Elden Ring may retain that expected souls-like difficulty but running the epic FromSoftware RPG on Steam Deck is an easy challenge.
Elden Ring took the world by storm when it launched in 2022, instantly becoming the frontrunner to win the coveted Game of the Year award across multiple platforms. The same can be said for its time on Steam Deck, where the game continues to remain part of the ‘Most Played Steam Deck games’ month in and month out.
Over the years, Elden Ring has even garnered its own official Steam Deck startup movie, solidifying its time on the handheld.
Now, with Shadow of the Erdtree, the game’s first DLC, on its way, there’s no better time to pick up where your tarnished character left off on Steam Deck.
Can you play Elden Ring on Steam Deck?
Elden Ring is playable on Steam Deck, and the FromSoftware epic can achieve around an average of 40 FPS on the Valve handheld. However, a new patch can cause the game to not receive inputs if left idle for five minutes. Bandai Namco is working on a hotfix.
The game, when launched, didn’t run well on Steam Deck with massive frame rate drops and poor graphics. However, since then, Valve helped optimize Elden Ring for the Steam Deck which massively improved the game’s performance with stable frame rates and solid visuals.
As featured in footage by YouTuber DeckWizard, Elden Ring still runs brilliantly on the Steam Deck all these years later. When testing Elden Ring on a Steam Deck OLED model, which is running SteamOS version 3.6, The Lands Between also looked stunning on the upgraded OLED display.
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As seen in the video, the game runs between 40 to 60 FPS, offering a smooth portable RPG experience. While it has been optimized for the handheld over the years, its graphically intensive nature can make it a drain on the battery.
As a result, we recommend keeping the Steam Deck charger at arm’s length while you fight your way through the uncompromising game.
Elden Ring’s first DLC expansion, the Shadow of the Erdtree will soon be available on both Steam and the Steam Deck. In preparation for the expansion, FromSoft released the 1.12 patch, which brought with it significant changes to the base game, along with a new Steam Deck bug.
With this new patch, Elden Ring on the Steam Deck will stop accepting inputs if you leave the game for longer than 5 minutes. Luckily, according to the official Elden Ring X/Twitter page, a hotfix is in the works to rectify the issue as soon as possible.
Elden Ring demands 60GB of storage space on Steam Deck, which isn’t a lot by today’s standards. However, the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC comes in at an extra 16.5 GB, taking the total up to 76.5 GB.
Picking up one of the best microSD cards will help ensure you have plenty of storage for Elden Ring, its upcoming DLC, and any Steam Deck game you want to play – especially if you haven’t yet picked up the 1TB OLED or upgraded the SSD.
