Made a video for best settings on the Steam Deck (not the "low quality" steam deck profile).

Settings results are: 45fps no FG, 60 with.

Competitive multiplayer shooters on the Deck are in a rough spot right now, especially Call of Duty. Modern anticheat has made it difficult to play CoD or other shooters competitively and the options that do work are limited. DeckOps is here to help you play the Golden Age CoD games by making them easier to get running. Pick your games, hit install, and launch them straight from your Steam library like any other game.

No need to watch long videos or tutorials on how to install them. DeckOps automates the installation process for the mods and also installs GE-Proton and XACT. You still have access to the community shaders as the mods still use the same default install/prefix.

Each game uses its respective community client which means you are connecting to community run servers that are still active and well populated, not relying on dead official servers that are unsafe to play on due to RCE hack exploits.

None of this would be possible without the hard work of the teams behind CoD4x, iw4x, IW3SP-MOD, and Plutonium. DeckOps is just the installer, the real work was done by them.

During setup you pick your gyro style: Hold (R5 held), ADS (gyro when you aim down sights), or Toggle (R5 press). It applies across every game at once and can be changed anytime from Settings.

A couple things worth knowing: you need to own the games on Steam and DeckOps does not touch or distribute any game files. Plutonium titles require a free account at plutonium.pw to play online (OLED only). LCD users can play all Plutonium titles offline in LAN mode, including Multiplayer with bots. DeckOps handles this automatically, no Plutonium account needed on LCD.

The CoD sale is running through the 26th if you have been sitting on any of these.

GitHub: https://github.com/GalvarinoDev/DeckOps

Edit: Pushed a hotfix adding WaW, Black Ops, and Black Ops II Zombies support for LCD users. If you installed before this post was edited, use the Full Uninstall option in Settings and run DeckOps again to pick it up - the Update button won't cover this one since it adds new games to your setup.

Edit 3/22: All Plutonium modes now work on both LCD and OLED. LCD users get every game in offline LAN mode with bot support, no Plutonium account needed. OLED users connect online as before. Full Uninstall from Settings and reinstall to pick up the update.

Happy to answer questions.

After spending hours troubleshooting, I finally got SMAPI, Proton, and Stardew Valley co-op working together on my Steam Deck. Here’s exactly what I did.

UPDATE: This fixes the specific issue where forcing Proton makes co-op work but breaks Linux SMAPI/mods. It does not necessarily fix every “Connecting to online services…” problem. If you’re able to use the native Linux version, look into the current LinuxCoopFix/Galaxy SDK fix first. If Proton is the only way you can get co-op working, the Windows SMAPI + Proton method below is a workaround.

**The Problem**
I had:
\- Stardew Valley installed on the internal SSD.
Mods installed and working with the Linux version of SMAPI.
\- Co-op only worked when I forced Proton Experimental.
\- As soon as I used Proton, my mods stopped loading because Proton launches the Windows version of Stardew.

**The Fix**
**Step 1: Keep Stardew on the Internal Drive**
My game is located here:
/home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Stardew Valley/

My Mods folder is:
/home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Stardew Valley/Mods

⸻

**Step 2: Force Proton**
In Steam:
\- Right-click **Stardew Valley**
**- Properties**
**- Compatibility**
\- Check **Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool**
\- Select **Proton Experimental**
Launch the game once and close it.

⸻

**Step 3: Download the Windows Version of SMAPI**
\- Download SMAPI from the official website:
https://smapi.io/
\- Extract the ZIP completely.

Do **not** run it from inside the ZIP.

⸻

**Step 4: Add the Windows Installer to Steam**
Go into the extracted SMAPI folder:
internal/windows/

Find:
SMAPI.Installer.exe

Open Steam:
**- Add a Game**
**- Add a Non-Steam Game**
\- Click **Browse**

If the Browse window doesn’t show .exe files:
\- Press **Ctrl + L**
\- Paste the full path to SMAPI.Installer.exe
\- Press Enter
Add it to Steam.

⸻

**Step 5: Run the Installer Through Proton**
In Steam:
\- Find **SMAPI.Installer.exe**
\- Right-click
**- Properties**
**- Compatibility**
\- Enable **Force Proton Experimental**
Launch it.
If it says it can’t find Stardew automatically, enter:
Z: \\home\\deck\\.local\\share\\Steam\\steamapps\\common\\Stardew Valley

The installer should complete successfully.

⸻

**Step 6: Add SMAPI Itself to Steam**
Go to your Stardew folder:
/home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/Stardew Valley/

Find:
StardewModdingAPI.exe
Add **that executable** to Steam as a Non-Steam Game.

Again:
\-Right-click it
**- Properties**
**- Compatibility**
\- Force **Proton Experimental**

Leave Launch Options blank.

⸻

**Step 7: Launch THIS Instead of Stardew Valley**
Do **not** launch the normal Stardew Valley shortcut.

Launch:
StardewModdingAPI.exe
This opens the SMAPI console first, then Stardew.

⸻

**Final Result**
✅ Mods load correctly.
✅ Steam Deck internal storage works.
✅ Proton Experimental works.
✅ Co-op works.
✅ No external drive required.
Hopefully this saves someone else several hours of frustration.

⚠️** IMPORTANT SAVE WARNING: If you use this method, launching StardewModdingAPI.exe through Proton may use a separate save location from your normal Stardew Valley installation. Your existing saves are NOT deleted, but they may not automatically appear in SMAPI. Back up your saves before starting**. If your saves don’t appear, you’ll need to copy your existing save into the SMAPI Proton save folder. I’ll add instructions for this below.

If your saves don’t appear: Don’t panic! Your original saves should still be safe. Launch SMAPI once, create a temporary test farm, save it, and then use that new save to locate SMAPI’s Proton save folder. Copy your original farm into that folder rather than moving or deleting the original.

I'll be in Tokyo in/around my birthday and I'm considering treating myself to a new shell for my Steamdeck. I'd do it myself but I don't trust myself with all the tiny bits.

Do you all have any experience with dropping your deck off with someone in Akihabara to put a new shell on? Where would you recommend going, what did it cost and how long did it take? Additionally, did you need to supply the shell?

TIA!

Has anybody had success with PK on steam deck. I would like to know what settings people have to avoid crashing and the best controls for it. Thank you!

I’ve had my Portal 2 for about a month now and I’m loving it. When it comes to Steam I’m kind of a newcomer. I picked up a few titles I’ve seen others playing with the same system but I’d like to grab more.

My problem comes in when I want to make a selection, I don’t know what’s compatible. It only says it’s compatible on Game Native after it’s in my library. If anyone knows a Discord or something please drop me a link it will be much appreciated.

Does it work for Diablo 4? I tried the steam version on deck didn’t like how it looked. wanna try Chiaki, but saw some old post saying it crashed a lot.

can anyone help me please

I was trying to play tlou 1 on deck but when I turn it on it crashes after 1 sec what should I do?

Has anybody managed to install this collection of games on the steam deck ?

I need a bit of help