This new Android app makes your gaming handheld feel more like a Steam Deck

Last year, we saw SteamOS, Valve’s Steam Deck operating system, roll out to more handhelds to replace Windows 11. Now, it seems it’s the turn of Android devices. With Valve recently releasing an ARM version of SteamOS for the Steam Frame, the community is taking it upon itself to bring the software to more handhelds. DroidDeck is a little bit different, though, running Valve’s native ARM64 Steam client in a Steam Deck-style interface.

Essentially, DroidDeck is an app that enables you to sign into your Steam account, download your favorite games, and play them on your Android handheld. It’s not the only app that works like this; there are also GameNative, GameHub, and others, but considering the latest 0.3.0 version only just arrived, it is pretty impressive for an early build, and the ambition is clear.

Not only can you load up your favorites from our guide to the best Steam Deck games in Big Picture mode, but you can make the app read the controller as a Steam Deck controller. The latest update to DroidDeck also supports LSFG frame generation, as well as Decky Loader. You do have to buy the plugin and have it in your Steam library first, though.

However, there is a caveat. At the time of writing, compatibility is a bit confusing, and we couldn’t find a defined list of applicable devices, just requirements. The GitHub page states that software support is limited to devices running Android 9 or a more recent version of Google’s OS, while on the hardware front, the site points to the Adreno 730 GPU or more modern equivalents. Xclipse, Mali, PowerVR, and Adreno 710 GPUs are unsupported.

It’s worth noting that DroidDeck doesn’t replace Android but sits on top of it, so you still get regular Android functionality. You can check out more details and the latest version of the software via the DroidDeck GitHub listing.