Steam Deck is already making waves to enhance the game support for the Linux platform.
It runs on Steam OS 3.0 (based on Arch) and features KDE Plasma. Kudos to Valve for not locking down the platform and letting users experiment with it.
While it is not available for everyone, it is an exciting piece of hardware challenging handheld Nintendo Switch.
It may not support all the popular titles yet (like Destiny 2, Fortnite), but it is making good progress with several AAA and indie titles. You can head to the official page of Deck Verified to check the latest information about supported games.
Now, to make things more exciting, it turns out that Steam Deck can also run games using the Epic Games Store (unofficially). But, how? Let’s find out.
Using the Epic Games Store with Heroic Games Launcher
Yes, it’s the same Heroic Games launcher that was in the making last year, and it is already known to work on a Linux desktop.
And, thanks to Liam Dawe (via GamingOnLinux), for successfully testing the Heroic Games Launcher (and Heroic Bash Launcher) on Steam Deck while coordinating with the respective developers.
If you’re curious: Heroic Bash Launcher is a tool that creates launch scripts (.sh files) for all installed Heroic games and allows you to launch the game directly from the terminal or game frontend/launcher without having any need to open Heroic.
Here’s how it all went down (as per my brief chat with the developer of Heroic Bash Launcher):
Initially, with Epic Games Store experiment on Steam Deck, the Steam controller did not work, considering the Epic Games Store ran as a “Non-Steam game” using the Steam client.
So, the developer of Heroic Bash Launcher, Rishabh Moharir (also a fellow writer here) suggested using his tool to make it work by following his wiki guide on GitHub.
The Heroic Bash Launcher works with Epic Games Store on a Linux desktop. So, it was worth a try!
And, fortunately, it worked!
Installing Epic Games Store on Steam Deck
First, you need to install the Heroic Games Launcher on Steam Deck using the available AppImage file in the Desktop mode.
Once done, you need to log in and download the game of your choice.
Next, you need to download the latest binary files for legendary and set it as the alternative legendary binary from the launcher’s settings.
You need to configure and set the compatibility layer to Proton 7.0 from the game settings in the launcher.
That’s when you need to download the latest Heroic Bash Launcher binary and run it.
Finally, you have to add the game to Steam (to find it in Steam Deck’s UI) following the official wiki guide on GitHub.
Overall, it sure took a while for tinkerers to make it work. And, if you are still confused, you can find the same set of steps with all the details in the wiki put together by the Heroic Games Launcher team (or refer to the video above).
To me, it sounds doable and should not be an overwhelming process for most Steam Deck users as of now. Unfortunately, I can’t get my hands on the Steam Deck in India (yet).
As for the future of Epic Games Store on Steam Deck, we can only hope for the best!
Have you tried Steam Deck yet? Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below.
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