Steam Deck gets drivers for Windows

After a few delays, Valve’s Steam Deck for handheld gaming has begun to land with those who were the first to enter the new machine. The device comes with Linux-based Steam OS 3.0 in the regular version, which uses the Proton compatibility layer to work with the contents of the Steam library.

At present it is almost 1000 fully playable titles to Steam Deck. However, the device is unlocked to Steam OS 3.0, and Valve previously promised Windows support. Now they keep their promise and leave Official drivers for windows. At the moment, it is only possible to install Windows 10 on the Steam Deck, and Valve was careful to point out that Windows cannot be installed in parallel with Steam OS 3.0 at the moment.

The released drivers are for graphics circuitry, Wifi and Bluetooth, while Valve is still working on releasing drivers for audio. Therefore, audio through speakers or the 3.5mm jack does not currently work. A temporary solution is to use Bluetooth headphones or connect headphones or a DAC via USB-C for audio.

Valve has also released instructions on how to reinstall Steam OS 3.0, as the company has announced that it does not offer any support for Windows other than drivers. However, Valve adds that when the full disc image of Steam OS 3.0 is released, they will offer support for up to two operating systems simultaneously on the Steam Deck.

Valve, as before, promises Windows 11 support, but knows that it requires a UEFI/BIOS update with FTPM support, which will be released at some point in the future. Instructions on how to install the Windows Deck on Windows can be found at Steam support page.