If you’re hoping to carry the universe in the palms of your hands, the ability to take Starfield on the go sounds like a dream come true to Steam Deck owners around the globe. However, it’s a pretty beefy game with some fairly intimidating specs, so knowing if you can play Starfield on your portable powerhouse in advance could make or break the purchase for you. Let’s dive into the technical side of things, and see if Starfield may actually run on the Steam Deck, or if you’ll need to cash in some credits to upgrade your rig.
Will Starfield Run on Steam Deck?
Normally, we’re treated to a nice little verification badge before a game launches, letting us know if we can take our favorite game on the road with us. Unfortunately, at this point, there is still no verification badge to look into, so we’re going to need to do this the old-fashioned way; through comparisons and hope for the best.
Since Starfield is available to preload on some systems already, we’ve got some extra information that can help point us in the right direction. Below, you’ll find the minimum recommended specs that PC users should have to run Starfield:
| PC Specs | Minimum Requirements |
|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 2600X | Intel Core i7-6800K |
| Graphics Card | AMD Radeon RX 5700 | NVIDIA GeForce 1070 Ti |
| RAM | 16GB |
| Storage | 126GB SSD |
So really, not that awful. While still a bit weighty, the overall minimum requirements should work for the majority of PC gamers out there. Now, let’s compare what is inside the Steam Deck to see if it may work with this particular game.
| Steam Deck Internals | Steam Deck Specs |
|---|---|
| CPU | AMD APU, ZEN 2 |
| Graphics Card | 8 RDNA 2 CUs |
| RAM | 16GB |
| Storage | 64GB, 256GB, 512GB |
Now, there isn’t a dedicated graphics card, so the CPU of the Steam Deck is doing the heavy lifting. While powerful in and upon itself, the Steam Deck is going to be comparable to a PC built in the 2017-2018 range, meaning that games released on the Xbox One and PS4 era should run flawlessly, while more modern AAA games are going to require a fair bit of tweaking to make work.
Related: Is Starfield Coming to PS5? – Answered
Games like Hogwarts Legacy ran well on the Steam Deck, thanks to the fact that there were plenty of different graphics options, and plans for an Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch version in development. Some more modern games squeaked through that also featured similar specs to the upcoming behemoth that Bethesda is releasing.
With some tweaking, similar speed games like the Dead Space Remake were able to run on the Steam Deck at a fairly consistent 30 to 40 FPS. This gives us a bit of hope that Starfield may be able to run on the portable PC, but its overall size may cause some frame dips. We may also need to worry about the regular Bethesda bugs that we encounter in their other franchises rearing their ugly heads here.
Related: How to Get Early Access to Starfield
So, as it stands, it’s almost impossible to know if Starfield is going to run smoothly, since this is the first entry in a new franchise, using a new engine to power it all behind the scenes. However, if modded Skyrim and other games with similar specs can run, I’ve got a feeling we can eke out 30 FPS with some major tweaks. However, there is a chance that it may not run at all, so we’ll just need to wait until the game gets closer to release to make 100% sure that it earns its Verified badge.
No matter if this is your first journey into the worlds that Bethesda has crafted, or if you’re just as eager as Post Malone to get into Starfield, be sure to keep your eyes peeled on our Starfield section below to learn more about the game. As we inch closer to release, we’ll be keeping you updated on all of the new features, tips, and so much more to get you through space without screaming.
