The Steam Deck is essentially a handheld PC with built-in joysticks and triggers but with the form factor and design approach of the Nintendo Switch. However, unlike the Switch, it can offer you the ability to play titles from all systems of the classic era. Read this Steam Deck emulation guide to play retro games on the go, from the NES to the PS2.
What is emulation?
By definition, emulation is designed to simulate the behavior and functionality of legacy hardware through virtual software programs. Since time immemorial, emulators for classic video game systems have preserved decades of quality titles, consoles, and experiences.
While emulators have typically been reserved for dedicated PCs, the Steam Deck is quite capable of delivering fast, reliable performance for retro systems, up to as far as the sixth generation of consoles (GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox).
Where to get emulators
For individual systems
The easiest way to set up an emulator for a specific system on your Steam Deck is by navigating to the Discover app found on the desktop screen. By default, an icon on the taskbar appears like a shopping bag.
1. When you open the Discover app, view the category menu on the left-hand side:
- Select Games > Emulators. Then, in the upper right, click Sort by name.
- Install the emulator that matches your intended system. Here are our recommendations:
- Nestopia (Nintendo Entertainment System/NES)
- Snes9x (Super Nintendo Entertainment System/SNES)
- Kega Fusion (Sega Genesis/Megadrive)
- Parallel Launcher (Nintendo 64/N64)
- Dolphin (Nintendo GameCube/Wii)
- DuckStation (PlayStation 1/PS1)
- PCSX2 (PlayStation 2/PS2)
- RPCS3 (PlayStation 3/PS3)
- mGBA (Gameboy/Color/Advance)
- PPSSPP (PlayStation Portable/PSP)
- Nestopia (Nintendo Entertainment System/NES)
2. To view your installed programs:
- Return to the Discover app, then hit the Installed button on the bottom left-hand side of the screen.
- Then, Sort by name and find your program.
3. Once you have installed your desired emulator from Discover, open the Steam desktop client. Select the “Add a game” button in the bottom-left of the screen, and add the program to Steam.
4. Open Steam in either Big Picture mode or Gaming Mode, select Library, then navigate to the non-Steam section. There you will find your program. Highlight the program you want and click to open.
All-in-one emulation
If you don’t want to spend the additional time to individually install emulators for specific systems on your Steam Deck, several options are available that include everything together in one massive frontend package.
The two most popular all-in-one emulation programs for the Steam Deck include RetroArch and EmuDeck. Both can be installed from the Discover app.
Where to get games
When it comes to emulation, the games are digitally stored in read-only memory (ROM) format. There are various sites out there that offer ROMs for download, or you can rip the files directly from your retail game discs/cartridges.
How to store ROMs
Depending on what generation of system your ROMs are for, keeping a local storage collection on your Steam Deck will soon take up tons of space, even with the high-end 512GB model. It helps to invest in a microSD Card that can expand your internal drive and hold as many games as possible.
Fortunately, you can get 1TB microSD Cards for very reasonable prices these days.
Once you purchase a microSD Card, you will need to insert it into your Steam Deck and format it.
- Run SteamOS Game Mode.
- Navigate to STEAM > Settings > System.
- Select “Format SD Card.”