What systems can the Valve Steam Deck emulate?

The Valve Steam Deck plays systems up to Switch well. It is at its best with Wii U, 3DS, PS2, Wii.

Can the Valve Steam Deck play Switch games?

Yes. Switch performance on the Valve Steam Deck is rated good in our catalog. Nintendo Switch: Most games playable at full speed, a few games have lower frame rates but still mostly playable with frameskip

How much does the Valve Steam Deck cost?

The Valve Steam Deck typically sells for around $399, which puts it in the high-end tier of retro handhelds.

What operating system does the Valve Steam Deck run?

The Valve Steam Deck ships with SteamOS 3.0 (Arch Linux), Windows 11, etc.

What screen does the Valve Steam Deck have?

It has a 7.0 inch LCD Touchscreen display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, running at 1280 x 800 at 215.63 PPI.

When was the Valve Steam Deck released?

Valve released the Valve Steam Deck in February 2022.

Valve

Steam Deck

Name: Steam Deck
Brand: Valve
Price: 399 USD
Availability: InStock

$399High-End

Handheld · Horizontal · SteamOS 3.0 (Arch Linux), Windows 11, etc

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Good for

Wii U, 3DS, PS2, Wii

Support listed to

Switch

SteamOS 3.0 (Arch Linux), Windows 11, etc

Released

Feb 2022

The Steam Deck is a high-end horizontal retro handheld from Valve with a 7.0-inch 1280×800 LCD Touchscreen screen, WiFi and Bluetooth, and runs SteamOS 3.0 (Arch Linux), Windows 11, etc. It is best suited for Wii U, 3DS, PS2, Wii, with support listed up to Switch. It typically sells for around $399.

Played on the Valve Steam Deck

Own a Valve Steam Deck? Add it to your shelf and help show what people actually play on it.

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Emulation

Supports 18 of 18 tested systems: 16 at excellent, 1 running well.

Mid-generation systems

Excellent

5 of 5 systems listed as playable or better

Modern systems

Mixed

4 of 4 systems listed as playable or better

Classic systems

Excellent

6 of 6 systems listed as playable or better

Sixth-generation systems

Excellent

3 of 3 systems listed as playable or better

Excellent

DS3DSGBAN64NESPS1PS2PSPWiiSNESWii USaturnGenesisGame BoyGameCubeDreamcast

Good

Switch

Playable

PS3

Specifications

Display

Screen

7.0 inch

Aspect ratio

16:10

Resolution

1280 x 800

Pixel density

215.63 PPI

Panel

LCD Touchscreen

Refresh rate

60 Hz

Performance

Chipset

AMD Aerith / Van Gogh

CPU

AMD Zen 2

CPU clock

2.4 GHz - 3.5 GHz

CPU cores

CPU threads

GPU

AMD RDNA 2

GPU clock

1.0 GHz - 1.6 GHz

RAM

16 GB LPDDR5

Storage

Internal 64 GB eMMC or 256/512 GB NVMe SSD, External MicroSD

Architecture

x86-64

Build

Battery

40 Wh

Weight

674 grams

Dimensions

298 mm x 117 mm x 49 mm

Material

Plastic

Charge port

USB-C

Controls

Shoulder buttons

Stacked

D-pad

Top

Thumbsticks

Symmetrical

Extra buttons

4x assignable grip buttons (on back), View, Options, Steam, Quick Access, Volume +-, Power

Features

WiFi WiFi 5Bluetooth 5.0USB-CHDMI OutSD CardAudio JackStereo SpeakerAnalog SticksL1/R1L2/R2 TriggersAnalog TriggersL3/R3 ClickableTouch ScreenGyroscopeVolume ButtonsActive CoolingRumble

FAQ

What systems can the Valve Steam Deck emulate?: The Valve Steam Deck plays systems up to Switch well. It is at its best with Wii U, 3DS, PS2, Wii.
Can the Valve Steam Deck play Switch games?: Yes. Switch performance on the Valve Steam Deck is rated good in our catalog. Nintendo Switch: Most games playable at full speed, a few games have lower frame rates but still mostly playable with frameskip
How much does the Valve Steam Deck cost?: The Valve Steam Deck typically sells for around $399, which puts it in the high-end tier of retro handhelds.
What operating system does the Valve Steam Deck run?: The Valve Steam Deck ships with SteamOS 3.0 (Arch Linux), Windows 11, etc.
What screen does the Valve Steam Deck have?: It has a 7.0 inch LCD Touchscreen display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, running at 1280 x 800 at 215.63 PPI.
When was the Valve Steam Deck released?: Valve released the Valve Steam Deck in February 2022.