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Update 5/7/25 - Added information about needing Starfield to be on the beta branch and Proton Experimental to be on the bleeding edge branch to access this build.

There are a couple of games that I can't recommend on the Steam Deck, and Starfield is one of them. It's not that it's a bad game, but it is extremely hard to run on the Deck with sub-30 FPS performance a lot of the time. However, there may be some hope, since Starfield just got a new update to its beta with some changes that could be beneficial for lower-end hardware.

Starfield

The new beta update, which was released yesterday, features a couple of great changes that could benefit those trying to play on the Steam Deck. There's a new "Very Low" graphical option to get better performance on limited-power hardware, updated resolutions that include 16:10 aspect ratios, and some general fixes here and there. The beta has a ton of other changes and bug fixes, with many coming to the Creations Store and Creator Kit, but those are really the only ones that could affect the Steam Deck.

And from my limited testing, it does. I ran around New Atlantis on both the Beta and Stable branches of the game, and there's definitely better performance on the Beta. On average, I was able to stick to 30 FPS way more often, which was really nice. There were still a solid number of drops when turning and running around, but on average, it was higher and more playable.

Compare
Low Quality with FSR 3
Very Low Quality with FSR 3
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Very Low Quality with FSR 3
Low Quality with FSR 3

To try out the beta for yourself, you have to both go into the Starfield beta branch and Proton Experimental's bleeding edge. You can do this by going to the preferences for both Starfield and Proton Experimental, heading to the beta tab, and selecting the "beta" option for Starfield and "bleeding edge" for Proton Experimental.

Would I consider Starfield playable enough to play solely on the Steam Deck? Probably not. It's definitely improved, but it still has enough drops when moving around that worry me in more heavy combat-focused situations. Still, if you are powering through it on the Deck, this should make it more playable, which is always a treat.

Starfield can be purchased on Steam for $69.99, but can be purchased on GameBillet for $44.95.

The GameBillet links above are using an affiliate link, which gives us a little back from sales at no extra charge to you. All proceeds go back into SDHQ and its development.

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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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