Is Baldur’s Gate 3 Steam Deck compatible? Those of us wanting to take our Baldur’s Gate 3 adventures on the go for a portable DnD experience will be pleased to hear the RPG plays well on the Steam Deck. However, Larian Studios has rolled just shy of a natural 20 in managing the handheld experience, and there are a few things that hold it back from being a critical hit.
Players with a high passive perception will note that the Baldur’s Gate 3 system requirements demand 150GB of your storage before you can start exploring the Forgotten Realms. With how expansive the Dungeons and Dragons universe is, that hefty storage demand should come to no surprise. Nevertheless, you can always check out our guide to the best microSD card for Steam Deck if you find yourself struggling to make space.
Is Baldur’s Gate 3 Steam Deck compatible?
Yes, Baldur’s Gate 3 is Steam Deck compatible and has been deemed ‘Verified’ by Valve. This top-level commendation means that Baldur’s Gate 3 should work almost flawlessly on the Steam Deck.
Larian Studios shares the news that its status has been upgraded to Steam Deck Verified via Twitter, following the game launching with a ‘Playable’ commendation. The developer also states that the game “looks rad” on the handheld, and that players are free to experiment with the settings.
Through our own experiences, we definitely recommend not running the default Baldur’s Gate 3 settings on Steam Deck. Without experimenting, we were seeing frame rate drops reach below 20fps, but if you follow our recommended specs, the Baldur’s Gate Steam Deck performance is decent. Using the RPG’s ‘Medium’ preset at native 800p, you can manage to hit 30 fps. Be warned, however, that it’s not entirely stable, with instances of brief but severe frame drops that we hope it will be ironed out in the future.
While AMD FSR 1.0 is available to use, we wouldn’t recommend turning it on, as the performance gains it offers aren’t worth the decrease in image quality. Thankfully, AMD FSR 2.0 will come to Baldur’s Gate 3 some time soon, which should be much easier to recommend.
There have been some reports of choppy frame rates while playing on the Steam Deck once you reach Act Three of Baldur’s Gate 3, however, we don’t know for sure if this is a widespread issue. Hopefully, by the time you get that far into the game, Larian Studios will release another hotfix, to help resolve any issues.
Check out our Baldur’s Gate 3 review, if you’re not yet convinced to delve into the “beautiful, layered and complex” world of Faerûn. If our review has won you over, our Baldur’s Gate 3 best settings guide will help you create an optimal balance of visuals and performance, both on the Deck and on your PC. Just don’t forget to cross-reference the Baldur’s Gate 3 system requirements too.
Baldur’s Gate 3 has rightly earned its place as part of our best Steam Deck games guide. If you’re already settling into the world of Faerûn, check out our BG3 quest list guide to prioritize what missions to undertake next.
