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I play a lot of video games of all different genres, but I have yet to find one that beats out Tabletop Simulator. The board game simulator with extensive mod support is by far the best of its kind, and I constantly find myself playing it with my wife, trying out new games, or just going to our usual round of Munchkin. Even if it isn’t the greatest to control on the Steam Deck, it’s still loads of fun, and from the latest update from developer Berserk Games, it’s only going to get better…at least in most ways.

We now have an idea of the plans Berserk Games has for Tabletop Simulator’s 2.0 version, and it’s looking to be massive. It has big improvements for its UI, increasing performance further, and even improving online play. However, what stood out to me immediately was the Steam Deck support they plan to bring to the table.

Tabletop Simulator 2.0

There are a couple of mentions throughout the roadmap in regards to the Steam Deck, but it boils down to controller support and polish. Controller support, in general, is lacking and not something I’d recommend using in its current state, so I'm overjoyed to see that Berserk Games plans to tackle this head-on. They also mention this is being worked on with the Steam Deck in mind, so it should hopefully feel even better when playing on the go. The team also plans to do some extra polishing not only for the Deck but also for the Steam Frame and Steam Machine! This, along with the UI overhaul, should make the experience on the Steam Deck much better.

The team also plans to rework VR to modernize it, improve visuals and performance, preserve all previously released content, and more. But one aspect will cause some strife among gamers: the new Creator Marketplace.

TabletopSimulator

The Creator Marketplace is going to be introducing paid mods to the game. The goal from Berserk Games’ point of view is to encourage original, high-quality content that people can pay for to add to their game. The team has stated that this will not replace the Workshop and will operate as a second spot where people can get mods. That theoretically means all content available on the workshop will still be available to subscribe to and use to our hearts' content, offering an optional marketplace to get other paid mods.

The problem I see here lies mostly with how Berserk will actually implement this and how creators will react. For Berserk, they need to make sure this marketplace is truly for original, high-quality content and not let anyone just put their mods in. I would also like to see most of the money spent on these mods going to the creators who made them. I would also be worried about an exodus of workshop mod creators of original content that may disable their mod from moving to the marketplace, which will be disappointing.

I understand the appeal of paid mod and creator marketplaces. On one hand, it’s a way to support the creators who spend so much time making new content for a game, and it’s a way to make a little extra money as the devs if they take even just 5% of the price. However, moving from free mods and adding in paid mods is always a little concerning. Still, I will keep an open mind. If handled correctly, I can see this being a nice alternative for extra original works that are really high quality and would be worth paying for.

Tabletop 1

There’s no exact timeline on when all of these changes will be implemented, but they will most likely be rolling out this year.

Tabletop Simulator is available for $19.99 on Steam, and while it is rated Unsupported, it is playable and decently enjoyable on the Deck.

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Noah Kupetsky
A lover of gaming since 4, Noah has grown up with a love and passion for the industry. From there, he started to travel a lot and develop a joy for handheld and PC gaming. When the Steam Deck released, it just all clicked.
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