Can You Play Modern Warfare 2 on Steam Deck? Answered

Valve’s Steam Deck is a surprisingly good piece of hardware for its price, like a more powerful Nintendo Switch. Naturally, those who got their hands on the Steam Deck are always looking to test the limits of the hardware, and today’s obsession is Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Is it possible? Can you play Modern Warfare 2 on Steam Deck?

Does Modern Warfare 2 Run on Steam Deck?

Yes, technically speaking, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 can be played on the Steam Deck. However, it won’t be possible if you’re still running the default operating system that the hardware ships with.

Valve’s Steam Deck runs on a combination of Linux, Wine, and Proton, which his simply called Steam OS. Unfortunately, Modern Warfare 2’s kernel-level anti-cheat RICOCHET isn’t incompatible with Steam OS, but not with Windows.

To bypass that issue, you’d have to go through the tedious process of removing Steam OS and installing Windows to the Steam Deck. The hardware is more than capable of handling Windows and it’s actually what many users do in order to run certain games that do not have Steam Deck support.

The question then becomes: should you play Modern Warfare 2 on Steam Deck? While the Steam Deck is a good piece of hardware, it isn’t the best machine for the job. You’ll have to severely reduce the settings—somewhere between Low and Medium—though it does look surprisingly good at 800p.

So, yes, you can play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on the Steam Deck, but it takes a bit of tinkering for it to work properly. For more guides and questions on Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, find out where to go to check the game’s server status. It also doesn’t hurt to read up on all weapons available in CoD Modern Warfare 2.

Featured Image Source: Activision