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Learning how to get Xbox Game Pass on Steam Deck will be one of the first questions many players ask once their precious handheld finally arrives in the mail. The good news is it’s totally possible, so if you’re not even sure of that detail, don’t fret. You can definitely play Game Pass games on Steam Deck, though it’ll take a few steps. Thankfully, the Steam Deck is a pretty versatile device, so if you’re willing to perform the required steps, you can enjoy your subscription on the go soon enough.
While this method is fairly complicated at the moment, programmers at Microsoft has ensured fans that the process will become simpler over time. The big advantage of accessing Game Pass titles on Steam Deck is that players don’t need to have every game in their Steam Library in order to play them on the handheld device. This also allows players to forego installing a giant operating system, like Windows 10, onto the Steam Deck. Instead, they can simply open a browser, go to the Xbox website, and begin playing from there.
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The steps in order to get this working on Steam Deck are laid out below.
How to play Xbox Cloud Gaming and Game Pass on Steam Deck
These steps come directly from Microsoft’s programming team on Reddit. When players are done following the steps, they will be using a beta version of the Microsoft Edge browser to access and play Xbox Game Pass titles directly from their Steam Library. Microsoft recommends using an external mouse and keyboard to make this process easier. However, to get external controls working, players will need to purchase a USB-C hub so they can plug both devices directly into it.
Start up the Steam Deck and go into Desktop Mode by holding down the power button or selecting it from the Steam Deck’s power settings menuClick the blue shopping bag at the bottom of the screen, which launches the Discover Software CenterClick on the icon with three lines at the top left of the center and then select Applications > Internet > Web BrowsersFind the Microsoft Edge Beta box and click the download button on the right-hand sideAfter the app is installed, go back to Desktop Mode and click the Applications Launcher icon (the two dots with an arrow)Find Microsoft Edge, right-click it, and then press “Add to Steam”Go to the “Add a game” window in Steam and select Microsoft EdgeGo back to the Applications menu and find System > KonsoleEnter the following command in the Konsole: flatpak –user override –filesystem=/run/udev:ro com.microsoft.EdgeLaunch Steam from Desktop ModeGo to your Library and find Microsoft EdgeRight-click it and then select “Properties”Go to “Launch Options” and add this text: –window-size=1024,640 –force-device-scale-factor=1.25 –device-scale-factor=1.25 –kiosk “https://www.xbox.com/play”Exit out of “Properties” and right-click Microsoft Edge in Steam againPress “Manage,” then “Controller Layout,” and finally “Browse Configs”In this menu, you can change your controls to “Gamepad with Mouse Trackpad” to use external controls in-game
With everything done, players can stay in Desktop Mode or go back to the default Gaming Mode of the Steam Deck. Either way, players can load up their Steam Library, click on the Microsoft Edge application, and launch directly into Xbox Cloud Gaming via the browser.
From here, players can sign into their Microsoft account that’s set up with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and access their entire suite of games. It’s important to remember that users need to be subscribed to the Ultimate version of Game Pass or else they won’t be able to stream games. The normal subscription for $10 a month does not allow access to the cloud for streaming through a browser.
Although, if players don’t want to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, they can run a single game using this method: Fortnite. Microsoft partnered with Epic Games to bring Fortnite to Xbox Cloud Gaming as its first free-to-play title. So even if users aren’t subscribed to Game Pass whatsoever, they can still follow the steps above and run Fortnite on their Steam Deck. You can check out our individual guide for running Fortnite on Steam Deck to see more information.
