Valve shipped its $400 handheld gaming console, the Steam Deck, before all its promised features were ready — but one of the biggest is now here. You can now install Windows 10 on a Steam Deck and actually expect it to work because Valve has just released the all-important GPU, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth drivers you’ll need to download and play games.
Importantly, you’ll need to wipe a Steam Deck to do this, there’s no dual-boot yet, and Valve says you can only install Windows 10 since the Steam Deck’s current BIOS apparently doesn’t include firmware TPM support (which Microsoft infamously requires for Windows 11).
Oh, and your speakers and headphone jack won’t work because there’s no audio drivers yet. Bluetooth or USB-C audio are both options for now.
You can find Valve’s Windows on Deck page right here — and the Steam Deck Recovery Instructions right here in case you screw up or run into one of the Deck’s unfortunate bugs. “To get to the boot menu, power down. Then, while holding Volume Down, click the power button,” writes Valve.
I should note that the Steam Deck isn’t quite as buggy today as it was during the review process, and the updates aren’t coming as fast and furious: after launch, Valve created “stable” and “beta” release channels you can access right from the Deck interface. I’ve still had some crashes and games that mysteriously stopped working the way they did days or weeks before (looking at you, Vampire Survivors), but I’ve also played hours of Elden Ring and Into the Breach without issues.
I’ll be firing up Windows 10 on my own review unit soon, so stay tuned!
When the Steam Deck was first announced, Valve promised that it was yours to do what you want with — and that extended to eschewing the included operating system for something more familiar, like Windows.
“We don’t think people should be locked into a certain direction or a certain set of software that they can install,” Valve’s Lawrence Yang told IGN last year. “If you buy a Steam Deck, it’s a PC. You can install whatever you want on it, you can attach any peripherals you want to it.”
Now, two weeks after early adopters got their eager hands on the Steam Deck, Valve has kept its word by releasing Windows-friendly drivers for the handheld’s GPU, WiFi and Bluetooth, meaning you can ditch the default SteamOS and start exploring.
If that hasn’t put you off, note that it currently won’t allow you to install Windows 11, as the bios with the required TPM support isn’t yet available. Also be prepared for the fact that you’re on your own here, as Valve is “unfortunately unable to offer ‘Windows on Deck’ support.”
- Use a gaming VPN or Windows VPN to level up your rig
What’s in it for you?
For some, all of these limitations are part of the fun. It’s not about a better experience, but about seeing something running somewhere unexpected. That’s why people like the thrill of making GTA V run on a Game Boy, or porting Doom to an office phone. Frankly, at this point that’s the only sensible reason to put Windows on your Steam Deck: curiosity.
But in the future, once dual booting is implemented, this could be a killer feature for one massive reason: Game Pass Ultimate. While Valve says it would welcome Game Pass on Steam and that the ball is in Microsoft’s court, so far neither company has made steps in that direction. And it doesn’t seem likely given the steep 30% cut Valve takes off content sold through its platform.
With a Windows installation, Steam Deck can sidestep that problem to become a portable Xbox. Given that Steam Deak is the closest we’re likely to get to a PlayStation Vita 2, the option to dual boot could make Steam Deck the ultimate gaming portable. But for now, only the curious should dip their toes in the water.
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