How to play Destiny 2 on Steam Deck

Wanting to play Destiny 2 wherever you go on your Steam Deck? Well, there’s only a handful of ways to do so and they all come with massive caveats.

Here’s how we imagine the start of a quest would go in Destiny 2 if it were about getting the game to run on a Steam Deck. It’d probably be someone a little mystical talking about it. Let’s pin it on Eris Morn:

“The Traveller beckons to you, Guardian. However, it seems you’re on a Steam Deck with SteamOS, so it has blocked you from playing because of a higher power. There’s no way through this tough task, so we’ll have to go around it. Head to the objective.”

Can you play Destiny 2 on Steam Deck?

Bungie

Destiny 2 doesn’t support the Steam Deck out of the box. In fact, Destiny 2 doesn’t support Linux, which means it won’t run on SteamOS. However, if you have Windows installed, you can get the game up and running just fine.

Bungie has made the awkward decision to not allow Destiny 2 on Steam Deck due to security concerns. The theory is that Linux being what it is could open the game to hackers and exploits that aren’t usually accessible on Windows.

The company uses BattlEye, which actually supports not only Linux but Proton, the intermediary layer that translates Windows programs to Linux. All Bungie has to do is tell BattlEye that they’d like to have it working.

This is a weird issue for Destiny 2 and Bungie to bring up, as the game was on Google Stadia before it shut down. Google’s servers that ran the game would use Linux, as such, there’s already a Linux version in existence that’s now lost to time.

Will Destiny 2 ever come to the Steam Deck?

We doubt that the game will ever come to the Steam Deck now. Bungie has seen some backlash recently from some hardcore Steam Deck fans, but the company seems determined to keep it locked away. We’d hope that Bungie will soon respond to criticism that Destiny 2 is not playable natively on Steam Deck, but until then, you will have to install Windows on your Steam Deck in order to play the game as intended.

How to play Destiny 2 on Steam Deck via Windows

You can follow our dedicated guide for installing Windows on the Steam Deck. While we’d recommend this only for the diehard Destiny 2 fans, having Windows on your Deck can open up Game Pass and other titles you’d typically not have access to, like Modern Warfare 2.

Once you’ve installed Windows on your device, it’ll be good to go out of the box. We’ve played a little Lightfall on it, and you’ll see performance sit around the 40-60FPS range in PVE modes. We’d recommend not playing PVP, as your fluctuating FPS will cause more losses than normal.

How to play Destiny 2 on Steam Deck without installing Windows

Of course, if you own the game on streaming platforms that SteamOS can access, then you’re already set up to play. Nvidia GeForce Now is the only one that’s easily accessible, as it did leave Game Pass last year.

Nvidia GeForce Now works great on the Steam Deck, natively supporting the embedded controller.

There’s a little setup to do before you begin, as you’ll need to follow similar steps to adding Xbox Game Pass streaming to your Steam Deck.

As GeForce Now detects whether or not you’re using a compatible browser, we will need to acquire Microsoft Edge for the smoothest experience.

How to install Microsoft Edge on Steam Deck

• Go to the Discover store
• Search for “Microsoft Edge’ and once you’ve found it, install
• Open the taskbar and under “Internet” you’ll find the browser
• Right-click and “Add to Steam”
  • This will allow us to run it through Gaming Mode
• Open Konsole and use the following code to give the correct permissions to Edge to get over any security barriers
  • flatpak –user override –filesystem=/run/udev:ro com.microsoft.Edge
• Press Enter and then close Konsole
• Head into Steam and right-click Microsoft Edge
• Choose Properties and locate Launch Options
• Type the following code:
  • –window-size=1024,640 –force-device-scale-factor=1.25 –device-scale-factor=1.25 –kiosk “https://www.play.geforcenow.com”
• This will force Edge to run like it would if it were a demo at a kiosk, not allowing you to use the browser as normal

Microsoft Edge is almost ready to be used, but you can alter the name and look before you head into Gaming Mode via the properties menu in Steam. You’ll also want to map the controller to use a back button as the escape key, as this will be your method of entering menus for further alterations when you’re in Nvidia GeForce Now.

Remote streaming

You can actually just launch Destiny 2 on your Steam account on your PC and stream the game to your Steam Deck for playing while using the toilet, in bed, or wherever else in the house.

• Load up Steam on your PC
• Load up your Steam Deck and head to Destiny 2
• As long as the game is installed on your PC, the Steam Deck should give you the option to stream it via the Play Button, or you’ll need to use the drop-down menu next to it to fire the game up