If you're an Xbox gamer and you have a Steam Deck, we have some good news for you, as it looks like Microsoft is working on bringing Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to Steam Deck and you can try it out right now.
According to a Reddit post by Microsoft Edge community manager Missy Quarry, Microsoft is working closely with Valve to make Xbox Cloud Gaming available on Steam Deck via its Microsoft Edge browser.
The same post also contains the steps for setting up Xbox Cloud Gaming on Steam Deck in simple steps, in addition to a link to a support page from Microsoft showing the same steps attached with pictures to facilitate setup for more users who are not used to using the Linux terminal.
Steam Deck is a console game developed somewhat similar in appearance to the Nintendo Switch, and it runs on an operating system based on Arch Linux, called SteamOS. The console already makes it possible to run a lot of games natively or via emulation on Linux, and with the addition of Xbox Cloud Gaming support to it, it seems we can now say that the future of gaming on Linux is promising and bright.
Xbox Cloud Gaming on Steam Deck currently enables a variety of games verified to be played natively on Linux, such as Psychonauts 2, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Battletoads, Sea of Thieves, Forza Horizon 5, Quantum Break, and State of Decay: YOSE, and you can try it Starting now, by installing Microsoft Edge Beta on Steam Deck, and following the steps below to set up the service:
- Press the Steam menu → Power → Switch to Desktop
- Click the Discover Software Center icon.
- Click the hamburger menu → Internet → Web Browsers
- Scroll until you find Microsoft Edge Beta and click the install button
- Back on the Desktop, click the Applications Launcher icon on the bottom left of the taskbar
- Navigate to Internet
- Right-click on Microsoft Edge (beta) → Add to Steam
- In the "Add a Game" window, scroll to find and select Microsoft Edge (beta)
- Back in the Applications menu, navigate to System → Konsole
- Set the override by entering this command in Konsole:
flatpak --user override --filesystem=/run/udev:ro com.microsoft.Edge {codeBox}
- On the Desktop, launch Steam
- Head to your Library and locate Microsoft Edge (beta)
- Right-click on it → Properties
- Change the name to Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta)
- Locate LAUNCH OPTIONS and append the following:
--window-size=1024,640 --force-device-scale-factor=1.25 --device-scale-factor=1.25 --kiosk "https://www.xbox.com/play" {codeBox}
To switch the controller layout to Gamepad with touchpad as Mouse:
- Select the gear icon in the top right > Manage > Controller layout
- Browse the templates and select Gamepad with Mouse Trackpad.
