How to Play Switch Games on the Steam Deck via Emulator

The steam deck is a handheld console designed by Valve that is meant to run only steam games however many players have found ways to work around this constraint and get the most out of their devices by using various techniques to play games of other platforms.

We have already covered how you can install and play games from Origin in a previous article. Today we are looking at how you can use your steam deck device to run Switch games using emulators.

Which Emulator to Use for Steam Deck?

Ryujinx Emulator

One of the best emulators you can install on your steam deck to play switch games is undoubtedly the Ryujinx. So here’s how you can install it-

• Switch to Desktop mode– In order to install Ryujinx you will have to first switch on to the desktop mode.
• Go to Discover Software– Next you will have to go to the Discover Software, which is basically the playstore for the steam deck and search for Ryujinx.
• Install– You should have no problem finding the Ryujinx emulator and you can simply install it from there.

Keep in mind Ryujinx is not an official emulator and is very likely to get removed from the Discover software store. In this case, you will have to download it from the Ryujinx website. After that, you will have to add Ryujinx as a non-steam game to your library and run it from there. Now you will be able to play all the Nintendo titles you have on your Steam deck through Ryujinx.

Ryujinx is still very early in development and is bound to see improvements in the future but it still provides decent performance with a constant 30 fps.

Yuzu Emulator

Yuzu is another great emulator you can use on your switch. Yuzu is currently not available on the discover software store so you will have to download it from their website. The process of installation is the same as in the case of Ryujinx.

Yuzu features comparatively few games that work well on the emulator however the games that Yuzu does support works better compared to Ryujinx.

So having both Yuzu and Ryujinx might be a good idea as they are the two best emulators you can get for your steam deck with different qualities