one of things where, like the first iPhone, everything I did just “worked”. The beauty of this is you can fiddle, too. It’s lightning in a bottle.
The answer is to “Do you want to play Steam Deck on your giant TV?” is going to be a resounding “no”, unless you’re only playing ancient games. The Steam Deck only works as a product at all because of its small display.
That’s just the first iteration, though. I see no reason why SteamOS couldn’t resurrect Steam Machines. Hell, you could put a 32CU RDNA2 chip in a mobile device and control clocks and it would work great unplugged and scale like an absolute beast plugged in. With FSR2, VRR, and appropriate graphical settings 4k would be totally reachable.
I bet you we all have plenty of games from the 360 era and early PS4 era(2005-2017) that will run great on a big TV. But I get what you’re saying in that, why would you want to. Xbox Series S is a cheaper and better option for a lot of games from that era for playing on the big TV, plus it’s more future proof too. Same with Series X and PS5 too, come to think of it.
But still, the Steam Deck lets you play Half Life 2 at 4k60, which you can’t do on Series S or X. (Because the 360 version of Half Life 2 and Portal 1 and 2 are locked at 30fps, even though you can play them at 4k on X1X and Series X). And as you said, a new steam machine or Steam Deck 2 can probably do that better.
I’ve been using a usb-c doc and hdmi cable to connect to an external monitor. I haven’t attached it to my TV yet but when I do I’ll use the same method.
I bought another one on prime day because I wanted a third usb a port but the steam deck wouldn’t recognize it, and I’ve seen similar reports on Reddit, so it’s worth making sure whatever model dock you get is one that someone else has confirmed works. I’ve heard the Anker models also work well.
I have very little interest in playing the Steam Deck on a TV, as its primary use case is getting in gaming in the moments where I’m not at a TV. I would not have expected it to be able to push 4k60 on any game, let alone HL2. That’s pretty impressive.
I recall that they had an option for the Steam Link with it. Not sure of the intended use case but I guess I should try it out? I’ve bought all hardware that Valve has put out so at some point I’ll be in good shape to make a giant robot with it or something.
