Installing mods on Steam Deck Steam Gems

The Steam Deck gaming console offers a galaxy of creative modifications for the games you love to play.

- BY JASON MCINTOSH

Figure 1: Launching the Steam desktop client from the KDE panel.

In last month’s Linux Magazine, I wrote about exploring the Arch Linux-derived operating system that undergirds the Steam Deck, Valve’s hand-held game console. That article mentioned the potential for installing communityauthored, rules-bending game modifications – mods, in gamer parlance – as one reason to pop the hood of your Steam Deck and root around in its KDE-based Desktop mode.

This article examines this aspect of Steam Deck Desktop mode in greater detail, demonstrating the various ways you can add mods to your installed games. As with last month’s explorations, your comfort and knowledge with Linux give you an advantage when it comes to exploring this hidden but readily available feature of Steam Deck.

Before You Begin

Before exploring the options presented in this article, you should have some basic familiarity with Steam Deck Desktop mode and how it differs from the default Gaming mode. You can follow all of the steps in this article using nothing more than the Steam Deck itself. However, connecting the Steam Deck to an external, fullsized display, as well as a hardware mouse and keyboard, can provide a much more comfortable and navigable experience. For more information on using Desktop mode and connecting desktop peripherals to your Steam Deck, see the article on “Steam Deck Desktop Mode” in Linux Magazine issue 292 [1].

Keep in mind that tinkering with third-party game mods carries the same level of risk as any other task that involves downloading and running interesting stuff you find on the Internet. Use Steam Cloud or another method to back up your personal game data before experimenting.

About Mods on Steam Deck

In the context of video games, a mod is a piece of software that modifies the behavior of a game.