Guides
Play Genshin Impact on the go.
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Valve’s first portable gaming console, Steam Deck, debuted in the market in February 2024. However, the device doesn’t natively support Genshin Impact even after several months of its launch. But, it doesn’t mean that you can’t play the popular gatcha game on Steam Deck. There are several workarounds to run Genshin Impact on Steam Deck, and here’s a comprehensive guide for the same.
Playing Genshin Impact on Steam Deck
In order to play Genshin Impact on Steam Deck, you will need to install Windows first on your handheld console. Start with creating a bootable Pendrive of Windows 10 and then follow these steps.
Caution: Steam Deck comes with SteamOS out of the box, and it’s worth noting that Windows can’t be dual booted. As a result, you will need to overwrite the Windows package in order to run the game.
- Plug the bootable USB drive into the Steam Deck.
If you have a USB Type-C flash drive, you can plug it directly into your device. Otherwise, you’ll need a USB to C adapter to install the Windows.
- Hold the Volume Down and Power button simultaneously to access the boot menu.
Use the D-Pad control on the Steam deck and select your USB flash drive.
- Reboot the device and install Windows.
To easily install Windows on your Steam Deck, we recommend connecting a keyboard and a mouse to navigate through the setup. By default, you will see the display in portrait mode, which we will adjust later in this guide.
- Finish the Windows setup process.
Select the language, say hi to Cortana, enter your activation key, and perform other steps to set up the Windows.
- Change the Screen Orientation to Landscape.
Go to Start > Settings > System > Display > Display Orientation and select Landscape for an optimum vision.
- Download and Install the Genshin Impact launcher.
Open Microsoft Edge or any other browser and visit Genshin Impact’s official website. Download the game’s launcher by pressing the Windows icon and wait for the installation to complete.
- Download game files and other resources.
Once the launcher is installed, open it and download Genshin Impact files. Depending on your internet connection speed, this will take a few minutes to complete.
- Launch Genshin Impact and enjoy the ride.
Finally, launch Genshin Impact from the desktop and play it with your Steam Deck controls.
That concludes our guide to playing Genshin Impact on Steam Deck. Before leaving, don’t forget to check out some of our other Genshin Impact-related content here at Twinfinite, like Genshin Impact 2.8 Redeem Codes, How to Earn Primogems During the Genshin Impact Partner Program on Twitch, and more.
Steam Deck images sourced from The Phawx YouTube
