Why Microsoft's List Of Supported Games On Steam Deck Omits Halo And Gears 5

Valve is making relatively quick work of going through its entire Steam catalog and testing for compatibility with its Steam Deck handheld, then assigning a rating (Verified, Playable, Unsupported, and Unknown). The list of games verified to work with Steam Deck now spans nearly 1,300 titles. There are some notable omissions, though, such as Halo Infinite and Gears 5.

In a blog post, Xbox Game Studios offered an update on the status of Microsoft's first-party games as it relates to being supported on the Steam Deck. It's essentially a list of several games that work, and a small handful that do not.

"Here at XGS we love gaming and think people should be able to play our games as freely and easily as possible—any time, any place, sharing incredible experiences with friends or immersing themselves in solo adventures. It's up to our studios how they fit Steam Deck integration for their games into their busy schedules, and with a lot of great stuff already in the works some titles may take longer," Xbox Games Studio said.

Scrolling down the bottom, Xbox Game Studios lists five games that are unsupported. They include the two aforementioned titles, plus Halo Master Chief Collection and Microsoft Flight Simulator X. The reason stated is "due to anti-cheat," which boils down the same reason why Epic Games is not supporting Fortnite on Steam Deck.

Steam Deck runs a version of Linux called SteamOS, and developers are hesitant to support certain titles on the handheld over fears that cheaters will run rampant without the same anti-cheat measures implemented when running the games on Windows. Bungie was even so bold as to threaten a ban to anyone who tries to launch Destiny 2 on Steam Deck.

Hopefully this is something Valve and other developers can work out over time, because the Steam Deck is otherwise a very promising handheld.

Deathloop is one of several Xbox Game Studios titles deemed Verified for the Steam Deck

All that said, there are other Xbox Game Studios titles that work just fine on the Steam Deck. Ones that have been designated as Verified include Deathloop, Psychonauts 2, Hellbalde: Senua's Sacrifice, The Evil Within, Fallout Shelter, Prey, Battletoads, and Max: The Curse of Brotherhood.

Additionally, there are a handful of Playable titles, including Sea of Thieves, Fallout 4, Forza Horizon 4 and 5, Quantum Break, and State of Decay: YOSE.