The Best Steam Deck Games To Play Right Now

Valve’s Steam Deck isn’t a brand-new concept. Portable PC gaming devices have existed for years. But the Steam Deck looks poised to be the breakthrough for the platform because it’s cheaper than many alternatives and, of course, because it’s coming from Valve itself. Who better to handle a handheld Steam machine than the makers of Steam?

The Steam Deck has been in players’ hands for a while now, and now that it’s readily available to purchase, more and more players are getting to try it out for themselves every single day. You can read our Steam Deck review to see what we thought of it, but more than likely, you’re ready to dive in for yourself already. As soon as you boot it up, you’ll find your Steam library is intact, which is exciting, but not all games are created equal when it comes to playing them via Steam Deck.

We’ve rounded up a few dozen of the best games to play on Steam Deck, including major AAA hits, under-the-radar indies, and everything in between. In most cases, these games have already been declared as “Deck Verified” by Valve, meaning it’s fully supported without any caveats. We’ve personally tested all of the games on this list, however, so even in cases where things do come with asterisks, like needing to use the touchscreen momentarily to log into Xbox in one example, we find the games themselves outweigh these minor hiccups and still recommend them as a result.

You can even install Epic Games Store on Steam Deck to broaden your library even more. In most cases in our experience, these games work just as they would on your home PC, which is great when you consider how often Epic hands out free games on its platform. If you want to get the most out of your new toy, check out our list of the best Steam Deck accessories As the list of Steam Deck-compatible games grows, so too will this list here. Keep checking back for recommendations on the best games to play on Steam Deck.