The easiest way to play Fortnite on your Steam Deck is to play it through Microsoft Edge and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
The Steam Deck is home to plenty of great games, but one, in particular, that’s troublesome to run on the handheld is Fortnite. It’s not listed in the Steam store, and running it on the Steam Deck natively as a downloadable title isn’t possible because of the anti-cheating software on board.
This doesn’t mean you can’t run the game at all, though. You can work your way around this and play Fortnite for free through Xbox Cloud Gaming on your Steam Deck. All you need is a Microsoft Account, patience to download Microsoft Edge, and to take a few extra steps to tweak the experience.
How to play Fortnite on Steam Deck
Playing Fortnite on the Steam Deck through Xbox Cloud Gaming isn’t as simple as it seems, but don’t worry. First and foremost, you’ll have to create a Microsoft account if you don’t already have one. This is because the gameplay is locked behind Xbox Cloud Gaming, Microsoft’s game streaming service. However, playing Fortnite through Xbox Cloud Gaming is free; you don’t even need to subscribe.
Once that’s completed, follow along with the steps below. This is a multi-step process, taking you through linking your Xbox and Epic Games accounts, installing the Edge browser, adding it as a non-Steam Game, and then launching Fortnite through Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Link your Xbox and Microsoft Account to Epic Games
To begin, you’ll need to link accounts. Make sure you’re linking the Epic Games account you want to play Fortnite with to your Microsoft Account that you’ll use to sign in to Xbox Cloud Gaming.
- Go to Epicgames.com and sign in with your Epic Games account.
- Hover over your display name and choose Account.
- Click Apps and Accounts and choose Accounts.
- Click the Connect button for the account you want to be linked to Epic Games, in this case, Xbox.
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- Sign in with your Microsoft Account and choose Continue.
Install Microsoft Edge on your Steam Deck
The preferred way to play Fortnite on your Steam Deck is with Microsoft Edge. You’ll have to install the browser to do so.
- Press the power button and switch your Steam Deck to Desktop mode.
- Open the Discover Software Center.
- Navigate the following path: Applications> Internet> Web Browsers.
- Find Microsoft Edge, and choose Install.
- Once installed, close the Software Center.
- Click the Steam Button on your screen.
- Open the application launcher, select Internet, right-click on Microsoft Edge, and choose Add to Steam.
- In the Add a Game window look for Microsoft Edge.
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- Check the box next to it, and select Add Selected Programs.
- Go back to your Application launcher and select Konsole.
- Enter the following command: flatpak –user override –filesystem=/run/udev:ro com.microsoft.Edge.
- Press Enter.
Tweak Microsoft Edge for your Steam Deck
Here’s where you’ll be tweaking the browser for the Steam Deck’s screen size, resolution, and controllers. Things can get very complicated here, so be sure to follow closely.
- Open Steam.
- Select the Library Tab and go to Microsoft Edge.
- Select Properties.
- Change the name (next to the icon) to Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta)
- Under Launch Options, change the following text (after @@u @@): –window-size=1024,640 –force-device-scale-factor=1.25 –device-scale-factor=1.25 –kiosk “https://www.xbox.com/play”
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- Close the window.
- Go back to your Steam Library.
- Select Right-click on Microsoft Edge and then choose Manage and Controller layout.
- Select Browse Configs.
- Under Templates, select Gamepad with Mouse Trackpad.
- Select Apply Configuration and then Done.
Launch Xbox Cloud Gaming
That’s it! You can now exit the Steam Deck’s desktop mode by clicking the icon on the desktop. You can head into gaming mode now and launch the Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) as you would any other game. Just sign in with your Microsoft Account, and then look for Fortnite in the list of free playable games. Or, click this link to go straight to it! Happy gaming, and remember, be sure to plug that Steam Deck into a great charger for those intense Fortnite sessions. We know the game can get fun, especially when you play on the comfortable screen of the Steam Deck.