Does Steam Deck Support Cross-Platform Crossplay?

With the announcement of Valve's upcoming mobile gaming PC/console hybrid the Steam Deck, many are wondering what other platforms gamers with a Steam Deck can play together with. Luckily, there's good news: the Steam Deck is a full-fat PC, so it can play with PC gamers everywhere, and if any game supports cross-platform crossplay on PC, it'll support that on Steam Deck, too.

Does Steam Deck Support PC Crossplay?

Credit: Valve

While the Steam Deck runs a Linux-based operating system, it plays games through a special compatibility layer called Proton designed by Valve. This means the games you play will think they're running on a Windows machine when they're actually being played on Steam Deck.

Can Steam Deck Crossplay With Consoles?

Credit: Valve

This means that the normal suite of multiplayer functionality in PC games will also come to Steam Deck. So, for a game like Call of Duty: Warzone that supports cross-platform crossplay on PC, it'll support that on Steam Deck, too. And for games like Valorant that are only on PC, the Steam Deck will be able to play normally with other PC gamers.

Related: What Docks Work With Steam Deck?

Steam Deck's Problem With Anti-Cheat

Credit: Valve

However, there is still one major compatibility issue with running games on Steam Deck that has yet to be solved: for games with certain anti-cheat software also like Valorant, Steam Deck will need a platform-specific workaround from the developers of each individual game to get it up and running on Steam Deck.

This means that currently a few of the most popular games out right now may not run on Steam Deck at launch, or might not have access to multiplayer on Steam Deck at launch. Valve has announced they intend to work with game developers to bring anti-cheat solutions to Steam Deck so it can truly play any PC game, but this process is ongoing.

Will Steam Deck Support Android Crossplay

Credit: Microsoft

Lastly, while Steam Deck isn't officially confirmed to support Windows 11, though it's overwhelmingly likely the Deck will support Windows 11 eventually, if that support does indeed come, the Steam Deck will also enjoy out-of-the-box cross-platform crossplay with Android, as Android apps are natively supported on Windows 11.