Steam Deck runs Windows now (and Destiny 2)

Valve has always been clear that the Steam Deck could run Windows, but it needed official Windows 10 drivers to do so. Well, they are now available. The company posted a link to the drivers on the Steam blog as well as instructions on how to get back to the Steam Deck OS if players get stuck.

While the Windows 10 drivers will allow fans to boot up that operating system on their Steam Deck, their options are a bit more limited at the moment. Currently, the Steam Deck is only capable of a full Windows 10 install that will replace the Steam Deck OS. The new drivers should help make Windows 10 run pretty smoothly on the Deck, but there’s currently no way to run both.

However, Valve did mention in its post that the Steam Deck does have dual-boot OS capabilities. The wizard for the dual-boot isn’t ready yet, but when it arrives at a later date, players may then choose which OS they want to boot.

Windows 11 — the latest Windows OS — isn’t available on the Steam Deck either. Although, like the dual-boot, the Windows 11 BIOS will be available soon.

With Windows on Steam Deck, there are a few interesting things players are able to do: most notably, run games that aren’t available on SteamOS for one reason or another. This includes Bungie’s popular sci-fi shooter Destiny 2, which isn’t able to run via the Steam Deck OS due to issues with BattlEye anti-cheat. However, with the Steam Deck running Windows 10, players are able to operate Destiny 2 on the go, as demonstrated in the video above.

Theoretically, installing Windows 10 means players can also use Xbox Game Pass for PC on a Steam Deck. But all of this functionality (as well as the Steam Deck itself) is still new, and players will likely need a few weeks to discover the true potential in a Windows Steam Deck.